Shares of Twilio Inc. (NYSE:TWLO), a marketing communications software builder, soared over 20% after projecting sales that topped estimates in the current period and reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue.

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Twilio's widespread presence in the business-to-consumer communications market can't be overstated, seeing that most large companies are likely to use Twilio in some capacity when sending text messages or emails to their customers.

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Revenues were up 54% from the same quarter last year to $842.7 million and topped the consensus estimate of $767.83 million. Organic revenue grew 34% year-over-year and was the primary contributing factor to the overall growth in revenues. Twilio reported a quarterly loss of $0.20 per share, slightly better than expectations of $0.21, compared to earnings of $0.04 per share a year ago.

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"Our fourth quarter capped off an amazing year of results as we delivered more than $2.8 billion in revenue for the year, growing 61% year-over-year," said Twilio's Co-Founder and CEO, Jeff Lawson.

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Active customer accounts for Twilio stood at 256,000 at the end of the quarter, up from 221,000 in the previous year. The company's Dollar-Based Net Expansion Rate at the end of the quarter was at 126% compared to 139% a year ago.

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Turning to guidance, Twilio expects a first-quarter adjusted net loss of 26 cents to 22 cents per share on $855 million to $865 in revenue, implying nearly 46% growth.

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STOCK RATING

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A slowdown affecting cloud-software stocks in recent months reduced the value of Twilio.  Although JPMorgan analyst Mark Murphy reiterated a Buy rating on the stock before earnings, the analyst lowered the price target from $420 to $270.

Given current market conditions, “there may be some attractive opportunities, and we’ll be on the lookout,” said Twilio's finance chief, Khozema Shipchadler.

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On Wednesday, the stock was down 23%, declining 53.4% over the past year, while the S&P 500 Index was down about 4%.

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To invest in Twilio's stock visit MEXEM.

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