Nutanix shares fall 11% on soft outlook; KeyBanc reiterates bullish views

Nutanix (NASDAQ:) reported third-quarter earnings that surpassed Wall Street expectations, but issued weaker-than-expected guidance for the fourth quarter, sending its shares tumbling more than 11% in premarket trading Thursday. 

The company’s earnings per share (EPS) for the third quarter came in at $0.28, $0.11 higher than the analyst estimate of $0.17. Revenue for the quarter was also strong at $524.6 million, exceeding the consensus estimate of $515.96 million.

Nutanix anticipates revenue to be between $530 million and $540 million, which falls short of the analyst consensus of $548.1 million. For the full fiscal year 2024, the company expects revenue to range from $2.13 billion to $2.14 billion, slightly below the consensus estimate of $2.141 billion.

President and CEO Rajiv Ramaswami attributed the solid third-quarter results to “disciplined execution and the strength of our business model.”

He highlighted recent initiatives in modern applications and generative AI, as well as expanded partnerships, as key drivers of the Nutanix Cloud Platform’s value proposition.

CFO Rukmini Sivaraman emphasized the company’s balance of top and bottom-line performance, pointing to a 24% increase in annual recurring revenue (ARR) YoY and robust free cash flow generation year-to-date.

“We remain focused on delivering sustainable, profitable growth,” Sivaraman added.

Despite soft guidance, analysts at KeyBanc Capital Markets reiterated their Overweight rating on NTNX. The firm noted Nutanix’s annual contract value (ACV) deals are growing in size and strategic significance, “with clients taking advantage of Nutanix’s positioning to benefit from hybrid cloud, disaster recovery, and AI trends with expanding catalysts.”