‘Work is no longer a place’ Zoom says after posting 191% year-on-year growth

Video conferencing platform continues its pandemic-fuelled growth, but analysts predict a sharp fall is due

Trade

Image: Zoom

2 June 2021

Video conferencing platform Zoom beat analysts’ expectations with sales more than doubling by 191% in its first-quarter earnings.

Revenue for the quarter that ended 30 April jumped up to $956.2 million from $328.2 million in the same period of 2020.

The company’s massive success in 2020, where it became a household name during the pandemic, has bled into 2021. The firm recorded revenue rising 369% in the previous quarter, with many analysts predicting a larger fall as more businesses bring employees back into the office.

“Work is no longer a place,” said the company’s CEO, Eric S. Yuan. “It’s a space where Zoom serves to empower your teams to connect and bring their best ideas to life. We are energised to help lead the evolution to hybrid work that allows greater flexibility, productivity, and happiness to both in-person and virtual connections.”

The company’s profits also reached more than $227 million in the first quarter, roughly ten times more than the $27 million it brought in over the first quarter of 2020. Paid users also increased with businesses with more than 10 employees jumping up 87% to 497,000 in the first quarter.

Although it recorded enormous success in 2020, it wasn’t until the second quarter, which ended 31 July, that the firm really began to see huge usage spikes (355%). As the pandemic spread across Europe and the US, and lockdown restrictions started to be implemented, Zoom became bogged down by security issues. Users began reporting incidents of ‘Zoom bombing’ and businesses questioned its lack of end-to-end encryption.

As such, most analysts are estimating that Zoom’s growth will be lower in the second quarter compared to the year before. With the roll-out of the vaccine and more offices set to welcome workers back in again, there is a suggestion that Zoom will lose some relevance.

© Dennis Publishing

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