Earnings results often indicate what direction a company will take in the months ahead. With Q3 behind us, let’s have a look at C3.ai (NYSE:AI) and its peers.
Generating insights from system level data is an increasing priority for most businesses, but to do so requires connecting and analyzing piles of data stored and siloed in separate databases. This is the demand driver for cloud based data infrastructure software providers, who can more readily integrate, distribute and process information vs. legacy on-premise software providers.
The 5 data infrastructure stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 1.2% below.
Luckily, data infrastructure stocks have performed well with share prices up 15.3% on average since the latest earnings results.
C3.ai (NYSE:AI)
Named after the three Cs of its original focus—carbon, cloud computing, and customer relationship management—C3.ai (NYSE:AI) provides enterprise AI software that helps organizations develop, deploy, and operate large-scale artificial intelligence applications across various industries.
C3.ai reported revenues of $75.15 million, down 20.3% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, and overall, it was a strong quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ billings estimates.
C3.ai pulled off the highest full-year guidance raise but had the slowest revenue growth of the whole group. Unsurprisingly, the stock is up 5% since reporting and currently trades at $15.94.
Is now the time to buy C3.ai? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.
Best Q3: Teradata (NYSE:TDC)
Pioneering data warehousing technology in the 1980s before "big data" was a common term, Teradata (NYSE:TDC) provides cloud-based data analytics and AI platforms that help large enterprises integrate, analyze, and leverage their data across multiple environments.
Teradata reported revenues of $416 million, down 5.5% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 2.4%. The business had a very strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ billings estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.
Teradata delivered the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 52% since reporting. It currently trades at $31.48.
Is now the time to buy Teradata? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.
Weakest Q3: Oracle (NYSE:ORCL)
Starting as a database company in 1977 and now powering mission-critical systems across the globe, Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) provides enterprise software and hardware products and services that help businesses manage their information technology needs.
Oracle reported revenues of $16.06 billion, up 14.2% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 0.8%. It was a softer quarter as it posted a slight miss of analysts’ revenue estimates and a miss of analysts’ billings estimates.
Oracle delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. As expected, the stock is down 12% since the results and currently trades at $197.06.
Read our full analysis of Oracle’s results here.
Elastic (NYSE:ESTC)
Built on the powerful open-source Elasticsearch technology that powers search functionality for thousands of websites worldwide, Elastic (NYSE:ESTC) provides a search and AI platform that helps organizations find insights from their data, monitor applications, and protect against security threats.
Elastic reported revenues of $423.5 million, up 15.9% year on year. This print topped analysts’ expectations by 1.3%. Zooming out, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also recorded EPS guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations but a significant miss of analysts’ billings estimates.
The company kept the number of enterprise customers paying more than $100,000 annually flat at a total of 1,550. The stock is down 3.4% since reporting and currently trades at $79.30.
Read our full, actionable report on Elastic here, it’s free for active Edge members.
Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT)
Built by the original creators of Apache Kafka, the popular open-source messaging system, Confluent (NASDAQ:CFLT) provides a data infrastructure platform that enables organizations to connect their applications, systems, and data layers around real-time data streams.
Confluent reported revenues of $298.5 million, up 19.3% year on year. This number surpassed analysts’ expectations by 2.1%. More broadly, it was a mixed quarter as it also produced an impressive beat of analysts’ billings estimates but full-year revenue guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly.
Confluent pulled off the fastest revenue growth but had the weakest full-year guidance update among its peers. The company added 48 enterprise customers paying more than $100,000 annually to reach a total of 1,487. The stock is up 35.1% since reporting and currently trades at $29.97.
Read our full, actionable report on Confluent here, it’s free for active Edge members.
Market Update
In response to the Fed’s rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has been gradually trending down from its post-pandemic peak, trending closer to the Fed’s 2% target. Despite higher borrowing costs, the economy has avoided flashing recessionary signals. This is the much-desired soft landing that many investors hoped for. The recent rate cuts (0.5% in September and 0.25% in November 2024) have bolstered the stock market, making 2024 a strong year for equities. Donald Trump’s presidential win in November sparked additional market gains, sending indices to record highs in the days following his victory. However, debates continue over possible tariffs and corporate tax adjustments, raising questions about economic stability in 2025.
Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Top 6 Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.
StockStory’s analyst team — all seasoned professional investors — uses quantitative analysis and automation to deliver market-beating insights faster and with higher quality.