Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Web Hosting Company Rackspace Forecasts Revenue Below Street

Growth hurt by strong dollar.

Rackspace

Rackspace Hosting, a web hosting company, forecast revenue for the current quarter below market estimates and said a strong dollar hurt its revenue growth in the first quarter.

Shares of the company, which faces tough competition from Amazon, Google and Microsoft, were down 13 percent in extended trading on Monday.

Revenue from a contract with a “large” financial services company will be realized only in the third quarter, hurting revenue growth in the second quarter, Rackspace Chief Executive Taylor Rhodes said in a post-earnings call.

Rackspace Hosting will also take a one-time charge in the quarter as a customer moved some of its “production elements” away from a Rackspace data center in the United Kingdom.

The company said it expects revenue to grow between 1.5 percent and 2.5 percent in the current quarter on a constant currency basis from first quarter. That would translate to revenue of $487.4 million-$492.2 million.

Analysts on average were expecting revenue of $502.1 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Rackspace leases online storage space to companies and provides its clients management and support services for their cloud-based operations. It gets about a third of its revenue from outside the United States.

The company said foreign currency exchange rates hurt its revenue growth. Revenue increased 14.1 percent to $480.2 million in the first quarter ended March 31. On a constant currency basis, revenue grew 16.6 percent.

Analysts had expected revenue of $481.6 million.

The dollar has risen about 23 percent against a basket of major currencies in the past year.

Net income rose to $28.4 million, or 20 cents per share, from $25.4 million, or 18 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts expected a profit of 20 cents per share.

Rackspace shares closed at $53.13 on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. They have risen 89 percent in the past 12 months.

(Reporting by Anya George Tharakan and Subrat Patnaik; Editing by Joyjeet Das)

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

See More:

More in Technology

Politics
The Supreme Court will decide when the police can use your phone to track youThe Supreme Court will decide when the police can use your phone to track you
Politics

Chatrie v. United States asks what limits the Constitution places on the surveillance state in an age of cellphones.

By Ian Millhiser
Future Perfect
The simple question that could change your careerThe simple question that could change your career
Future Perfect

Making a difference in the world doesn’t require changing your job.

By Bryan Walsh
Technology
The case for AI realismThe case for AI realism
Technology

AI isn’t going to be the end of the world — no matter what this documentary sometimes argues.

By Shayna Korol
Politics
OpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agendaOpenAI’s oddly socialist, wildly hypocritical new economic agenda
Politics

The AI company released a set of highly progressive policy ideas. There’s just one small problem.

By Eric Levitz
Future Perfect
Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.Human bodies aren’t ready to travel to Mars. Space medicine can help.
Future Perfect

Protecting astronauts in space — and maybe even Mars — will help transform health on Earth.

By Shayna Korol
Podcasts
The importance of space toilets, explainedThe importance of space toilets, explained
Podcast
Podcasts

Houston, we have a plumbing problem.

By Peter Balonon-Rosen and Sean Rameswaram