A Look Back at Data Analytics Stocks’ Q2 Earnings: Health Catalyst (NASDAQ:HCAT) Vs The Rest Of The Pack
The end of the earnings season is always a good time to take a step back and see who shined (and who not so much). Let’s take a look at how data analytics stocks fared in Q2, starting with Health Catalyst (NASDAQ:HCAT).
Organizations generate a lot of data that is stored in silos, often in incompatible formats, making it slow and costly to extract actionable insights, which in turn drives demand for modern cloud-based data analysis platforms that can efficiently analyze the siloed data.
The 6 data analytics stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q2. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 0.7% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.
Big picture, the Federal Reserve has a dual mandate of inflation and employment. The former had been running hot throughout 2021 and 2022 but cooled towards the central bank's 2% target as of late. This prompted the Fed to cut its policy rate by 50bps (half a percent) in September 2024. Given recent employment data that suggests the US economy could be wobbling, the markets will be assessing whether this rate and future cuts (the Fed signaled more to come in 2024 and 2025) are the right moves at the right time or whether they're too little, too late for a macro that has already cooled.
Luckily, data analytics stocks have performed well with share prices up 36.1% on average since the latest earnings results.
Health Catalyst (NASDAQ:HCAT)
Founded by healthcare professionals Tom Burton and Steve Barlow in 2008, Health Catalyst (NASDAQ:HCAT) provides data and analytics technology to healthcare organizations, enabling them to improve care and lower costs.
Health Catalyst reported revenues of $75.9 million, up 3.7% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 1.2%. Despite the top-line beat, it was still a mixed quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but a decline in its gross margin.
“For the second quarter of 2024, I am pleased by our strong financial results, including total revenue of $75.9 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $7.5 million, with these results exceeding the mid-point of our quarterly guidance on each metric. I am also pleased with our bookings performance through Q2 2024, especially as it relates to our net new Platform Subscription Clients. In the first half of 2024 we signed more net new Platform Subscription Clients than in all of 2023, and our updated expectations of low-20s net new Platform Subscription Clients would represent the strongest year in the company’s history for this metric.” said Dan Burton, CEO of Health Catalyst.
Health Catalyst Total Revenue
Health Catalyst delivered the weakest full-year guidance update of the whole group. Interestingly, the stock is up 43.6% since reporting and currently trades at $7.90.
Started by Peter Thiel after seeing US defence agencies struggle in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks, Palantir (NYSE:PLTR) offers software as a service platform that helps government agencies and large enterprises use data to make better decisions.
Palantir reported revenues of $678.1 million, up 27.2% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 3.9%. The business had a very strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ billings estimates. Palantir also raised its full-year revenue and adjusted operating income guidance, beating Wall Street's estimates.
Palantir Total Revenue
Palantir pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat and highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 81.7% since reporting. It currently trades at $43.78.
Founded in 1989 with an initial contract with DuPoint, MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) started as a data mining and business intelligence software platform, but in 2020, the company made waves by investing heavily in Bitcoin.
MicroStrategy reported revenues of $111.4 million, down 7.4% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 8.6%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted a miss of analysts’ EBITDA and billings estimates.
MicroStrategy delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth in the group. Interestingly, the stock is up 54.7% since the results and currently trades at $233.87.
One of the few public companies where Marc Andreessen is a Board member, Samsara (NYSE:IOT) provides software and hardware to track industrial equipment, assets, and fleets.
Samsara reported revenues of $300.2 million, up 36.9% year on year. This number topped analysts’ expectations by 3.7%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter as it also recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ billings estimates and optimistic earnings guidance for the next quarter.
Samsara delivered the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 24.7% since reporting and currently trades at $48.33.
Born out of a failed voice recognition startup by founder Spenser Skates, Amplitude (NASDAQ:AMPL) is data analytics software helping companies improve and optimize their digital products.
Amplitude reported revenues of $73.3 million, up 8.2% year on year. This number surpassed analysts’ expectations by 1.8%. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ billings estimates.
The company added 254 customers to reach a total of 3,224. The stock is up 14.7% since reporting and currently trades at $9.14.
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