Stocks drifted sideways for most of the session Tuesday as investors pondered political and trade news out of Washington. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES:^DJI) and the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX:^GSPC) both turned lower in the last hour of trading. Biotech stocks had a strong day, but most market sectors fell.
Today’s stock market
| Index | Percentage Change | Point Change |
|---|---|---|
| Dow | (0.10%) | (27.88) |
| S&P 500 | (0.11%) | (3.44) |
As for individual stocks, two fast-growing but unprofitable companies reported quarterly results that beat expectations. Shares of Stitch Fix (NASDAQ:SFIX) rose on the news but those of MongoDB (NASDAQ:MDB) lost ground.
Stitch Fix sews up an impressive quarter
Shares of Stitch Fix rose 4.8% after the company reported strong revenue and client growth with improving profitability in its fiscal first quarter. Revenue increased 21.5% to $444.8 million, above the high end of disappointing guidance the company had provided three months ago. Stitch Fix posted a net loss of $0.2 million, or less than $0.01 per share, which was better than the $0.06-per-share loss analysts were expecting.
The online personalized styling service added 180,000 new active clients in Q1 for a total of 3.42 million, an increase of 16.6% over the total in the period a year ago and an improvement on the 103,000 clients it gained last quarter. Gross margin expanded to 45.3% compared with 45.1% last year and 44.1% last quarter. Net revenue per client grew 9.5% to $485.
Stitch Fix is rolling out a direct-buy program, which allows customers to buy outside their “fix,” selecting from a list of products curated to match their tastes. The company said the program has been well received by clients and cited that success as a reason for increasing full-year profit guidance.
MongoDB grows revenue and losses at a rapid pace
Database software provider MongoDB grew revenue faster than expected in the third quarter and issued strong guidance. Shares of the technology company opened 10.5% higher on the news, but then drifted down during the day to close 1.4% lower.
Revenue increased 52% to $109.4 million, well above the range of $98 million to $100 million the company had forecast last quarter. MongoDB lost a hefty $42.4 million in Q3, but the non-GAAP loss per share of $0.26 was $0.02 less than analysts were expecting. The company expects revenue between $109 million and $111 million in Q4, while the analyst consensus opinion has been for only $100 million.
MongoDB’s explosive top-line growth is coming from Atlas, its cloud-based software-as-a-service offering. Atlas revenue grew 185% in the quarter and now accounts for 40% of the company total. MongoDB made clear that profitability is nowhere in sight — non-GAAP losses are expected to grow sequentially next quarter — but investors seem to accept that fact in light of the disruptive company’s rapidly growing scale.