Yahoo Finance ServiceNow (NOW) Q1 Earnings Top Estimates, Revenues Rise Y/Y
ServiceNow NOW reported first-quarter 2023 adjusted earnings of $2.37 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 16.18% and jumped 37% year over year.
Revenues of $2.10 billion beat the consensus mark by 0.34% and increased 21.7% year over year. At constant currency (cc) revenues increased 24.5%.
Subscription revenues improved 24.1% year over year to $2.02 billion. Professional services and other revenues decreased 20.9% year over year to $72 million.
ServiceNow has been benefiting from the rising adoption of its workflows by enterprises undergoing digital transformation. The company had 1,682 total customers with more than $1 million in annual contract value at the end of the first quarter.
The renewal rate was 98% in the reported quarter, unchanged year over year.
ServiceNow, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
ServiceNow, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | ServiceNow, Inc. Quote
At the end of the first quarter, the current remaining performance obligations (cRPO) were $7.01 billion, up 23% year over year. On a constant currency basis, cRPO increased 25%.
Remaining performance obligations, on a constant currency basis, rose 24% year over year to $14 billion after adjusting for forex.
Operating Details
In the first quarter, the non-GAAP gross margin was 82.8%, which expanded 20 basis points (bps) on a year-over-year basis.
The subscription gross margin of 85.7% contracted 80 bps year over year. The professional services and other gross margins were 2.8% compared with the year-ago quarter’s figure of 14.3%.
Total operating expenses, on a non-GAAP basis, were $1.51 billion in the reported quarter, up 19.6% year over year. As a percentage of revenues, operating expenses decreased 130 bps on a year-over-year basis.
ServiceNow’s non-GAAP operating margin expanded 100 bps on a year-over-year basis to 26.3%.
Balance Sheet & Cash Flow
As of Mar 31, 2023, the company had cash and cash equivalents, and short-term investments of $4.91 billion compared with $4.28 billion as of Dec 31, 2022.
In the reported quarter, cash from operations was $902 million compared with $1.16 billion in the previous quarter.
ServiceNow generated a free cash flow of $737 million in the reported quarter, down from the $770 billion reported in the prior quarter.
Guidance
For second-quarter 2023, subscription revenues are projected between $2.040 billion and $2.045 billion, suggesting a year-over-year improvement of 23-23.5% on a GAAP basis. At constant currency, subscription revenues are expected to grow 23.5-24%.
cRPO is expected to grow 22.5% year over year on a non-GAAP basis and 23% on a GAAP basis.
ServiceNow expects the non-GAAP operating margin to be 23%.
For 2023, the company expects subscription revenues of $8.470-$8.520 billion, which suggests a rise of 23-23.5% over 2022 on a GAAP basis. At constant currency, subscription revenues are expected to grow between 23% and 23.5% over 2022.
ServiceNow expects the non-GAAP subscription gross margin to be 84% and the non-GAAP operating margin to be 26%. Moreover, the free cash flow margin is expected to be 30%.
Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
Currently, ServiceNow has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
The company’s shares have underperformed the Zacks Computer & Technology sector year to date. While NOW shares have gained 17%, the Computer & Technology sector has grown 16.4%.
Asure Software ASUR, Fortinet FTNT and Cambium Networks CMBM are some better-ranked stocks that investors can consider in the broader sector. All three sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Asure shares have gained 41.2% year to date. ASUR is set to report its first-quarter 2023 results on May 8.
Fortinet shares have gained 29% year to date. FTNT is set to report its first-quarter 2023 results on May 4.
Cambium shares have declined 33.3% year to date. CMBM is set to report its first-quarter 2023 results on May 8.
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