C3.ai shares sell off despite fiscal Q3 revenue, EPS beat, higher forecast
Industrial artificial intelligence software firm C3.ai, in its first quarterly report since coming public in early December, this afternoon reported fiscal Q3 revenue and profit that both topped expectations, and an outlook for this quarter's revenue higher as well.
C3.ai shares sold off sharply in late trading following the report.
CEO and founder Tom Siebel said the company "continue to establish our leadership as the only enterprise AI software pure play."
Added Siebel, "This is a large and rapidly growing market; we continue to innovate; we continue to expand our market-partner ecosystem and associated distribution capacity; and we continue to demonstrate technology leadership. I believe that we are increasingly well-positioned to establish a global market leadership position in enterprise AI software."
In a separate release, C3.ai said it added Jim Snabe, formerly co-CEO of German software giant SAP AG, to its board of directors.
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Revenue in the three months ended in December rose to $49.1 million, yielding a net loss of 13 cents a share, excluding some costs.
Analysts had been modeling $47 million and a 16-cent loss per share.
For the current quarter, the company sees revenue of $50 million to $51 million, and a loss per share in a range of 27 cents to 28 cents. That compares to consensus for $48.3 million and a 20-cent loss per share.
Together with last quarter's results, that adds up to an expectation for full-year revenue in a range of $180.9 million to $181.9 million, versus consensus of $177 million.
C3 came public December 9th, and immediately shot up in value.
Regarding Snabe, C3.ai noted he is the chairman of the Supervisory Board of Siemens AG, and chairman ofA.P. Møller – Mærsk A/S, the world's largest shipping and transportation company. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the non-profit World Economic Forum, based in Switzerland. Snabe has served as a senior advisor to Siebel for C3.ai.
Siebel called Snabe "a trusted advisor, adding, "The addition of Jim to our Board of Directors further strengthens this team of highly accomplished professionals, bringing a unique set of leadership skills and expertise to the company. We are extremely pleased to welcome Jim to the board."