Laser Focus World is an industry bedrock—first published in 1965 and still going strong. We publish original articles about cutting-edge advances in lasers, optics, photonics, sensors, and quantum technologies, as well as test and measurement, and the shift currently underway to usher in the photonic integrated circuits, optical interconnects, and copackaged electronics and photonics to deliver the speed and efficiency essential for data centers of the future.

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Editorial Advisory Board

  • Professor Andrea M. Armani, University of Southern California
  • Ruti Ben-Shlomi, Ph.D., LightSolver
  • James Butler, Ph.D., Hamamatsu
  • Natalie Fardian-Melamed, Ph.D., Columbia University
  • Justin Sigley, Ph.D., AmeriCOM
  • Professor Birgit Stiller, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, and Leibniz University of Hannover
  • Professor Stephen Sweeney, University of Glasgow
  • Mohan Wang, Ph.D., University of Oxford
  • Professor Xuchen Wang, Harbin Engineering University
  • Professor Stefan Witte, Delft University of Technology

Q1 Earnings Review: Video Conferencing Stocks Led by Five9 (NASDAQ:FIVN)

FIVN Cover Image

Wrapping up Q1 earnings, we look at the numbers and key takeaways for the video conferencing stocks, including Five9 (NASDAQ: FIVN) and its peers.

Work is becoming more distributed, both across geographies and devices. In order for businesses to keep functioning efficiently, they need to be able to communicate as well as they did when the teams were co-located, which drives the demand for integrated communication platforms.

The 4 video conferencing stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q1. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 0.8% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 8.3% on average since the latest earnings results.

Best Q1: Five9 (NASDAQ: FIVN)

Started in 2001, Five9 (NASDAQ: FIVN) offers software-as-a-service that makes it easier for companies to set up and efficiently run call centers to offer more tailored customer support.

Five9 reported revenues of $279.7 million, up 13.2% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 2.6%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter for the company with EPS guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Five9 Total Revenue

Five9 pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat and fastest revenue growth of the whole group. Unsurprisingly, the stock is up 10.4% since reporting and currently trades at $27.71.

Is now the time to buy Five9? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Zoom (NASDAQ: ZM)

Started by Eric Yuan who once ran engineering for Cisco’s video conferencing business, Zoom (NASDAQ: ZM) offers an easy to use, cloud-based platform for video conferencing, audio conferencing and screen sharing.

Zoom reported revenues of $1.17 billion, up 2.9% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 0.8%. The business had a strong quarter with full-year EPS guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Zoom Total Revenue

Zoom scored the highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. The company added 104 enterprise customers paying more than $100,000 annually to reach a total of 4,192. Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 4.6% since reporting. It currently trades at $78.29.

Is now the time to buy Zoom? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q1: 8x8 (NASDAQ: EGHT)

Founded in 1987, 8x8 (NYSE: EGHT) provides software for organizations to efficiently communicate and collaborate with their customers, employees, and partners.

8x8 reported revenues of $177 million, down 1.3% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. It was a slower quarter as it posted a slight miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and billings in line with analysts’ estimates.

8x8 delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates, slowest revenue growth, and weakest full-year guidance update in the group. Interestingly, the stock is up 15.6% since the results and currently trades at $2.07.

Read our full analysis of 8x8’s results here.

RingCentral (NYSE: RNG)

Founded in 1999 during the dot-com era, RingCentral (NYSE: RNG) provides software as a service that unifies phone, text, fax, video calls and chat in one platform.

RingCentral reported revenues of $612.1 million, up 4.8% year on year. This print met analysts’ expectations. More broadly, it was a mixed quarter as it also produced a decent beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but a miss of analysts’ billings estimates.

The stock is up 11.9% since reporting and currently trades at $29.87.

Read our full, actionable report on RingCentral here, it’s free.

Market Update

Thanks to the Fed’s series of rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has cooled significantly from its post-pandemic highs, drawing closer to the 2% goal. This disinflation has occurred without severely impacting economic growth, suggesting the success of a soft landing. The stock market thrived in 2024, spurred by recent rate cuts (0.5% in September and 0.25% in November), and a notable surge followed Donald Trump’s presidential election win in November, propelling indices to historic highs. Nonetheless, the outlook for 2025 remains clouded by potential trade policy changes and corporate tax discussions, which could impact business confidence and growth. The path forward holds both optimism and caution as new policies take shape.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Strong Momentum Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.

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