Zoom Communications Third-Quarter Earnings Outlook Misses Street Views; Shares Down Pre-Bell

07:13 AM EDT, 08/26/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Zoom Communications (ZM) shares fell early Wednesday as the video communication platform provided a downbeat earnings outlook for its fiscal third quarter following a second-quarter beat. The company expects adjusted earnings between $1.46 and $1.48 a share for the ongoing quarter, it said late Tuesday. Analysts polled by FactSet are looking for $1.49. Zoom pegs third-quarter revenue at $1.275 billion to $1.280 billion, compared with Wall Street's $1.28 billion views. The company's shares were down 6.5% in premarket activity Wednesday. The stock has jumped nearly 17% so far this year. For the quarter ended July, adjusted EPS increased to $1.55 from $1.53 a year earlier, defying Wall Street's views for a decline to $1.48. "The EPS growth reflects strong top-line performance, as well as anti-dilution driven by our buyback program and disciplined stock compensation management," Zoom Chief Financial Officer Michelle Chang said on an earnings conference call late Tuesday, according to a FactSet transcript. Second-quarter revenue advanced 4.9% year over year to $1.28 billion, just ahead of the market's forecast for $1.27 billion. Enterprise revenue increased 7.8% to $787.5 million, representing its strongest growth rate in three years, Zoom Chief Executive Eric Yuan said in an earnings release. The number of customers contributing more than $100,000 in trailing 12 months revenue rose 8.2% annually in the quarter. Online revenue nudged 0.6% higher to $489.7 million. "We are pleased with our progress in (artificial intelligence) monetization led by customer experience and early momentum across new AI revenue streams," Chang said on the call. "We remain on track to surpass $5 billion in revenue this year, while maintaining our focus on profitability." For fiscal 2027, Zoom now expects adjusted EPS of $6.08 to $6.12 on revenue of $5.085 billion to $5.095 billion. The company previously projected adjusted EPS of $5.96 to $6 on sales of $5.08 billion to $5.09 billion. The Street is looking for non-GAAP EPS of $6.08 and sales of $5.09 billion. The upgraded revenue outlook assumes enterprise sales growing faster than anticipated, partially offset by "flat" online growth, Chang told analysts. "We believe the quarter was decent, but would note the online headwind from AI-driven discovery shifts is worth monitoring," RBC Capital Markets said in note to clients Wednesday. Last month, technology giant Microsoft (MSFT) reported fiscal fourth-quarter results above the Street's expectations, with sales in the productivity and business processes segment -- which includes Microsoft Teams -- up 14% year over year.