What happened
Shares of Zoom Video Communications (ZM 0.05%), a video-first unified communications platform provider, started June with a bang, gaining 15.7% this week. This follows their 32.8% rise in May, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. In 2020, shares of the hot April 2019 initial public offering (IPO) have tripled.
For context, the S&P 500 returned 5% this week after returning 4.8% last month. For the year, the index is flat.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
We can attribute Zoom stock's May gain to continued investor enthusiasm about the company's growth prospects. Demand for its communication products has soared, fueled by the surge in people working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Investors were right to be highly optimistic, as this past week showed. Zoom stock's nearly 16% rise so far in June was driven by the company's Tuesday release of amazingly strong first quarter results for fiscal 2021.
In the first quarter, revenue skyrocketed 169% year over year to $328.2 million, crushing the $202.5 million Wall Street consensus estimate. Adjusted for one-time items, net income landed at $58.3 million, up from $8.9 million in the year-ago period, which translated to earnings per share (EPS) soaring 567% to $0.20. This result also demolished the consensus expectation, which was $0.09.
Moreover, Zoom management significantly hiked its guidance for the full fiscal year. It now expects revenue of $1.775 billion to $1.8 billion -- up from $905 million to $915 million -- which, at the midpoint, represents growth of 187% year over year. It also expects adjusted EPS of $1.21 to $1.29 -- up from $0.42 to $0.45 -- or growth of about 256%.
Now what
Zoom's growth prospects remain powerful. The pandemic has accelerated the remote work trend.
