Zoom’s revenues quadruple as pandemic causes huge surge in video conferencing

Company multiplies customer numbers five and a half times in a year as people rapidly adopt video technology for work, education and keeping in touch during lockdown

Zoom‘s revenues more than quadrupled as the coronavirus pandemic prompted a surge in use of video-conferencing software for work meetings, education and keeping in touch with friends and family.

The technology company multiplied its customer numbers by five and a half times in the latest quarter compared to the same months last year.

Zoom is now one of the world’s fastest-growing tech companies, thanks to its app for video calls and company meetings that has become an important part of working life for many organisations in a socially distanced world.

The firm’s share price soared 23 per cent in after-hours trading on Monday to a record high of $325.10.

It leaves Zoom closing in on a valuation of $100bn, more than corporate giants such as General Motors and Ford.

Zoom has been notably more successful than some of its rivals at converting customers who use its free services into paid subscribers.

As of 31 July, Zoom had 370,200 customers with at least 10 employees, up from 66,300 a year earlier, and a gain of about 105,000 from the end of April this year.

Revenue for the May-July quarter rose fourfold to $663.5m (£495.92).

The major question now for Zoom is whether it can continue its rapid growth after the pandemic is controlled.

Zoom chief executive Eric Yuan struck an optimistic tone after announcing the company’s results.

“Organisations are shifting from addressing their immediate business continuity needs to supporting a future of working anywhere, learning anywhere, and connecting anywhere on Zoom’s video-first platform,” he said.

Zoom cautioned in early June that significant numbers of customers could cancel subscriptions if workers returned in droves to offices as lockdown restrictions eased.

But in many countries, including the UK, white-collar workers have stayed at home and expressed a desire to continue doing so.

Companies including Twitter and fund manager Shroders have said staff can continue to work from home indefinitely. Outsourcing company Capita announced plans this week to end leases on a third of its office space as it cuts costs and adapts to new ways of working.

Zoom’s rapid rise has not been without problems. Hackers and others exploited security weaknesses to intrude on private meetings, prompting some users to abandon the service.

The company’s platform has also suffered some major outages that left users unable to access meetings.