Cloud subscription management services company Zuora Inc.’s stock lost almost a fifth of its value in after-hours trading after a weak earnings forecast today despite posting fiscal second-quarter results that beat expectations.

The company, which sells a software-as-a-service offering that’s used to automate businesses’ subscription order-to-cash operations in real-time, reported it broke even on revenue of $75 million, up 15% from a year ago. Wall Street was expecting the company to post a loss before certain costs such as stock compensation of 7 cents per share on revenue of $73.5 million.

Zuora’s performance came in well ahead of its own expectations, as the company said three months ago it was forecasting a 10-cent-per-share loss for the quarter. However, it ended up surpassing analysts’ expectations for the fourth successive quarter.

“We reported solid results in the second quarter as we continue to help our customers thrive by providing them with the agility, insight and automation needed to navigate an uncertain economic environment,” Zuora Chief Executive Tien Tzuo (pictured) said in a statement. “The demand for subscription business models remains strong and we continue to build the foundation for Zuora to lead the market for years to come.”

Indeed, Zuora reported subscription revenue of $58.3 million in the quarter, up 15% from the same period a year ago.

Zuora also did well on the customer acquisition front. It said it now counts 645 customers with annual contract values of greater than $100,000, up 14% from a year prior. It also reported $12.7 billion in transaction volume through its billing platform in the quarter, up 26% from a year ago.

But Zuora’s good work was undone by its cautious guidance for the next three-month period. For the third quarter, it’s expecting sales of $73 million to $75 million. That was below Wall Street expectations of $75.5 million.

Investors recoiled, and Zuora’s stock fell more than 19% in after-hours trading.

That said, Zuora’s management may not be too concerned, since the company’s stock has been on a roller-coaster ride since the start of the year anyway. In the previous quarter, its stock rose more than 20% after topping expectations, and it remains up 9% this year overall.

On the product front, Zuora launched a new service in the quarter called Zuora Analytics that it said can help its customers to keep better track of their business performance.

Photo: Zuora