Cloud content management provider Box Inc. beat expectations today as it reported its fiscal first-quarter results, sending its stock higher in after-hours trading, despite lowering its full-year guidance slightly.

The company reported earnings before certain costs such as stock compensation of 32 cents per share, resulting in a net profit of $3.7 million. Revenue rose 6% from a year earlier, to $251.9 million, while billings, which reflects business under contract but not yet realized, rose 11%, to $191.9 million.

The results topped Wall Street’s expectations, with analysts looking for earnings of 27 cents per share on sales of $250 million.

For its second quarter, Box guided for earnings of 34 to 35 cents per share, with a revenue target of $260 million to $262 million. Wall Street’s consensus estimate calls for earnings of 32 cents per share on revenue of $260 million.

However, Box’s long-term forecast was somewhat iffy. Executives said they’re now looking for full-year earnings of $1.44 to $1.50 per share, up from a previous range of $1.42 to $1.48 per share. In terms of revenue, Box said it’s looking at a range of $1.045 billion to $1.055 billion, down from its previous range of $1.05 billion to $1.06 billion. According to Box, the lower revenue forecast reflects higher-than-expected headwinds from foreign currency shifts.

Investors seemed uncertain about what to make of Box’s revised forecast. Box’s shares initially rose more than 8% in the after-hours trading session, but most of those gains quickly evaporated and it settled up just 2%.

Box co-founder and Chief Executive Aaron Levie (pictured) highlighted a number of achievements made by the company during the quarter, with revenue, operating margin and earnings per share all coming in ahead of its own guidance range. “[It is] a testament to the value of the Box Content Cloud platform and the execution we have been driving as a company,” he said.

Levie also pointed out the huge number of innovations the company announced during the quarter. The highlight was the launch of Box AI, which is a new set of features that will integrate generative artificial intelligence capabilities into Box Content Cloud. They include an integration with OpenAI LP’s most advanced large language model, GPT-4, and will help users to not only ask questions about their documents, but also generate new content, Box said.

Box also revealed it’s working with Google Cloud on generative AI, focused on helping their joint customers work smarter and become more productive. In addition, it rolled out a new virtual whiteboard and visual collaboration tool called Box Canvas and revamped its Box Shuttle content migration service.

Holger Mueller of Constellation Research Inc. told SiliconANGLE Levie is showing good management, with revenue growing faster than its cost base, resulting in the company swinging from a loss one year earlier to a small profit. “It’s growing, albeit slowly, and investors will be keen to see how Box can take advantage of AI to increase the document productivity of its customers and shape the future of work,” he said. “More important, they’ll want to see signs it will grow Box too.”

Photo: The Demo Conference/Flickr