How Salesforce Won on Earnings

May 19, 2017 by Chris Lange

When Salesforce.com Inc. (NYSE: CRM) reported its most recent quarterly results late on Thursday, the company said that it had $0.28 in earnings per share (EPS) and $2.39 billion in revenue. That compared with consensus estimates of $0.26 in EPS and revenue of $2.35 billion.

Subscription and support revenues were $2.2 billion, an increase of 24% from last year, and professional services and other revenues totaled $187 million, an increase of 32% year over year.

Deferred revenue totaled $5.04 billion, up 26%, or 27% in constant currency. Unbilled deferred revenue ended the first quarter at roughly $9.6 billion, 26% higher than last year.

In terms of guidance for the fiscal second quarter, the company expects to see revenue between $2.51 billion and $2.52 billion, with EPS in the range of $0.31 to $0.32. The consensus estimates call for $0.31 in EPS and $2.48 billion in revenue.

During the quarter, cash generated from operations was $1.23 billion, an increase of 17%. While on the books, total Salesforce cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities finished the quarter at $3.22 billion.

Marc Benioff, board chair and chief executive of Salesforce, commented:

With our outstanding first quarter results, we are thrilled to be raising our fiscal 2018 revenue guidance by $100 million and raising our GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per share expectations for the year,” “Salesforce has once again been named the CRM market leader, and we continue to grow our share in CRM — the fastest growing enterprise software market.

Shares of Salesforce were last seen up 1% at $88.62 on Friday, with a consensus analyst price target of $97.89 and a 52-week trading range of $64.43 to $90.95.

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