Tableau Software Is 'Getting Aggressive,' Goldman Expect Earnings Beat

Tableau Software Inc DATA is scheduled to report its 1Q16 results after market close on May 5.

Goldman Sachs’ Jesse Hulsing maintained a Neutral rating on the company, with a price target of $52.

1Q Expectations

Hulsing expects Tableau Software to report its revenue for 1Q marginally ahead of the consensus, with license revenue missing the consensus expectations.

“Coming off its most significant license growth deceleration as a public company, we believe DATA is in need of a “right-the-ship” quarter,” the analyst mentioned.

Hulsing stated that channel checks indicated that the company had been more aggressive with pricing and discounting, while being more open to broader enterprise licensing agreements during the quarter.

The analyst views this as a positive and expects it to lead to potential upside to the seasonally low revenue estimate for 1Q.

Cautiously Optimistic For FY16

Hulsing explained that the full year “stems from an increasingly competitive data visualization market, which likely will have a continued impact on DATA.”

Historical examples indicate that it is challenging to fix execution and scaling issues quickly, the analyst noted

On the other hand, Hulsing expressed optimism driven by feedback from partners that Microsoft Corporation’s MSFT Power BI is missing server infrastructure needed for it to be competitive in larger deals.