Twilio sees third-quarter sales above its forecast on remote-work boost

FILE PHOTO: A banner for communications software provider Twilio Inc., hangs on the facade of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to celebrate the company’s IPO in New York City, U.S., June 23, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

(Reuters) – Twilio Inc TWLO.N on Thursday estimated third-quarter sales above its previous forecast, as a switch to remote working and learning due to the coronavirus crisis boosted demand for cloud services.

Shares of the cloud communications platform provider climbed about 10% in extended trade, adding to their 161.5% gain this year.

Total revenue for the three months ended Sept. 30 is expected to be above an earlier forecast of $401 million to $406 million, the company said in a filing here.

Analysts expect Twilio to report revenue of $407.9 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Cloud companies have seen a surge in demand this year as more businesses use their services to meet the demands of the switch to work from home.

“Twilio is a beneficiary of pandemic-catalyzed digital transformation acceleration,” brokerage JP Morgan said in a note earlier on Thursday, raising its price target by $20 to $230.

The company’s shares closed at $256.96 in regular trading.

Reporting by Akanksha Rana in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel and Sriraj Kalluvila

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