Twilio reported fourth-quarter revenue of $548.1 million, up 65% from a year ago.
Gabby Jones/Bloomberg
Twilio stock soared in late trading on Wednesday after the cloud communications platform company posted fourth-quarter results that blew past both its own guidance and Street estimates.
For the quarter, Twilio (ticker: TWLO) reported revenue of $548.1 million, up 65% from a year ago, and way above the company’s guidance range of $450 million to $455 million. Street consensus had been $454.8 million.
The company posted non-GAAP earnings of four cents a share, well above the guidance range, which called for a loss of 8 to 11 cents a share. The Street had been expecting a loss of 8 cents a share. On a GAAP basis, the company lost $1.13 a share.
Twilio stock surged 11% in late trading to $456.49. Year-to-date, the stock is up 36%.
In an interview with Barron’s, Twilio Chief Financial Officer Khozema Shipchandler noted that the strong fourth-quarter revenues in part reflected two factors not in guidance—$23 million in revenue related to the recent election, and another $23 million from the company’s recently completed acquisition of Segment, a customer data analytics software company. Even backing out those two items, he notes, Twilio saw “broad-based diversified strength” in the quarter. The company, he added, saw particularly strong demand for messaging services, which gives companies a way to message customers on the web or via text.
Shipchandler also said the company has continued to see strong demand from certain vertical markets, including education, healthcare, and e-commerce. He says Twilio has relatively modest exposure to areas highly affected by the pandemic, but adds they are seeing some “green shoots” in the travel and hospitality segments.
Twilio is projecting first-quarter revenue of $526 million to $536 million, up 46% to 47%, well above the old Street consensus at $492 million. The company sees a non-GAAP loss in the quarter of between 9 and 12 cents a share, slightly wider than the Street consensus at a loss of 2 cents.
Write to Eric J. Savitz at [email protected]
