Zuora (ZUO) Reports Q2 Loss, Tops Revenue Estimates

Zuora (ZUO) came out with a quarterly loss of $0.04 per share in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. This compares to break-even earnings per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

A quarter ago, it was expected that this enterprise software company would post a loss of $0.04 per share when it actually produced a loss of $0.02, delivering a surprise of 50%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times.

Zuora, which belongs to the Zacks Internet - Software industry, posted revenues of $86.49 million for the quarter ended July 2021, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.58%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $74.99 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates four times over the last four quarters.

The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.

Zuora shares have added about 17.5% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 19.4%.

What's Next for Zuora?

While Zuora has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?

There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.

Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.

Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Zuora was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is breakeven on $85.3 million in revenues for the coming quarter and -$0.08 on $336.94 million in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Internet - Software is currently in the bottom 23% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

Time to Invest in Legal Marijuana

If you’re looking for big gains, there couldn’t be a better time to get in on a young industry primed to skyrocket from $17.7 billion back in 2019 to an expected $73.6 billion by 2027.

After a clean sweep of 6 election referendums in 5 states, pot is now legal in 36 states plus D.C. Federal legalization is expected soon and that could be a still greater bonanza for investors. Even before the latest wave of legalization, Zacks Investment Research has recommended pot stocks that have shot up as high as +285.9%.

You’re invited to check out Zacks’ Marijuana Moneymakers: An Investor’s Guide. It features a timely Watch List of pot stocks and ETFs with exceptional growth potential.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.