Ariba, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARBA) dropped to a third quarter loss, but results topped expectations. Ariba, Inc. is a provider of collaborative business commerce solutions for buying and selling goods and services.

Get more Earnings Cheat Sheets with our in depth coverage of earnings season >>

Ariba Earnings Cheat Sheet for the Third Quarter

Results: Swung to a loss of $11.9 million (13 cents per diluted share) in the quarter. The internet software and services company had net income of $4.3 million or 5 cents per share in the year earlier quarter.

Revenue: Rose 30.7% to $121.9 million from the year earlier quarter.

Actual vs. Wall St. Expectations: ARBA reported adjusted net income of 20 cents per share. By that measure, the company beat the mean estimate of 5 cents per share. It beat the average revenue estimate of $114.1 million.

Quoting Management: “As evidenced by our growth and our strong quarterly results, organizations of all sizes are leveraging our cloud-based solutions to discover, connect and collaborate more efficiently and effectively with their trading partners,” said Bob Calderoni, Chairman and CEO, Ariba. “We continue to connect more buyers and sellers around more commerce than any other business commerce network on the planet.”

Key Stats:

Revenue has risen the past four quarters. Revenue increased 24.8% to $108.8 million in the second quarter. The figure rose 5.5% in the first quarter from the year earlier and climbed 12.8% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year from the year-ago quarter.

ARBA’s loss in the latest quarter follows profits in the previous three quarters. The company reported a profit of $1,000 in the second quarter, a profit of $42.1 million in the first quarter and $4.1 million in the fourth of the last fiscal year.

Competitors to Watch: SciQuest, Inc. (NASDAQ:SQI), Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ:ORCL), Intl. Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM), Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ:EPAY), Manhattan Associates, Inc. (NASDAQ:MANH), Vocus, Inc. (NASDAQ:VOCS), American Software, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMSWA), Deltek Inc. (NASDAQ:PROJ), Selectica, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLTC), and MER Telemanagement Solutions Ltd. (NASDAQ:MTSL).

Get more Earnings Cheat Sheets with our in depth coverage of earnings season >>

(Source: Xignite Financials)

Get Your FREE Special Report: 4 Things You Must Know About the US Economy Now!