Market Insider

Tableau stock falls on sluggish growth

A woman takes pictures of the New York Stock Exchange, which has a Tableau Software banner, May 17, 2013.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters

Tableau Software posted better-than-expected quarterly results, but shares slumped more than 11 percent Friday as the company reported a growth slowdown.

The data visualization company reported a significant slowdown in license growth at 14 percent, compared with 31 percent in the previous quarter, and 57 percent the quarter before that. The number did beat consensus estimates.

Tableau posted a net operating loss of $45.6 million in the first quarter. Total revenue grew 32 percent year over year at $171.7 million, also beating analyst expectations. Earnings per share beat by 9 cents. The company's international revenue was up more than 50 percent for the quarter, while it saw the second-highest quarterly addition of new members since the company was founded in 2003. The company also raised top-line expectations outlook for the fiscal year.


"Customers are turning to Tableau for fast, agile, visual analytics that provide people with the ability to ask and answer their own questions," Christian Chabot, CEO of Tableau, said in a statement Thursday. "Tableau's ability to deliver great value to customers resulted in a really strong quarter for new customer growth."

Shares of Seattle-based company are down more than 53 percent this year, hovering around $45 a share Friday, down from the 52-week high of $131.34.

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The company announced a scale-back in hiring and capital expenditure for the upcoming year, and plans to hire 500 to 600 employees. The Seattle Times reported in January that the company originally planned on adding 1,000 employees in 2016.

When Tableau reported fourth quarter results on February 4, the stock plummeted nearly 50 percent, despite beating analyst expectations.