Jeff Lawson CEO, Twilio
Scott Mlyn | CNBC
Twilio shares rose more than 10% in extended trading on Wednesday after the cloud communications company reported better-than-expected results in the fourth quarter, including a surprise adjusted profit.
Here’s how the company did it:
- Earnings: 4 cents per share, adjusted compared to the loss of 8 cents per share, as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.
- Income: $ 548.1 million, compared to $ 454.8 million, as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.
In a statement, revenues increased by 65% annually, compared to an increase of 52% in the previous quarter.
Twilio added 13,000 active customer accounts in the fourth quarter, bringing the total to 221,000, up from 8,000 in the third quarter. The company provides tools that developers can use to add text messages, voice and video calls, emails, and other features to applications. Twilio also offers cloud-based contact center software, which companies can rely on for their agents’ interactions with customers.
“The pandemic accelerated change overnight,” Jeff Lawson, co-founder of Twilio and its CEO, said in a conference call with analysts. “Health has had to accelerate the adoption of telemedicine, and e-commerce companies have accelerated their e-commerce plans. Companies that have hired more developers and improved their digital game during the pandemic are not going back.”
Political activity brought in $ 23 million in revenue this quarter, said Khozema Shipchandler, the company’s chief financial officer.
In terms of guidance, Twilio sees an adjusted loss of 12 cents to 9 cents per share, with revenue of $ 526 million to $ 536 million in the first quarter, implying an increase in revenue of about 44% to 47%. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv expected an adjusted loss of 2 cents per share, with revenues of $ 492.1 million.
Despite the move after the program, Twilio shares increased by about 22% since the beginning of the year, compared to an increase of less than 5% for the S&P 500 index over the same period.
CLOCK: Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson for social media companies that control content