(Bloomberg) — Zoom Video Communications Inc. gave a sales forecast for the current quarter that failed to impress investors who were expecting a bigger boost from the company’s expanded suite of products.
Most Read from Bloomberg
Revenue will be about $1.18 billion in the period ending in January, Zoom said Monday in a statement. Profit, excluding some items, will be $1.29 to $1.30 a share. Analysts, on average, projected adjusted earnings of $1.28 a share on sales of $1.17 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The shares, which initially declined about 9% in extended trading, had recovered and were little changed at 5 p.m. in New York. While Zoom’s outlook met estimates, the stock had gained about 48% to close at $89.03 since the company’s last earnings report in August on optimism about the new products.
The software maker known for videoconferencing has expanded its suite of tools to offer phone systems, a contact center application and artificial intelligence assistants. In October, Zoom named former Microsoft Corp. executive Michelle Chang as chief financial officer to replace Kelly Steckelberg, who left to join design startup Canva Inc.
Zoom has seen a 59% increase in monthly active users of its AI assistant since the prior quarter, the company said in a presentation to supplement its earnings statement. It also topped 1,250 customers of its contact center application.
Separately, the company announced it has dropped “video” from its official name and would now be known as Zoom Communications Inc. “Our new name more accurately reflects our expanding scope and plans for long-term growth,” Chief Executive Officer Eric Yuan wrote in a post announcing the change.
In the fiscal third quarter, sales increased 3.6% to $1.18 billion, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $1.16 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Profit, excluding some items, was $1.38 a share in the period ended Oct. 31.
Enterprise revenue increased 5.8% to $699 million. Zoom said it had 3,995 customers who contributed more than $100,000 over the past year.
An ongoing loss of consumers and small businesses from Zoom has concerned investors, particularly since these customers are typically higher-margin than corporate clients. Average monthly churn in this segment was 2.7% in the quarter, which was better than analysts’ estimates. Sales in the segment was little changed at $479 million. That was Zoom’s lowest-ever online churn, Chang said, according to remarks prepared for the company’s earnings conference call.
