An ASX-listed tech company that lets families share their locations has become the latest victim of profit season volatility, with its share price falling by double digits despite beating earnings expectations.
Life360 shares were down 13.6 per cent to a two-and-a-half-week low of $25.47 in early trading on Tuesday, leaving them down 22 per cent since the start of the year.
The California-based company reported record quarterly revenue of $US159 million ($AUS225 million), up 38 per cent from a year ago, with its revenue from advertising at a record $US22 million ($AUS31 million).
It added 4.6 million net new monthly users to top 100 million for the first time, with 102.4 million.
The platform’s paid subscribers grew by 27 per cent to reach 3.2 million.
Chief executive Lauren Antonoff told AAP the company felt good about its results and she wasn’t sure why the market had taken a different view.
“We’re really focused on execution and making sure that we are continuing to deliver sustained results,” she said.
“Who knows why the market does what it does.”
Investors might have been disappointed that Life360 hadn’t raised its guidance after the strong set of numbers, forgetting that it had done so in the first quarter, Ms Antonoff speculated.
Popular with parents of teenagers, Life360’s technology provides a platform to track family members, pets and valuables.
During the quarter Life360 launched a beta version of an app for cellular-enabled Apple watches, for keeping tabs on children too young to have their own smartphones or who are navigating phone campus bans.
It also recently launched a morning check-in feature aimed at families with ageing parents, and a “live progress” location tracking feature after hearing about safety concerns from its Latin American users.
“Both of them could benefit a much wider audience, but it just shows the way that we’re understanding the different and distinct needs of people in different life stages or different geographies,” Ms Antonoff said.
Australia continues to be a “standout country” for Life360, with its strongest penetration anywhere outside of the United States, she said.
“We really see Australia as a leader amongst international regions with outstanding results,” she said.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Julian Mulcahy also saw the results as a positive for Life360.
Its revenue was a “small beat” relative to consensus expectations, while its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation came in well ahead.
The ASX’s recent earning seasons have been marked by wild volatility in companies’ share prices, a phenomenon that analysts have attributed to the rise of systematic and algorithmic-based trading patterns.
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