Shares of online advertising expert Taboola (NASDAQ: TBLA) surged higher on Wednesday, thanks to a stellar first-quarter earnings report. The stock rose as much as 38% in the early morning, settling down to a roughly 24% gain by the time markets closed.
Taboola's top-line sales fell 7.6% year over year in the quarter, landing at $330 million. On the bottom line, the company reported an adjusted net loss of $0.01 per diluted share. Analysts expected much steeper drops across the board, setting their consensus revenue estimate at $312 million while expecting a net loss of $0.06 per share.
Moreover, Taboola's first-quarter results exceeded the top end of management's guidance range thanks to a solid collection of big-ticket ad publishing deals. By the end of this reporting period, Taboola boasted more than 8,000 ad publishers and 18,000 active advertisers.
Source Fool.com