Bentley Systems Posts Q2 Beat and Raises Guidance; Shares Pop 5%

Shares of Bentley Systems, Incorporated (BSY) were up about 5% in pre-market trading on Tuesday after the company reported better-than-expected Q2 results that topped both earnings and revenue estimates, driven by the Seequent acquisition and a rebound in growth.

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Shares of the infrastructure engineering software company have jumped 94% over the past year. (See Bentley Systems stock charts on TipRanks)

Adjusted earnings of $0.23 per share beat analysts’ expectations of $0.14 per share. The company reported earnings of $0.16 per share in the prior-year period.

Revenues jumped 21% year-over-year to $222.9 million and exceeded consensus estimates of $212.4 million. The increase in revenues reflected a surge in subscription revenues, which increased 17.6% to $185.5 million.

Raised FY2021 Guidance

Based on strong Q2 results and the expected synergies from the Seequent acquisition, the company raised its guidance for Fiscal 2021. Revenues are now forecast to be in the range of $945 – $960 million versus the consensus estimate of $917 million. The company previously expected revenues to range between $895 and $920 million.

Furthermore, the company now predicts adjusted EBITDA in the range of $305 – $310 million versus the previously guided range of $285 – $295 million.

Bentley Systems CEO Greg Bentley commented, “Our updated financial outlook for the full year 2021 contemplates surpassing the milestones of one billion-dollars in revenue (pro forma for the acquisition of Seequent as if it had occurred at the beginning of 2021), double-digit ARR growth even exclusive of Seequent, and, importantly, maintaining our 32% Adjusted EBITDA margin target for 2021.”

Ahead of the Q2 results, RBC Capital analyst Matthew Hedberg increased the price target from $52 to $70 (7.9% upside potential) and reiterated a Buy rating on the stock.

Overall, the stock has a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 4 Buys and 1 Hold. The BSY average analyst price target of $63.80 implies 1.7% downside potential from current levels.