Why Shares of Box Inc. Jumped Today

What: Shares of enterprise cloud storage company Box jumped on Thursday after the company beat analyst estimates when it reported its first-quarter earnings. The stock was up as much as 16% at market open, but had settled to a gain of about 7% by 11 a.m.

So what: Box reported quarterly revenue of $65.6 million, an increase of 44.8% year-over-year and about $2 million higher than analysts were expecting. The company added more than 2,000 new paying customers during the quarter, bringing its total customer count to 47,000. Billings, which is a measure related to expected future revenue, grew even faster than revenue, rising by 58% year-over-year.

Box reported a non-GAAP net loss of $0.28 per share, three cents better than analysts were expecting. On a GAAP basis, Box lost $47.3 million during the quarter, worse compared to a loss of $38.5 million during the first quarter of 2014. Operating expenses rose by 29% year-over-year, slower than revenue growth, but the company still posted an operating loss equivalent to 71% of revenue.

Looking forward, Box expects revenue between $69 million and $70 million during the second quarter, and between $281 million and $285 million for the full year. Both of these ranges are above analyst expectations. Box also expects its non-GAAP operating margin to be between (49%) and (50%) during both the second quarter and the full year.

Now what: Box is spending heavily as it tries to grow its market share, and while expenses are no longer growing faster than revenue, the company is still posting enormous losses. These losses were smaller than analysts were projecting, and the stock was pushed higher as a result, but on an absolute basis, Box's results were far from good. The road to profitability for Box is a very long one, and there's no guarantee that it will ever arrive.

The article Why Shares of Box Inc. Jumped Today originally appeared on Fool.com.

Timothy Green has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.