Author Archives: Scalper1

Salesforce Upside? Internet Of Things Might Boost Customer Service

The Internet of Things could put some oomph back into Salesforce.com ’s ( CRM ) revenue growth, though a Morgan Stanley report still sees a compound annual growth rate of 25% through fiscal 2019. Salesforce is the No. 1 maker of CRM, or customer relationship management software. It pioneered software-as-a-service, selling online subscriptions to its products that customers bought as needed. Saleforce’s revenue growth slowed to 24% in fiscal 2016 ended Jan. 31, after rising from 32% to 37% in fiscal 2012 through fiscal 2015. Keith Weiss, a Morgan Stanley analyst, forecasts 25% CAGR revenue growth for Salesforce.com over the next three years. “The rapid growth of the Internet of Things and connected devices has the potential to bring transformative change to the customer service industry,” said Weiss in a research report. “We see cloud-based customer service applications as one of the most likely (and first) areas to benefit from the IoT trend.” The Internet of Things refers to wireless technology that connects industrial, medical, automotive and consumer devices to the Internet. “Despite a leading market share in customer service solutions, we believe meaningful opportunities remain for Salesforce.com to expand its wallet share among existing customers and target adjacent opportunities …,” Weiss wrote. The San Francisco-based company has steadily expanded its focus from mostly small businesses to large enterprises. Salesforce.com stock is down nearly 6% in 2016 and was down 1%, near 74, in afternoon trading in the stock market today .  But Salesforce stock is up more than 40% since touching a 20-month low below 53 in early February. Salesforce.com has a high IBD Composite Rating of 92 out of a possible 99, though IBD’s Computer Software-Enterprise group ranks just No. 126 out of 197 groups.

Priceline Q2 View Yanks Partner TripAdvisor Ahead Of Q1 Earnings

Priceline ‘s ( PCLN ) Q2 guidance miss following its CEO’s unexpected resignation weighed on travel stocks Wednesday, tugging shares of partner TripAdvisor ( TRIP ) ahead of the smaller agency’s Q1 earnings report, slated for late Thursday. In afternoon trading on the stock market today , IBD’s 11-company Leisure-Travel Booking industry group was down 8.5% and hit a two-month low, led by a 9% dip in Priceline stock . Shares of TripAdvisor and Expedia ( EXPE ) were down nearly 4% and 2%, respectively. TripAdvisor is the third in the trio to report Q1 earnings. Expedia’s blow-out Q1 report drove the group up 1.6% last Friday. For Q1, the consensus of 26 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expects TripAdvisor to report $370.5 million in sales and 46 cents earnings per share minus items, up 2% and down 15%, respectively, vs. the year-earlier quarter. On a year-over-year basis, it would be the second time in four quarters Tripadvisor’s EPS has fallen and the biggest EPS decline since December 2013. Sales would decelerate for the sixth consecutive quarter. The consensus models $110.16 million earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), down 13% vs. $127 million in the year-earlier period. TripAdvisor didn’t provide guidance during its February Q4 earnings report, noting it would no longer offer an annual sales and EBITDA outlook. Though, CFO Ernst Teunissen cautioned that instant booking would likely continue to dilute near-term results. TripAdvisor and Priceline last year inked a partnership where some of Priceline’s online travel brands participate in TripAdvisor’s instant booking platform.

Shopify Falls As Losses To Widen Despite Soaring Revenue

Shopify ( SHOP ) shares fell Wednesday after the e-commerce software provider forecast bigger full-year losses and some investors sold after a recent jump in the stock. The full-year operating loss will be $41 million to $47 million, Shopify said, compared with a previous forecast of $36 million to $42 million. Last month, Shopify secured new office space in Toronto that can accommodate as many as 700 employees, signaling more spending by the company. The operating loss for the first quarter was $9.7 million, the company said, compared with $3.5 million a year earlier. The stock fell 4.4% to 29.39 in afternoon trading on the stock market today . Shopify’s first-quarter revenue and its sales forecast exceeded analysts’ estimates. However, that wasn’t enough after a 31% climb in the shares over the past three months had raised hope for even better performance. “Some investors are taking the profits — some of the very substantial profits they’ve made over the past three months,” said Gil Luria, an analyst at Wedbush Securities. “The stock implied a very good quarter.” Revenue in the three months ended March 31 surged 95% to $72.7 million, Ottawa-based Shopify said in a statement, beating the average analyst estimate of $66.9 million. In the second quarter, sales will range from $79 million to $81 million, above the $74.8 million average analyst estimate. The Canadian company also forecast full-year sales of $337 million to $347 million, compared with a previous forecast of $320 million to $330 million and analysts’ estimates of $327.9 million. Mobile orders surpassed those on desktop for the first time in the first quarter, Shopify said, as just over 51% of orders came from mobile devices. An integration with the Facebook ( FB ) Messenger app makes it easier for merchants to engage in “conversational commerce” with customers, Shopify said. “The era of mobile commerce has officially arrived,” founder and Chief Executive Officer Tobi Lutke said in the statement. “Mobile orders from Shopify merchants surpassed those of desktops in February, and have continued to climb since.”