Chegg’s Q4 sales from education materials surge during pandemic, company raises 2021 forecast
Online education materials purveyor Chegg this afternoon reported Q4 revenue and profit that beat expectations by a comfortable margin, and projected revenue this quarter, and for the full year, higher as well, and raised its outlook for this year, saying the move to online learning has been picking up speed.
The report sent Chegg shares higher by 5% in late trading.
Chegg makes a variety of applications for online learning, including Study Pack, Math Solver and Chegg Writing, and also rents electronic and print editions of textbooks.
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Said CEO Dan Rosensweig, "We are incredibly grateful that, even in the midst of the many challenges of the past year, we outperformed all expectations and were able to continue to support students, in record numbers, around the world."
Added Rosensweig, "The transition to online and hybrid learning is inevitable and, with the accelerated trends that we are seeing, we have the confidence to raise our guidance for 2021."
Revenue in the three months ended in December rose 64%, year over year, to $205.7 million, yielding EPS of 55 cents, excluding some costs.
Analysts had been modeling $154 million in revenue and 41 cents EPS. The sales figure is also higher than the company's outlook offered back in October for $188 million to $190 million.
For the current quarter, the company expects revenue in a range of $182 million to $185 million. That compares to consensus for $174 million.
For the full year 2021, Chegg expects revenue of $780 million to $790 million, above analysts' average estimate for $780 million, and above a forecast offered back in October for "approximately $775 million."