Zscaler shares are trading higher after-hours: explore why

Shares of Zscaler Inc (NASDAQ: ZS) are up more than 5.0% in extended trading on strong results for the fiscal first quarter. The cloud-based information security company also raised its full-year guidance for revenue.

Q1 results

Zscaler reported $90.8 million in net loss versus the year-ago figure of a much lower $55 million. On an adjusted basis, however, it earned 14 cents a share in Q1.

The San Jose headquartered company generated $230.5 million in revenue that represents an annualised growth of about 62%, attributed to a rise in cyberattacks. According to FactSet, experts had forecast 12 cents of adjusted EPS on $212 million in revenue.

Other notable figures include a 71% year-over-year increase in calculated billings while total operating expenses were up 64.5% as the company spent more on R&D and marketing in the recent quarter.

The stock is up more than 80% this year.

Future outlook

For the full financial year, Zscaler now forecasts up to $1.01 billion in revenue on roughly $131 billion in calculated billings. Its previous guidance for revenue topped at $950 million.  

The story, however, is a bit different for adjusted profit. The Nasdaq-listed firm anticipated up to 56 cents of adjusted EPS this year but lowered his outlook on Tuesday to 50 cents to 52 cents a share.

In the earnings press release, CEO Jay Chaudhry revealed to have recently surpassed $1.0 billion in annual recurring revenue (ARR) and said: