Seattle-based Tableau Software beat Wall Street expectations for revenue in the second quarter, but missed on earnings per share, leading its stock to drop 5 percent in after-hours trading.
Analysts surveyed in advance by Thomson Reuters projected earnings per share of $0.05 on approximately $194 million in revenue. Tableau reported non-GAAP earnings of $0.00 per share on $198.5 million in revenue. Non-GAAP excludes stock-based compensation expenses and expense related to amortization of acquired assets.
Tableau reported a non-GAAP net loss of $300,000 this quarter, compared to non-GAAP net income of $5.6 million this time last year. Tableau also posted a GAAP net loss of $47.5 million, compared to a GAAP net loss of $19 million one year ago.
Tableau said it added 3,900 new customers this quarter, its most ever for a single quarter, bringing its customer base to more than 46,000 across the globe.
“Overall, we are pleased with our second quarter results as they demonstrate that the move to visual analytics continues to thrive,” Tableau CEO Christian Chabot said in a statement. “Our results demonstrate that analytics is as important as ever to companies of all sizes, and we are extending our leadership position in the market at scale.”
On the second quarter earnings call, Chabot and CFO Tom Walker took several questions about the company’s next big release, Tableau 10. Neither would give a specific release date for the new platform, other than to say its release is “imminent.”
Tableau’s revenue increased 32 percent over this time last year, when the company reported $149.9 million in revenue. License revenue jumped 20 percent to $116.3 million, up from $96.7 million in the second quarter of 2015. International revenue grew to $57.1 million, up 55 percent from last year’s figure of $36.7 million.
Walker said on the earnings call the company underestimated costs this quarter, which included an annual meeting in Seattle and extra investments in staff and training related to large deals and the release of Tableau 10.
“These expenses will not recur in the second half of the year,” Walker said. “Looking ahead, we are confident our revised operating plan for the year has taken into account all the adjustments and we have factored expenses appropriately,” Walker said.
Walker and Chabot said competition didn’t specifically factor into Tableau’s earnings this quarter, but acknowledged its influence on the business in general.
“We remain in a fiercely competitive environment, there’s no real big update to that in Q2. Competition will remain an important factor in our business,” Chabot said.
It has been rough sailing for Tableau through most of the past year. In the fourth quarter of 2015, the company posted a record $203 million in revenue but took a $41 million loss. As a result, its stock lost about half its value and has yet to fully recover. The company’s stock fell again the following quarter, even though Tableau beat earnings estimates.
Chabot told GeekWire this past December that Tableau planned to bring on another 1,000 employees this year — 600 in Seattle — which represented a 33 percent increase from headcount of the time of 3,000. Following first quarter results, Chabot said that Tableau had scaled back those plans by about 50 percent. Tableau added a net of 80 new employees in the second quarter bringing its headcount to 3,240. Walker said Tableau expects to hire 100 to 200 more people this year.
