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Will New Cloud Products Help Box (BOX) Beat on Q4 Earnings?

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Box, Inc. (BOX - Free Report) is set to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2018 results on Feb 28. Last quarter, the company delivered in-line results.

The surprise history has been impressive in Box’s case. The company surpassed estimates in three of the trailing four quarters, with an average positive earnings surprise of 11.4%.

The company's shares have increased 32.8% in the past 12 months, outperforming the industry’s gain of 28.7%.

 



Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.

Factors at Play

Box’s fiscal third-quarter loss of 13 cents was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Revenues of $129.3 million were above the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

For the quarter to be reported, Box expects revenues in the range of $136-$137 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $136.7 million. We expect the company to continue delivering robust top-line growth in the fiscal fourth quarter driven by strength across international markets, including EMEA and Japan, and growing add-on products.

Also, the company has been continuously investing in security, compliance and administrative technology, and has plans of hiring more sales personnel. These investments and partnerships with leading enterprises, namely Cognizant, Google and Adobe among others, will help the company capitalize on increasing adoption of cloud computing technologies and the need for secure collaboration.

However, continuous investments in research and development could dent margins as well as profits.

On a non-GAAP basis, the company projects loss per share in the range of 7-8 cents for the to-be-reported quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at loss of 8 cents.

What Our Model Suggests

According to the Zacks model, a company with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) has a good chance of beating estimates if it also has a positive Earnings ESP. Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell) stocks are best avoided, especially if these have a negative Earnings ESP. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Box has a Zacks Rank #4 but an Earnings ESP of +3.57%, a combination that does not suggest that the company is likely to beat estimates.

 

Box, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

 

Box, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise | Box, Inc. Quote

 

Stocks to Consider

You may consider the following stocks with a positive Earnings ESP and a favorable Zacks Rank.

Square, Inc. (SQ - Free Report) , with an Earnings ESP of +3.96% and a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Newfield Exploration Company , with an Earnings ESP of +5.4% and a Zacks Rank #3.

Etsy, Inc. (ETSY - Free Report) , with an Earnings ESP of +31.34% and a Zacks Rank #3.

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