What to look for when Cloudera (CLDR) reports Q3 earnings on Thursday

After falling to a record low early this year, Cloudera’s (NASDAQ: CLDR) stock bounced back a few weeks ago when the enterprise data cloud company impressed the market with positive second-quarter results and strong guidance.

The company is expected to release its third-quarter earnings on Thursday at 4:10 pm ET.  Experts have forecast a loss of $0.06 per share, compared to a $0.03 per share loss last year. Revenues are expected to climb 66% annually to $189.5 million.  The management had predicted a slightly wider loss and lower revenue.

Improved Portfolio

The recent addition of business intelligence firm Arcadia Data to the Cloudera fold is estimated to have catalyzed top-line growth in the to-be-reported quarter. The company continues to expand its customer base, supported by aggressive promotional activities and innovations in the product portfolio, with the latest being the launch of Cloudera Data Platform (CDP) that allows data management from multiple locations.

Partnerships

Strategic partnerships with industry leaders, like the deal with IBM (IBM) and Microsoft (MSFT), should contribute to revenue growth this time. The recent intervention of Carl Icahn and an agreement between the activist investor and Cloudera’s management on the new business strategy have come as a morale booster for the shareholders.

Looking ahead, the growing demand for cloud-based data analytics and the rapid adoption of cloud technology among enterprises bode well for the company. Meanwhile, there is apprehension among investors as to which direction the business would turn after the retirement of CEO Tom Reilly early next year, following completion of the Hortonworks merger.

Looking Back

In the second quarter, the bottom-line beat the Street view, supported by strong revenue growth. When the report was published, the positive results and an upward revision of the full-year guidance triggered a stock rally.

Though the stock made a strong recovery after the last earnings report, it is still down 12% from the levels seen at the beginning of the year. The shares, which traded below $10 this week, lost about 20% in the past twelve months.

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