After Hours: Amazon Calls, Okta Breaks Revenue Record
Happy Tech Company Quarterly Results Day, everyone!
Obviously, this is not a real holiday. But given the clutch of fundamentals in the sector that were reported after market close today, it might as well be. Do you tech investor types have your scorecards handy?
Outside of that, there was an intriguing media report about Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) sniffing around to buy a certain mobile provider.
Amazon is (maybe) on the phone
What's next for the retailer that sells everything? If an article published late this afternoon from Reuters is accurate, the answer might well be a mobile phone service provider.
The article, citing "two sources familiar with the matter," has it that Amazon is considering the purchase of discount mobile service purveyor Boost Mobile. Amazon would buy Boost from its current owner, the No. 4 wireless company on the market, Sprint. Boost is not only owned by Sprint, it runs under its parent's network.
Sprint and No. 3 T-Mobile US are trying to merge. In a clear attempt to curry regulatory favor for the merger, Sprint has offered to sell Boost.
According to Reuters' sources, Amazon finds Boost attractive because of "an attached wholesale deal that would allow the buyer to use T-Mobile's wireless network for at least six years." Amazon is apparently also interested in any wireless spectrum that comes with the acquisition of its target; this would be divested by the big retailer.
None of the companies involved has yet commented publicly on the Reuters story.
Amazon and T-Mobile are basically trading flat after hours following the report's publication. Holder of the "for sale" sign Sprint, on the other hand, is up by 5%.
Okta, Nutanix, and Zuora results
An investor could get dizzy with the three-barreled cannon of tech company results delivered after market close today. I'm referring specifically to identity security company Okta, cloud-computing software purveyor Nutanix, and subscription software specialist Zuora. Here are their headline fundamentals and average analyst expectations in a handy table:
| Company | Period | Revenue | YOY Growth | Average Analyst Estimate | Adjusted EPS | Average Analyst Estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Okta (NASDAQ: OKTA) | Q1 2020 | $125 million | 50% | $117 million | ($0.19) | ($0.21) |
| Nutanix (NASDAQ: NTNX) | Q3 2019 | $288 million | (1%) | $297 million | ($0.56) | ($0.60) |
| Zuora (NYSE: ZUO) | Q1 2020 | $64 million | 22% | $64 million | ($0.11) | ($0.13) |
Of the three, only recent investor darling Okta is up in post-market trading tonight; Nutanix's and Zuora's share prices are off, although not heavily.
Okta's revenue figure was its all-time high quarterly result. This was due in no small measure to a sturdy 52% rise in subscriptions, which in turn was aided by what the company termed "our acceleration with enterprise customers."
Nutanix is experiencing growing pains as it shifts to a business model built on recurring revenue. That said, analysts had been projecting top-line growth for the quarter.
As for Zuora, the market might be discouraged by the news that, in the company's words, it is "making changes to our sales approach to scale the business to the next level." This is expected to affect results for the remainder of the fiscal year. The company proffered revenue guidance of $268 million to $278 million for the entirety of fiscal 2020, significantly below the average $291 million modeled by analysts.
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John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon, Okta, and Zuora. The Motley Fool recommends Nutanix and T-Mobile US. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
