Soaring demand for the Zoom video conferencing service far exceeded even the most optimistic Wall Street forecasts in the past three months, lifting quarterly revenue higher than the San Francisco-based company reported for the whole
zoom has been a big winner during the Covid pandemic. Photo / 123RF
Zoom's ability to reach a massive new global audience has made it one of the biggest corporate winners from the crisis, though the demand has also proved challenging, leading to a temporary service failure last week just as schools around the US were asking students to log in for classes.
Profits also jumped well ahead of forecasts in the latest period, with pro forma earnings per share — excluding stock compensation benefits and some other costs — reaching 92 cents, up from 8 cents a year before and more than double the 45 cents analysts had expected.
Based on formal accounting principles, net income rose to $186m, from $6m the year before.
For the current fiscal year, Zoom said it expected revenue to reach $2.37bn-$2.39bn, about 30 per cent ahead of analysts' estimates, with pro forma earnings per share of $2.40-$2.47, or 85 per cent ahead of expectations.
Written by: Richard Waters
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