Box (BOX) Preview of the first quarter earnings report: what to look for

Cloud storage and content management platform Box (NYSE:BOX) will report earnings tomorrow after the bell. Here’s what you need to know.

Box met analysts’ revenue expectations last quarter, reporting revenue of $262.9 million, up 2.5% year-over-year. It was a decent quarter for the company, with modest revenue growth and more compelling EPS growth. The guidelines were relatively in line with expectations, showing that the company is sticking to its chosen path and does not present any major surprises to the market.

Does the purchase or sale of Box affect earnings? Read our full analysis here, it’s free.

Analysts expect Box’s revenue to grow 4% year-over-year to $262 million this quarter, a slowdown from the 5.6% growth reported in the same quarter last year. Adjusted earnings per share are expected to be $0.36.

Most analysts covering the company have reaffirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they expect the company to remain on track towards earnings. Box has missed Wall Street revenue estimates three times over the past two years.

Looking at Box’s competitors in the productivity software segment, some have already reported first-quarter results, which gives us a hint of what to expect. Dropbox delivered 3.3% year-over-year revenue growth, meeting analyst expectations, and Atlassian reported revenue growth of 29.9%, beating estimates by 8.1%. Following the results, Dropbox’s share price was unchanged, while Atlassian fell 9.5%.

Read our full analysis of Dropbox’s performance here and Atlassian’s performance here.

Investors in the productivity software space saw steady gains, with share prices flat over the past month. Meanwhile, Box is down 5.1% and heading toward earnings, with an average analyst price target of $30.4 (versus the current share price of $25.34).

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