In just a few hours, Zoom Video Communications Inc chief executive officer Eric Yuan got $4.2bn richer.
Shares of his virtual-meeting company surged as much as 26% to $410 in US trading as it reported a jump in quarterly revenue and suggested the explosive growth will continue.
It’s been a year filled with eye-popping rallies for the richest names in the tech world — Amazon.com Inc’s Jeff Bezos saw his net worth grow by $13bn in one day in July, and Tesla Inc’s Elon Musk added $8bn in 24 hours last month. Both men have reached record levels of wealth, with Bezos crossing $200bn and Musk surpassing $100bn last week.
Zoom has been one of the clearest beneficiaries of the coronavirus pandemic, with businesses and educational institutions turning to the service to work and teach remotely.
The software maker reported on Monday that sales jumped 355% to $663.5mn in the three months through July 31 — the second-largest surge among Nasdaq 100 Index members last quarter, only behind biotech firm Moderna Inc, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Zoom said sales will be as much as $2.39bn in the fiscal year ending in January, meaning revenue would almost quadruple in just one year. The founder of the San Jose, California-based company, whose net worth is mostly made up of his more than 50mn Zoom shares, is one of the biggest gainers this year. Yuan, 50, was $12.8bn richer as of the Monday close after the stock surged almost fivefold. The shares last traded at $399.38 in extended hours, up 23% from the closing price.
Early Zoom investors Li Ka-shing and Samuel Chen are also getting a wealth boost from the rally. Assuming both men still hold the stock, Li could be adding $2bn in one day and Chen more than $650mn should Zoom shares reach $410 at the next close, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index.