Salesforce beats Q4 estimates but gives weak Q1 outlook
Salesforce published its fourth quarter financial results on Monday, beating market estimates and posting record annual revenue for the 2019 fiscal year. However, the CRM giant gave a weak outlook for the current quarter, and shares were down in after-hours trading.
Non-GAAP earnings per share in the fourth quarter came to 70 cents on revenue of $3.6 billion, up 26% year-over-year.
Analysts were expecting earnings of 55 cents per share on revenue of $3.56 billion.
Subscription and support revenues were $3.38 billion, an increase of 26 percent year-over-year. Professional services and other revenues were $228 million, an increase of 16 percent year-over-year.
"We had another year of outstanding revenue growth, surpassing $13 billion in revenue faster than any other enterprise software company in history," Co-CEO Marc Benioff said in a statement. "As companies of all sizes turn to Salesforce, we're enabling them to put the customer at the center of their digital transformation through our intelligent Customer 360 platform. I've never been more excited about the opportunity ahead."
Salesforce says it's now targeting $26 billion to $28 billion in revenue by 2023, organically doubling its revenue over four years.
On a conference call Monday, Benioff attributed the company's growth in part to its appeal to both B2B and B2C companies.
"And whether they're B2B or B2C, they're now becoming a B2B2C company," Benioff said. "They're all transforming to connect with their customers in a whole new way, and we're the only company with an intelligent Customer Success Platform for both B2B and B2C companies."
For the full year, Salesforce posted non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $2.75. Full Year revenue was $13.28 billion, up 26 percent year-over-year.
Subscription and support revenues in 2019 were $12.41 billion, an increase of 27 percent. Professional services and other revenues were $869 million, an increase of 12 percent year-over-year.
Unearned revenue on the balance sheet as of January 31, 2019 was $8.56 billion, an increase of 22 percent year-over-year.
For the first quarter, Salesforce gave an EPS outlook of 60 cents to 61 cents on revenue between $3.67 billion and $3.68 billion.
Analysts have been expecting an EPS of 63 cents on revenue of $3.7 billion.
For the full fiscal year 2020, the company is expecting an EPS of $2.74 to $2.76 on revenue of $15.95 billion to $16.05 billion.