They say the dead speak louder than words, and this proverb applies to the shares of California e-signature specialist DocuSign. While the stock is only barely in the black this year, it has been on a strong upward trend since the end of October, gaining almost 50% in value. Investors seem to have regained their enthusiasm for the software company, especially since the release of the company’s financial results.

It’s time to take a closer look at the US technology company DocuSign. How did the last quarterly figures turn out? What are the prospects and what do analysts think of the company’s future?

Market Leader in Electronic Signatures Before we take a closer look at the company’s recent business performance, let me introduce you to the business model of the US company in more detail: Since its founding in 2003, DocuSign has set itself the goal of accelerating business processes and making life easier for businesses and people around the world. The company has pioneered the development of electronic signatures.

Nowadays, DocuSign supports companies in linking and automating the way contracts are prepared, signed, implemented and managed. The company is a market leader in electronic signatures. The addressable total market is estimated by the company to be around $50 billion.

Automation Saves Huge Costs and Drives Rapid Adoption The approach is as simple and obvious as it is: Outdated, paper-based contract processes are replaced by digital processes. The DocuSign platform offers more than 350 preconfigured integrations with popular business apps. In addition, the API enables DocuSign to be embedded and connected to the customer’s website, mobile applications and custom workflows.

By now, DocuSign has hundreds of millions of users in more than 180 countries DocuSign, to create, upload and send documents that can be electronically signed by multiple parties. In total, the company has 1.47 million customers and over 1 billion users. For comparison: In the previous quarter, DocuSign had only 1.32 million customers.

Global Player Still in Growth Mode The company is now a true global player with 7,336 employees at 15 locations worldwide. In the last quarter, revenues rose to $700.42 million. That was an increase of 8.5% and was $10.3 million higher than analysts‘ expectations (source: Seeking Alpha). 97% of total revenues were from easily predictable software subscriptions.

DocuSign back in the black Meanwhile, the tech company was able to significantly improve its profitability. After a loss of $29.8 million in the comparable prior-year quarter, there was now a positive net income of $38.8 million. The adjusted earnings per share of 79 cents per share were also higher than analysts‘ expectations of „only“ 63 cents per share.

Analysts remain subdued For the current fiscal year, the company’s management is targeting revenues between $2.746 and $2.750 billion. This has slightly increased the previous forecast (previously: $2.725 and $2.737 billion).

The analysts remain cautious. Only 5 of 23 analysts recommend buying the stock. The majority (15 analysts) view the stock as a hold, while 3 financial experts even recommend selling the stock. With an expected earnings per share (source: marketwatch.com) of $2.88 per share in 2024, the price-earnings ratio of the share is 20. The range of target prices ranges from $44 to $90, with the average target price at $57.60, almost at the current level.