At a time when markets are being tested by the global Coronavirus outbreak, there appear to be scant havens for investors - but Zoom Communications ($ZM) shares are soaring, on a combination of its proven viability with business customers, and the likelihood that more staff will be forced into videoconferencing sessions in the weeks and months ahead as businesses fight to protect their staffs and reduce their potential exposure by limiting travel and in-person meetings.
Zoom will announce earnings March 4, and analysts tracked by Zacks Investment Research are looking for EPS losses of -$0.01. Shares are up more than 80% since the first day of its IPO, which followed an 80% surge that day. Put another way, if analysts are right, it may still be the last time Zoom is unprofitable for a very, very long time.
Similar to its big price run-up, Zoom is hiring (and hiring, and hiring) as job postings soared nearly 87%, just since the beginning of 2020. That suggests growth plans in Zoom's near future. But, Zoom isn't the only big-name workforce collaboration and communications tool that's boosting job postings; more on that in a bit.
There was time - very recently - when Slack had more ratings in the Apple Store ($AAPL) than Zoom. That time is over, and it looks like it's never coming back. Zoom's Apple Store rating count rose more than 500% since May 2019 (around the IPO debut), to a meager 22% increase for Slack.
Zoom also holds (not shown) a tidy but growing lead on Slack in the Apple Store in terms of user satisfaction. Zoom's rating exceeds the 4.5-out-of-5 threshold.
But Zoom can't get too comfortable since (after a months-long period of reduced job postings that followed its underwhelming direct listing debut) Slack job postings bounced back lately, as it looked to bring on more engineering talent with a focus on product.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.
Further Reading:
- Dollar Tree takes a dive - but data suggests an upswing in the works
- Coronavirus fears send N95 face masks up Amazon's sales ranks
- Coronavirus fears haven’t slowed tech-giant hiring efforts in Asia
