Zoom’s latest quarterly release fell short of expectations, prompting BTIG to slash its rating on the stock. The firm on Tuesday downgraded shares of the video platform to neutral from buy and removed its $150 price target. Shares of the company slipped 11% in premarket trading following the report. Zoom reported earnings per share of $1.05, more than the 94 cents Wall Street analysts expected, according to Refinitiv. However, revenue came in at $1.10 billion, short of the $1.12 billion analysts were looking for, according to estimates from Refinitiv. The company also cut its fiscal 2023 outlook, calling for earnings per share to come in between $3.66 per share and $3.69 per share. That’s down from a previous guidance of $3.70 per share to $3.77 per share. The new forecast is also below a Refinitiv estimate of $3.76 per share. “Ongoing success in the Enterprise segment was evidenced by better-than-expected 200 net adds to the $100k customer count (+37% y/y) and 18% growth in total Enterprise customers to 204.1k, but overshadowed by the forward outlook for high-single-digit declines in the Online business and continued pressure in EMEA,” analyst Matt VanVliet wrote Tuesday. “Overall, the pullback in FY23 profitability and FCF is somewhat concerning as topline growth slows further, and thus we are downgrading shares of ZM to Neutral given significantly reduced near-term expectations,” he added. Going forward, expectations for Zoom’s enterprise growth remain above 20%, and there is encouraging early traction in some of its new products. Still, there’s cause for concern, according to VanVliet. “The [contact center as a service] market is crowded and technically complex, and we are not certain Zoom’s nascent platform will have the same broad level success that Zoom Phone has enjoyed of late,” said VanVliet. Zoom shares have struggled this year, dropping 47%. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
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