Cloud storage company Box Inc. cheered investors today as it reported earnings that came in just above expectations.

The company still posted an overall loss but managed to whip up excitement by claiming it’s on the verge of reaching profitability for the first time.

Box reported a loss before certain costs such as stock compensation of 6 cents per share on revenue of $155.9 million, which was up 21 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company’s net loss was $39.5 million, or 28 cents per share.

That was slightly better than Wall Street analysts had forecast. Box was expected to deliver an adjusted loss of 7 cents per share on revenue of just $154.6 million.

Beating forecasts almost always helps to boost optimism, but the most important item in Box’s earnings call was its guidance for the next quarter. Company officials had good news, saying they expect to turn a profit of 2 to 3 cents per share on revenue of $163.5 million to $164.5 million in the fourth quarter. That compares with Wall Street’s projection of a loss of 2 cents on revenue of $164.25 million.

The news helped Box’s stock to climb by more than 7 percent in after-hours trading.

Analyst Alan Lepofsky of Constellation Research Inc. said Box’s growth was indicative of the important capabilities it provides for enterprises, since content is a critical component of almost every aspect of work.

“From doctors looking at patient information, to financial transactions to marketing campaigns, content is at the center of most business processes,” Lepofsky said. “Box has very successfully transformed from a cloud content storage provider to a content management system.

Lepofsky added that the company is improving integrations with systems of record, collaboration tools and workflows as well. “And its agnostic approach to providing developers access to artificial intelligence is resonating well with customers, as it provides choice of which platform to use,” he said.

Other highlights include the company’s third-quarter billings, which rose 10 percent year over year, to $155.6 million. Box also recorded more than 40 percent growth in deals worth more than $100,000 a year, and said it added about 3,000 new paying customers, bringing that total to more than 90,000.

“In the third quarter, we delivered solid revenue growth and continued to drive operational efficiencies, and we’re on track to deliver our first quarter of non-GAAP profitability in Q4,” said Dylan Smith, co-founder and chief financial officer of Box.

Box also updated its year-end guidance, saying it expects revenue to be in a narrow range between $608.2 million and $609.2 million, with a loss before certain costs such as stock compensation of 15 to 16 cents per share. Analysts had previously pegged Box’s full year revenue at $607.52 million, with a loss of 18 cents per share.

Image: Box