Pure Storage Stock Rallies as Results Top Estimates and Guidance Returns

For its fiscal fourth quarter ended Feb. 2, Pure (ticker: PSTG) posted revenue of $492 million, up 17% from a year earlier, and ahead of the Wall Street analyst consensus forecast of $480 million. Non-GAAP earnings were 23 cents a share, well above the Street consensus at 9 cents. The company had a GAAP operating loss in the quarter of about $700,000.

In an interview with Barron’s, Pure Storage CEO Charlie Giancarlo said the company had a “very good quarter and year” despite the effects of Covid-19, with the company hitting non-GAAP profitability for both the quarter and the full fiscal year. Giancarlo said Pure saw strength in particular across new product lines, with strong enterprise demand.

As for the decision to provide guidance, Giancarlo says that “uncertainty is lower,” adding that Pure has a better understanding of how customers are handling the pandemic. But he also thinks business is likely to get better in the July quarter, as the summer arrives and more people get vaccines.

For the first quarter, Pure sees revenue of $365 million, below the Street forecast for $390.1 million, with a non-GAAP operating loss of about $40 million. For all of fiscal 2021, the company sees revenue of $1.9 billion, in line with the Street consensus, with a non-GAAP operating profit of about $60 million.

While the company benefits from the adoption of cloud computing, Giancarlo expects demand will pick up in particular for on-premise applications. “We depend a lot on new customers and also new use cases,” he says. “And under Covid, customers have been more reluctant to try new things, to test things out. We expect them to become more forward leaning.”

Write to Eric J. Savitz at [email protected]