MicroStrategy Inc. (NASDAQ: MSTR) may be not as well known as other software companies, but its enterprise-ready analytics and mobile and security platforms are used by many large companies and has many accessible data sources. Now its shares are at a high not seen since the last tech bubble in 2000.
The driving force is that MicroStrategy beat earnings expectations. Still, the $132.9 million in second quarter revenue was down about 6% even if it beat the $128 million expectation. What really stood out was the $1.95 per share in income, versus a loss a year ago and versus the estimate of $1.37.
Product licenses and subscription services revenues were up 3%. Product support revenues down by 5%, and the “other services revenues” were down by 20%. As of June 30, 2015, MicroStrategy had cash and cash equivalents of $427.9 million. The company’s MicroStrategy 10 Secure Enterprise was made generally available in June 2015.
Also behind the MicroStrategy beat was cost containment. The company showed that the overall cost of revenue was down by more than 27% — and that took the gross margin up to above 80%. Operating cash flow was up exponentially.
Other news out of MicroStrategy was that it has named Phong Le as Chief Financial Officer. Le is CFO of XO Communications.
MicroStrategy shares were up almost 10% already in 2015 but the post-earnings move was up by more than 14% at $203.65 right before Tuesday’s close. Trading volume of 490,000 shares was almost better than five times the normal daily trading volume.
Again, this is a high going back to 2000 on a split adjusted basis. The company’s market cap of $2.3 billion would compare to annual revenue estimates from Thomson Reuters of $540 million for 2015 and $573 million for 2016.
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