Why Splunk, Inc. Stock Popped Today

What happened

Shares of Splunk Inc. (NASDAQ: SPLK) were up 16.3% as of 1:00 p.m. EDT Friday after the operational intelligence platform specialist announced strong fiscal second-quarter 2019 results. Quarterly revenue soared 38.6% year over year to $388.3 million, which translated to adjusted net income of $11.7 million, or $0.08 per share.

By comparison, Splunk's latest guidance called for revenue between $356 million and $358 million, and -- though we don't usually pay close attention to Wall Street's demands -- most analysts watching the stock were only expecting adjusted earnings of $0.05 per share.

So what

Splunk's sales included a 36.3% increase in license revenue, to $200.7 million, and 41.1% growth in maintenance and services revenue to $187.6 million. The company also signed more than 550 new enterprise customers during the quarter, including new and expanded relationships with Automatic Data Processing, the U.S. Department of Defense, and Southwestern Energy.

"The rapid digitization of every organization, coupled with Splunk's increasing innovation, is driving our continued momentum," added Splunk CEO Doug Merritt. "Every organization needs to monitor, analyze, and investigate data to make faster decisions and take action, and I am pleased that Splunk is the platform of choice."

Now what

What's more, Splunk told investors to expect fiscal third-quarter revenue of between $430 million and $432 million, good for growth of roughly 31% and above consensus estimates for sales closer to $428 million. The company also increased its full-year guidance for revenue to arrive at $1.685 billion, up $40 million from its previous target.

All told, with shares trading at an all-time high as of this writing, it's obvious the market is more than pleased with Splunk's latest beat and raise.

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