New Relic Posts Strong FQ1 Revenue, Beats On Profit And Guides Above Street Expectations

New Relic reported its first quarter, fiscal 2016 performance today, including better-than-expected revenue, and lower-than-expected per-share loss.

While the latter clause is correct, it’s worth noting that on eitherĀ a normal (GAAP) and adjusted (non-GAAP) basis, New Relic lost more in its most recent quarter than it did in the comparable year-ago period. However, due to changes in its share count, the company posted smaller per-share losses than in the prior period.

Here are the raw figures: The street expected New Relic to generate $35.49 million in revenue; it delivered $38.14 million. The street had expected New Relic to earn a $0.25 per-share loss, using adjusted techniques; it delivered negative $0.21. It beat on both counts, in case you can’t count.

The company’s revenue score represents a 69 percent increase over its year-ago tally. New Relic wrapped its quarter with $195 million in cash, down just under $6 million from the end of the sequentially preceding period — the fourth of its fiscal 2015.

(For fun, New Relic also reported that its “dollar-based net expansion rate” in the quarter was 130 percent. If you get what that means, you may allow yourself a self-satisfied smirk. Then go outside immediately — you spend too much time reading spreadsheets.)

Looking ahead, New Relic expects that it will generate revenue of $40.2 million and $41.2 million in its fiscal second quarter, figures that the firm notes would represent between a 59 percent and 62 percent year-over-year increase. The company expects to lose between $0.22 and $0.24 during the three-month period. The street, by contrast, expected a much smaller $37.86 million top line performance, resulting in a mostly-similar $0.24 per-share loss using non-GAAP accounting techniques.

So far I’m not seeing much after-hours movement (not surprising given the scale of Arista Network’s market cap compared to other technology firms) but I suspect that investors will be largely content with the company’s performance. After a number of high-profile declines yesterday, the public technology market could use the stoking.