Zoom raises outlook and authorizes $1B in buybacks after first-quarter beat

Shares in Zoom Communications Inc. jumped more than 7% in late trading today after the video communications company comfortably beat first-quarter earnings and revenue expectations, lifted its full-year outlook and authorized $1 billion more in share buybacks.

For the quarter that ended on April 30, Zoom reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.55, up from $1.43 in the same quarter a year earlier, on revenue of $1.239 billion, up 5.5% year-over-year. Analysts were expecting $1.42 per share on revenue of $1.22 billion.

The result follows a weaker showing in February, when Zoom missed on fourth-quarter earnings and issued a fiscal 2027 outlook that fell short of analyst forecasts, sending shares down in late trading at the time. Today’s revenue figure topped the high end of the company’s own first-quarter guidance.

Zoom saw net income come in at $425.7 million in the quarter, up from $254.6 million in the same quarter of the previous year. Operating margin expanded to 25.1% from 20.6%, while adjusted operating margin rose to 41.1% from 39.8%.

Enterprise revenue, the metric investors watch as Zoom moves past its pandemic-era online business, came in at $755.7 million, up 7% year-over-year. The company ended the quarter with 4,534 customers contributing more than $100,000 in trailing 12-month revenue, up 8% from a year earlier. The trailing 12-month net dollar expansion rate for enterprise customers ticked up to 99% from 98%.

Online revenue, the smaller direct-to-consumer business, came in at $483.3 million, up 2.8% year-over-year. Online average monthly churn rose slightly to 3% from 2.8% in the year-ago quarter.

Founder and Chief Executive Eric S. Yuan tied the quarter’s performance to artificial intelligence adoption. Paid users of Zoom’s AI Companion assistant grew 184% year-over-year, while My Notes, an AI-generated note-taking feature that launched four months ago, has hit 1.5 million licensed users.

“Customers are increasingly adopting Zoom as an AI-first system of action for modern work,” Yuan said in the company’s earnings release. “With strong profitability, cash flow and an increased share repurchase authorization, we remain focused on turning AI innovation into durable growth, measurable customer value and long-term shareholder returns.”

Free cash flow was $500.5 million for the quarter, up from $463.4 million a year earlier. Zoom ended the quarter with $7.7 billion in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities on hand.

Zoom’s board authorized an additional $1 billion in Class A common stock repurchases on top of the $625 million remaining from the previous authorization as of April 30. The company repurchased $361.7 million of its shares in the quarter.

For its fiscal second quarter, Zoom expects adjusted earnings per share of $1.45 to $1.47 on revenue of $1.265 billion to $1.270 billion.

For its full fiscal year, the company raised its outlook to adjusted earnings of $5.96 to $6 per share, up from a prior range of $5.77 to $5.81, on revenue of $5.08 billion to $5.09 billion, up from $5.065 billion to $5.075 billion. Zoom also lifted full-year free cash flow guidance to a range of $1.7 billion to $1.74 billion.

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