SAN JOSE, California, April 30, 2026, 06:03 PDT
- Zoom is set to release its first-quarter fiscal 2027 results after the bell on May 21.
- Shares finished Wednesday at $95.76, just shy of their 52-week high from January.
- Vanguard’s unit has taken a passive stake slightly above 5%, handing investors yet another factor to consider.
Zoom Communications Inc. has lined up its fiscal 2027 first-quarter earnings for May 21, once again putting its AI ambitions, large-customer appetite, and profitability forecasts under the microscope following a notable rally in the shares. Zoom will report results after the U.S. market closes, with a webinar set for 2 p.m. Pacific Time.
Zoom shares have started to show some action. The stock jumped 5.07% Wednesday, ending the session at $95.76—its second daily climb in a row and now sitting less than 2% shy of the 52-week high of $97.58, MarketWatch data show.
Investors want to see whether Zoom can show real growth outside its bread-and-butter video meetings. Back in February, Zoom projected first-quarter revenue between $1.220 billion and $1.225 billion, with adjusted earnings pegged at $1.40 to $1.42 a share. That non-GAAP figure leaves out items like stock-based comp, aiming to give a management-aligned profit snapshot.
Zoom’s most recent quarterly numbers handed bulls a little ammunition. Revenue for the fourth quarter climbed 5.3% year-on-year to $1.247 billion. Enterprise sales did a bit better, up 7.1% at $757.3 million. Founder and CEO Eric Yuan told investors he expects the company will “surpass the $5 billion revenue milestone” in fiscal 2027. Nasdaq
Still, the company faces lingering headwinds as demand settles after the pandemic. Its online unit—which targets consumers and smaller businesses—reported a 2.6% revenue bump in the fourth quarter, reaching $489.7 million. Customer turnover ticked higher too: average monthly churn rose to 2.9%, up from 2.8% in the prior year. Churn tracks how quickly users cancel or downgrade service.
Another clue for the market: Vanguard Portfolio Management reported holding 13.44 million Zoom shares, accounting for 5.05% of that share class, according to a Schedule 13G filed April 29. Schedule 13G filings are typically made by passive investors who own over 5% of a public company’s stock.
The filing doesn’t suggest an activist play. Vanguard stated it didn’t buy the shares to alter or steer control at Zoom. According to the document, Vanguard holds sole voting rights for just 40,725 shares, while it has sole dispositive power over its entire 13.44 million-share stake.
Competition is still the sticking point. Back in February, Reuters pointed out that Zoom faces pressure from Microsoft Teams and Alphabet’s Google Meet—both typically offered as part of bigger workplace software bundles. The report added that spending on AI could weigh on operating margins.
Zoom is pushing to shake its video-call-only label, positioning itself now as an AI-first workplace platform. The company tapped Russell Dicker as chief product officer this month—he previously led product for Microsoft Teams and is now charged with steering AI-focused workflow strategy. “Work remains fragmented across tools,” Zoom’s president of product and engineering, Velchamy Sankarlingam, said. GlobeNewswire
Here’s the bull case: enterprise sales pick up, customers stick around, and new AI features actually drive revenue. Risks? Those are clear, too. Should the May 21 report point to lagging big-customer growth, softening online retention, or ballooning AI costs, Wednesday’s rally might not hold up.
