By Sam Boughedda
Taser-maker Axon's (NASDAQ:AXON) share price is up more than 4% in early Wednesday trading on the back of its earnings and revenue beat.
The company posted fourth quarter earnings of $0.70 per share, $0.19 better than the analyst estimate of $0.51, while revenue for the quarter came in at $336.1 million versus the consensus estimate of $305.86M.
Axon's full-year 2022 revenue grew 38% year-over-year, with its cloud software suite continuing to be its top growth driver, with revenue up approximately 50% in 2022, making up an increasing share of its business. Cloud revenue represented 31% of the company's 2022 total revenue and drove 45% annual recurring revenue growth to $473M.
Looking ahead, the company expects growth of approximately 20% in 2023, or revenue of at least $1.43 billion, while it is targeting an adjusted EBITDA margin of 20%, which implies $286M in adjusted EBITDA in 2023. 2023 CapEx is seen between $50M and $65M.
Following the report, analysts at Credit Suisse, Baird, and Craig-Hallum swiftly raised their price targets on Axon shares.
Credit Suisse analysts raised the firm's price target on Axon shares to $237 from $200, telling investors in a research note that Axon "ended FY22 on a high note."
"Axon cloud grew 62% y/y in 4Q22 (vs. 39% same time last year, signaling robust software adoption in the public safety space," wrote the analysts, who maintained an Outperform rating on the stock. "Mgmnt. introduced better-than-expected FY23 guidance, projecting rev. to be at least $1.43B, ahead of CS est./Street Cons of $1.399/$1.380B, respectively."