By Tae Kim

C3.ai reported financial results that were ahead of expectations late Monday, driving the stock higher in after-hours trading.

For its quarter ending in October, the company reported a loss of 6 cents a share, compared with the consensus forecast for a 16-cent loss among Wall Street analysts tracked by FactSet. Revenue came in at $94.3 million, which was above analysts' expectations of $91 million.

C3.ai's outlook was roughly in line with forecasts. The company said that in the current quarter, revenue is likely to be between $95.5 million and $100.5 million, compared with the $97.6 million analysts' consensus.

"We had an outstanding quarter with strong top- and bottom-line performance to mark our seventh consecutive quarter of accelerating revenue growth," CEO Thomas Siebel said in the news release.

C3.ai also announced a new global alliance with Microsoft. Under the agreement, C3.ai solutions will be available for sale by the entire Microsoft Azure salesforce, who will receive commissions on any sales.

Microsoft will also subsidize C3 AI pilot projects over the term of the agreement. It ends in March 2030.

"By establishing C3 AI as a preferred AI application provider on Azure and creating a Microsoft-scale go-to-market engine, we're making it easy for businesses to adopt and deploy C3 AI applications. This is an inflection point for Enterprise AI, driving growth," Siebel said in the release.

C3.ai shares were initially up as much as 16% in after-hours trading following the release.

C3.ai stock is up about 45% so far this year, compared with the 32% year to date gain for the Nasdaq Composite. The company has benefited from improving investor sentiment regarding the AI software sector, which is led by Palantir. It reported better-than-expected earnings last month.

C3.ai offers more than 40 enterprise AI applications, serving customers in manufacturing, financial services, government, utilities, oil and gas, chemicals, and defense, among others, according to its website.

Write to Tae Kim at tae.kim@barrons.com

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December 09, 2024 16:50 ET (21:50 GMT)

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