Box stock rallied late Tuesday after the file-sharing and enterprise software company reported better-than-expected earnings for the quarter ended in January. The company offered slightly lower full-year guidance than expected, but also announced support. Microsoft (MSFT) to promote its Box AI offering.
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the box ( BOX ) said it earned 42 cents a share on sales of $262.9 million for its fiscal 2024 fourth quarter. On average, analysts estimated the Redwood City, Calif.-based company would post adjusted earnings of 38 cents per share on sales of $263.3 million, according to FactSet.
For the same period a year earlier, Box reported adjusted earnings of 37 cents per share on sales of $256 million.
For the current quarter, Box guided for sales of $262 million. This was in line with analysts’ expectations going into the report, according to FactSet. However, the company is projecting a 5 percent increase in sales for its fiscal year 2025, which ends in January 2024, to between $1.08 billion and $1.085 billion. That was slightly below analysts’ estimate of $1.089 billion, according to FactSet.
In the stock market today, Box stock rose sharply in after-hours trading. Shares were last trading up 12 percent after the report before pulling back after gaining more than 4 percent at 28.39.
Box AI Push
Like most data-focused software companies, Box is working to offer corporate clients tools for creative artificial intelligence. Along with its earnings release, the company announced late Tuesday that it will integrate Microsoft Azure’s OpenAI service into its Box AI product.
Launched in beta mode in May 2023, Box AI allows corporations to integrate large language models with data stored on Box. This could allow Box users to create tools to analyze documents and answer questions, Box said in its announcement.
The collaboration with Microsoft “enables Box users to take advantage of the world’s most advanced AI models,” the company said.
Box also announced Tuesday that the Box AI product is now generally available to customers on the firm’s Enterprise Plus plans.
“With advances in AI, companies are accelerating their adoption of the cloud and changing the way they work with their content,” said Box CEO Aaron Levy. He made this comment in the company’s earnings release. “Box is at the center of some of the most important trends in technology history as companies look to digitize and automate their businesses, accelerate innovation with the power of AI, and protect their most important data.”
For its January quarter, Box said billings rose 6% year over year to $379.3 million. That was slightly better than the $373 million projected by analysts.
For the full fiscal year 2024, Box approved $1 billion in sales for the first time, Chief Financial Officer Dylan Smith noted in the news release. Overall sales were up 5 percent for the year.
Box Stock: Technical Classification
Founded in 2005, Box says its data-sharing tools are used by 68 percent of the Fortune 500.
Before earnings, Box stock fell 2.3% in Tuesday’s trading. Shares are up 6% this year but are down about 4% In the last 12 months. On Monday, Box shares rose 5 percent. The gain followed the announcement that the stock would be included in the S&P SmallCap 600.
Coming into the report, box stock had an IBD Composite Rating of 76 out of a possible 99, according to IBD Stock Checkup. The score combines five separate property ratings into one ranking. The best growth stocks have a composite rating of 90 or better.
Also, the box The stock had an accumulation/distribution rating of B+, indicating more institutional buying than selling of shares.
Box stock has traded within a long consolidation pattern for the past 57 weeks, showing a buy point at 34.98, according to IBD MarketSurge.
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