As concerns spread that AI could pose a major threat to the enterprise software market, cloud content management company Box delivered results that beat market expectations.

As AI evolves and some investors view the future of software companies with skepticism, Box is breaking through doubts by using AI as a growth engine. It is being described as one of the enterprise software companies navigating the AI era well.

According to a recent report by SiliconANGLE, Box posted adjusted earnings per share of 49 cents last quarter, well above the Wall Street consensus estimate of 34 cents. Revenue rose 9 percent from a year earlier to $305.9 million. That also topped the market estimate of $304.2 million.

Remaining performance obligations, a measure of future revenue, rose 17 percent from a year earlier to $1.7 billion. Adjusted operating margin increased to 30.6 percent from 27.3 percent a year earlier.

After the earnings release, Box shares rose more than 4 percent in after-hours trading. Net income fell to $81.7 million from $194.0 million a year earlier, but investors focused on earnings per share rather than the profit decline.

Box CEO Aaron Levie (아론 레비) cited the Enterprise Advanced subscription service as a growth driver for the results.

The company said Enterprise Advanced is a service that provides access to Box's AI capabilities and tools and has grown to account for 10 percent of Box's total revenue. Levie said, "Customers are exploring the use of AI to change how they handle enterprise content."

At the center of Box's AI strategy is the Box AI Suite launched in 2023. The Box AI Suite includes multiple AI agents that automate repetitive tasks on a user's behalf. Through Box AI Studio, enterprises can also build their own AI agents directly.

Box recently added 2 features to the Box AI Suite. Box Extract is a data extraction tool that automatically pulls business insights hidden in documents. It retrieves information from documents that would be difficult for an employee to find alone. Box Shield Pro is an AI-based security add-on that supports automated content classification, faster ransomware detection and more efficient security operations.

Many enterprise software companies have seen their shares fall even after reporting results that beat estimates, but Box looks different. That appears to be due to positive guidance. In its earnings release, Box set the midpoint of its earnings-per-share guidance for the current quarter at 36 cents, above the consensus of 32 cents. Its revenue outlook was $304.0 million, also well above the market estimate of $296.5 million. Its full-year revenue forecast of $1.275 billion also topped the consensus of $1.270 billion.