Why Opera Stock Is Surging Today

Opera (NASDAQ: OPRA) stock is seeing big gains Thursday following better-than-expected quarterly results. The company's share price was up 14.3% as of 10:30 a.m. ET, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence . The stock had been up as much as 19.9% earlier in the daily session.

Opera published second-quarter results before the market opened this morning, posting sales and earnings for the period that came in ahead of Wall Street's expectations. In addition to the Q2 sales and earnings beats, the company also issued encouraging forward guidance.

Opera breezes past Wall Street's Q2 earnings target

Opera recorded earnings per share of $0.22 on sales of $109.7 million in the second quarter. The performance came in far better than the average analyst estimate, which had guided for per-share earnings of $0.16 on sales of roughly $108.5 million.

Opera's advertising business continued to show strong momentum in the quarter, with sales growing 20% year over year to hit $64.6 million. The company's search segment also posted encouraging results, growing 15% year over year to reach $44.5 million. Meanwhile, technology licensing and other revenue for the period came in at $0.6 million. Altogether, the company's revenue rose 16.6% compared to the prior-year period.

Opera raises its 2024 guidance again

For the third quarter, Opera expects sales to be between $461 million and $467 million -- representing 17% year-over-year growth at the midpoint. Non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization ( EBITDA ) is projected to be between $27 million and $28.53 million -- good for a 23% margin at the midpoint.

Even better, the company once again raised its full-year performance targets. Management now expects full-year sales to come in between $461 million and $467 million, suggesting annual growth of 17% at the midpoint of the guidance range. For comparison, the company had previously guided for sales to come in between $454 million and $465 million. Opera also raised its full-year adjusted EBITDA target range to between $110 million and $113 million, up from its previous target for adjusted EBITDA between $106 million and $110 million.

Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .