Today after the closing bell Salesforce reported its fiscal third quarter 2014 financial performance, with revenue of $1.08 billion and earnings per share of $0.09. Investors had expected the firm to earn $0.09 on revenue of $1.06 billion.
The company fell more than 3% in regular trading. In after hours, Salesforce is up almost 1%. The company is richly valued – the Wall Street Journal calculates that it is currently trading at around 118 times its forward 12 months earnings per share.
The company’s GAAP diluted earnings per share totalled a negative $0.21 for the quarter. Salesforce has just over $1 billion in cash and equivalents.
To be fair, the company did manage to beat expectations today, but by such a thin margin, I can’t call the above anything more than a meets expectations. That said, the company is raising its fiscal 2014 revenue outlook, which will help its stock price. For its fiscal 2014, Salesforce now expects revenue between $4.050 and $4.055 billion. For its fiscal 2015, Salesforce expects to grow its top line by just over $1 billion, with revenue of $5.15 to $5.20 billion for that period.
Its fiscal third quarter (2014) revenue of $1.08 billion represents growth of 36% year-over-year. Operating cash flow for the period was $138 million, up a slightly more modest 30% year-over-year. All told, a solid quarter for the quickly growing company, but nothing that will change market perception of the company, and allow it to carry a higher valuation.
After-hours trading of Salesforce is somewhat confused, with the company managing to be both up and down one to two points in five-minute intervals. Investors appear conflicted about the quarter.
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