Cloud automation platform vendor ServiceNow Inc. posted better-than-expected results in its third quarter, prompting its shares to jump by almost 5 percent in after-hours trading, to $78.90.

The company registered a net loss of $36.3 million, or 22 cents a share, on revenues of $357.7 million, up 37 percent year-over-year. However, non-GAAP earnings, before certain costs such as stock compensation, for the quarter hit 24 cents a share, beating out Wall Street’s forecasts of non-GAAP earnings of 21 cents a share on revenues of $352.2 million.

The most encouraging numbers came from the company’s subscription billings, which hit $363 million, a 47 percent year-over-year increase. “Subscription billings were $363 million and grew 47 percent year-over-year, re-accelerating from 38 percent last quarter and 39 percent last year,” said Michael Scarpelli, chief financial officer of ServiceNow. “We now have 705 Global 2000 customers, an increase of 23 in the quarter, that pay us an average of $1 million per year.”

In its fourth-quarter guidance, ServiceNow said it expects to see total revenues of between $376 million and $381 million, which is more or less in line with Wall Street’s estimates. For the full year, ServiceNow reckons it will achieve total revenues of around $1.38 billion.

Analysts liked the results too. “ServiceNow reported better-than-expected Q3 results, the main highlight being strong billings growth of 41 percent,” said Barclays analyst Raimo Lenschow. “Given the magnitude of the billings beat, we think that investors will have a positive reaction.”

How much those investors will pay up remains uncertain because now the shares are not cheap, Deutsche Bank analyst Karl Keirstead wrote in a note to clients. But he added, “There are very few software names growing at 40%+ at NOW’s scale ($1.4b revs) and the company seems to be executing well on its product diversification plan while also growing margins.”

Image credit: ServiceNow via Facebook