Splunk's Q4 Looks 'Healthy' In William Blair's View

Splunk Inc SPLK reported healthy fourth-quarter results, significantly beating expectations on all metrics, William Blair's Bhavan Suri said in a report, while maintaining an Outperform rating on the company.

Results

Splunk reported total revenue of $306.5 million, representing 34.7 percent year-over-year growth. The revenue figure was ahead of the consensus estimate by $18.4 million. Operating margin came in at 11.7 percent, beating the consensus estimate by 270 basis points, Suri mentioned.

EPS was recorded at $0.25, with 126.2 percent year-over-year growth and higher than the consensus by $0.08. Splunk reported billings growth of 35 percent, versus Street expectation of 28.8 percent.

Related Link: If Splunk's Revenue Accelerates, Shares Could Quickly Command A Higher Premium

Guidance

Splunk announced its first-quarter total revenue guidance at percent $231-$233 million, short of the consensus expectation of $241.6 million. The company revised its full-year outlook, with revenue guidance slightly below expectations, but margin outlook 80 basis points higher than Street expectations, the analyst noted.

“On balance, while we view the overall performance as solid, we believe shares could be pressured by the conservative full-year sales outlook,” Suri commented.

At last check, shares of Splunk were down 6.01 percent at $61 in Friday's pre-market session.