Technology

Today after the bell, Slack, a popular workplace communication product, reported its FQ4 2020 earnings, the three-month period ending January 31 2020. The companyresults came in ahead of expectations. However, its shares have rapidly lost altitude in the wake of its news.

In the fourth quarter, Slackrevenue rose to $181.9 million, a gain of 49% compared to the year-ago quarter. Investors had expected Slack to report $174.14 million in top line. The company, therefore, beat on growth. Slack also reported gross margins of 86.6% in the period, a large operating loss of $91.2 million, and negative net income of $89.1 million.

On an adjusted basis the company did better, reporting a non-GAAP operating loss of $23.1 million and a non-GAAP net loss of just $0.04 per share. If investors will continue to allow Slack to lean on adjusted (non-GAAP) metrics long-term isn&t yet clear, but for now it seems to be the case.

But if Slack managed to beat growth expectations, and its adjustedand GAAP earnings per share came in ahead of expectations, why are its shares down so far? Letpeek at its promised growth for its fiscal 2021 — roughly calendar 2020 — to find out.

Great expectations

To get our head around its share price declines, letcompare and contrast what Slack promised for its fiscal 2021, and what investors had in mind. Herewhat Slack has in mind for the current quarter (Q1 fiscal 2021):

For the first quarter of fiscal year 2021, Slack currently expects: Total revenue of $185 million to $188 million, representing year-over-year growth of 37% to 39% [and] non-GAAP net loss per share of $0.07 to $0.06.

And here is the companyfull-year guidance:

For the full fiscal year 2021, Slack currently expects: Total revenue of $842 million to $862 million, representing year-over-year growth of 34% to 37% […] non-GAAP net loss per share of $0.21 to $0.19.

What did investors expect? According to Yahoo Finance figures:

• Q1 fiscal 2021 revenue: $188.37 million
• Fiscal 2021 revenue: $854.45 million
• Q1 fiscal 2021 adjusted EPS: -$0.07
• Fiscal 2021 adjusted EPS: -$0.21

So Slackcurrent-quarter revenue guidance is a tiny bit light, while its full-year revenue guidance is in the middle of expectations. And, the companyper-share profit expectations are a bit better than what investors think it will put up.

Why is the company being punished, then, if its numbers are at least as good as what investors ostensibly had priced in? Because the world has changed in the last two weeks, and Slack had a very rich valuation. Slack is still valued above most SaaS companies in terms of its revenue multiple, even taking into account its post-earnings declines. So it couldn&t just meet expectations, it needed to beat them. And while its Q4 fiscal 2020 (the quarter it just reported) did beat expectations, the companyforward guidance appears to have failed to excite.

Especially when Zoom is reporting rising usage that could convert to revenue, Slackmiddling guidance was just not good enough.

More when it opens tomorrow and we get a better view of the investor response; also, we&ll have an interview with Monday.com about what they are seeing in todaywild work environment. As a spoiler, it seems that the rise in demand for remote-work products isn&t landing equally among the players.

Are you working from home? Are you lonely? Do you miss human interaction? Did you finally get your home office setup looking good? Then join us today for our first-ever (and possibly last) TechCrunch-Equity Livestream-Hangout Extravaganza.

From Team Equity we&ll have Danny Crichton, Alex Wilhelm, new addition Natasha Mascarenhas, our producer Chris Gates, TechCrunch Editorial Director Henry Pickavet, and perhaps even some puppies. ItBYOB, naturally, but if itafter lunch where you are, cocktails are allowed.

We&ll have a loose agenda of things to argue about, but it won&t be as much fun as it could be without you.

So join us here on Zoom. And make sure to check out TechCrunchTwitter handle at @TechCrunchfor updates just in case we can&t figure out how to Zoom into anything.

Thatit, really. We&re excited to try this out and we&re excited to see you. Cameras on, letgo!

The European Commission is switching all staff in &non-critical functions& to remote working from next Monday in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an email sent to staff today the Commission writes that president Ursula von der Leyen has activated a business continuity plan that requires all but those in &critical functions& to telework from next Monday.

Previously the EUexecutive body had been implementing limited teleworking for high risk employees such as those returning from Italy for 14 days after their return.

Itnot clear how many Commission staff are defined as carrying out &critical& functions — but it seems likely that thousands will be working from home or remotely next week. In all, the Commission employs around 32,000 people.

Per the email, staff deemed to be carrying out a critical function will already have been informed they are expected to continue to present at work, with &modalities& and &guidelines& to explain working arrangement slated to follow &soon&.

