Why Twilio Shares Are Moving Higher After Hours

Twilio Inc TWLO, a business-to-business SaaS company, reported earnings after the close, missing on earnings estimates but slightly beating sales estimates. The company reported fourth-quarter earnings per share of $0.22, up from $0.20, as well as a slight sales beat of $1.02 billion compared to the $1 billion estimates. Twilio also announced a $1 billion buyback. 

Twilio expects first-quarter revenue of $995 million to $1.01 billion as against an estimate of $1.02 billion.

The stock traded higher by more than 6% in the regular session but skyrocketed another 7% after hours following the company’s report. Twilio was one of many high-growth tech names to trade higher during the regular session. In fact, Cathie Wood’s flagship Ark Investment Fund, the Ark Innovation ETF ARKK, closed up nearly 6% Wednesday. 

Twilio’s stock opened Wednesday’s session at around $62.52, according to Benzinga Pro, and closed at $66.09. But, in the after-hours session, Twilio’s stock made another move, reaching more than $73 a share.

Twilio is one of many high-growth SaaS (software-as-a-service) companies that got crushed throughout the past couple of years. In fact, two years ago in February, Twilio’s stock was trading at more than $430. 

Investors buying the stock here are likely hoping that Twilio will be able to increase sales and revenue if economic conditions improve, or that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates sooner than expected. Still, with interest rates higher than 4%, it’s not the friendliest environment for names like Twilio.