Why Splunk Inc. Stock Jumped 11.8% in August

What happened

Shares of Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) rose 11.8% in the month of August, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, after the operational intelligence platform company delivered impressive fiscal second-quarter results.

The bulk of Splunk's gains last month came on Aug. 25 -- the first trading day after it announced that quarterly revenue had climbed a better-than-expected 31.6% year over year to $280 million and translated to adjusted net income of $11.5 million, or $0.08 per share. Splunk also confirmed adjusted operating margin was 5.2%.

For perspective, Splunk three months earlier had told investors to expect revenue of between $267 million and $269 million and adjusted operating margin of just 4%. This marked the company's 11th straight quarter of exceeding its own financial guidance.

So what

Splunk also saw billings climb 32% to $303.4 million, and added over 500 new customers during the quarter including the likes of Athenahealth, Carnival, Shutterfly, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Splunk CEO Doug Merritt stated he was rightly "pleased" with his company's performance in Q2, with particular credit to strength across the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region.

"As I traveled across Europe, Asia, and North America over the last two months, I was excited to see businesses, governments and universities adopting Splunk across multiple departments and use cases," Merritt added.

Now what

Splunk also told investors that third-quarter revenue should be in the range of $307 million to $309 million -- well ahead of consensus estimates for $306.9 million at the time, and up from $244.8 million the same year-ago period -- with quarterly adjusted operating margin expanding to 8%.

And finally, for the full fiscal year, Splunk increased its estimates for billings to arrive at $1.450 billion (up from $1.425 billion previously) and for revenue in the range of $1.210 billion to $1.215 billion (up from $1.195 billion before). Full-year adjusted operating margin should be 8%.

All told, there was nothing not to like about Splunk's strong report last month, and it's no surprise to see Splunk stock hovering near a fresh 52-week high as of this writing.

10 stocks we like better than SplunkWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Splunk wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

Click here to learn about these picks!

*Stock Advisor returns as of September 5, 2017

Steve Symington has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Splunk. The Motley Fool recommends Athenahealth and Carnival. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.