Earlier this week the European Parliament also told staff to prep for mass remote working Monday. Initially vulnerable staff with pre-existing health conditions had been told to telework to limit their risk of being exposed to the novel coronavirus.

The Commission had also already been instructing staff to switch to videoconferencing for missions, meetings and committees where possible.

Belgium, where the Commission is mainly based, has been reporting rising numbers of cases of COVID-19. Today its federal health authority reported 85 new cases today — bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 399.

The Commission itself reported the first cases (two) of COVID-19 among staff earlier this month.

In recent weeks a number of politicians in countries across Europe have also been confirmed as having contracted the novel coronavirus.

The coronavirus pandemic has left governments floundering, businesses unprepared and citizens scrambling for hand sanitizer like itworth its weight in gold.

The sense of general unpreparedness has a lot of people on edge. Not surprising, since we&re on the edge of a global health emergency and itimpossible to predict exactly how government, travel or day-to-day business will operate during this outbreak.

Many tech companies already allow their staffs to work from home. Remote work policies are increasingly popular across the tech industry as companies push flexible working arrangements. In doing so, these companies have to prepare their IT infrastructure to accommodate remote working.

Granted, setting up a company to allow remote work is not an overnight job. It requires time and effort — but more importantly, investment and budget. Itan even bigger task to do it securely and without opening a door for hackers to walk in. But with the coronavirus spreading, nowa better time than ever to roll out a plan.

Secure your remote setup: The basics

Remote work has one fundamental security principle: Let in the right people to do the right things. In other words, your employees need to be able to do their jobs as if they were at the office.

Yext says that in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, itmaking its Yext Answers site search product free for 90 days.

You might not see an obvious connection between site search and a worldwide pandemic. You might even think this sounds like a marketing gimmick. But Yext CEO Howard Lerman said that for the past 10 days, the company has seen a spike in coronavirus-related searches across sites that use Yext Answers.

After all, Lerman said Yext has a lot of customers in the healthcare industry, such as the IHA medical group. But even beyond that, companies are getting related questions, whether ita hotel getting asked about their cleaning procedures, or an airline being asked whether itsafe to fly or a vodka company getting asked about whether vodka can be used as hand sanitizer.

Businesses could try to answer those questions on a single web page or blog post, but thatprobably not going to be comprehensive. Yext Answers offers a way to present and save this information in a much more structured way, so that a visitor can jump to the exact answer that interests them. In addition, it provides data on what visitors are searching for, so companies can answer the questions that people are actually asking.

Yext is also offering a free plugin that includes frequently asked questions about the coronavirus, with answers sourced directly form the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

&We have a product that could be pretty useful right now,& Lerman said. &We don&t want people to be getting wrong answers in the time of a global pandemic.&

He added that the company would normally charge around $100,000 for three months of Yext Answers. However, the free offering will be limited to 1,000 entities (which can be FAQs, locations or anything else), and Lerman said most paying customers are already using more than that.

While the product is free, the company will still schedule an initial setup call with a Yext administrator and provide ongoing email support. You can read more on Yextnew website.

Bollinger Motors, the Michigan-based startup known for its rugged electric SUV and pickup truck, unveiled Thursday a chassis designed for a Class 3 commercial vehicle that has the potential to expand its customer base.

The move reflects a broader trend among EV startups to at least consider commercial applications for its vehicles in an effort to generate more revenue in this capitally intensive business. Rivian, for instance, has struck a deal with Amazon to provide electric vans for the e-commerce company.

Now, Bollinger Motors is jumping in. The companyCEO Robert Bollinger said they saw potential for commercial applications when the company first built its B1 SUV.

&When we first built our Class 3 B1, we knew there was a commercial aspect to the platform,& Bollinger said in a statement. &Not only cab-on-chassis, but entirely new truck bodies can fit on our E-Chassis, and help propel the world to all-electric that much faster.&

This E-Chassis is the same platform shared with BollingerB1 SUV and the B2 Pickup. It will also accommodate future models and other trucks developed by Bollinger Motors, the company said. The E-Chassis can be customized to meet customer requests and will include 120 kWh battery pack or an optional180 kWh battery pack, all-wheel drive, dual motor, portal gear hubs, hydraulic anti-lock power brakes and the ability to carry a 5,000-pound payload.

The E-Chassis will be built along its B1 and B2 vehicles and will be available to commercial customers in 2021, the company said.