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The Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price will be in focus on Thursday following the release of its third quarter update.

How did Santos perform in the third quarter?

For the three months ended 30 September, Santos delivered record third quarter production of 25.1 mmboe.

This was 22% higher than the prior quarter and driven by higher production in all five of the company’s core assets. This was particularly the case for domestic gas and LNG volumes.

Third quarter sales revenue grew 2% quarter on quarter to US$797 million. Management believes this demonstrates the strength of Santos’ diversified portfolio of fixed-price domestic gas contracts combined with a higher equity level in Bayu-Undan. This more than offset lower JCC-linked LNG pricing.

In respect to free cash flow, Santos revealed that it generated US$143 million in free cash flow for the quarter. This brought its total free cash flow for the nine months to-date to US$574 million.

Santos Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Gallagher, was pleased with the quarter.

He commented: “The operating model combined with our portfolio of fixed-price domestic gas contracts, enabled us to deliver higher quarterly revenues and consistent free cash flow generation despite the impact of significantly lower oil price-linked contracted LNG prices.”

Outlook.

Mr Gallagher appears optimistic that the worst is now over for LNG prices.

“We expect the third quarter to represent the trough for LNG prices, with higher prices expected in the fourth quarter based on current JCC oil-linked and JKM spot pricing, with JKM currently above US$6/mmBtu for December delivery,” he explained.

He also sees growth opportunities for the company once business conditions improve.

“As COVID-19 and the lower oil price continue to challenge us, we have remained resilient with stable revenues and consistent free cash flow generation from the core assets. Our balance sheet is strong and we remain well positioned to leverage our growth opportunities when business conditions improve,” Mr Gallagher said.

No changes have been made to its full year production guidance (83-88 mmboe), but management has been able to lower is upstream unit production cost guidance by 15 to 25 US cents.

It explained: “Upstream unit production cost guidance is lowered to US$8.25-8.75/boe due to continued focus on operating efficiencies across the base business and despite one-off cost impacts due to managing the impact of COVID-19. All other guidance is maintained.”

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• ASX 200 up 0.9%: Big four banks rise, Pro Medicus jumps, miners charging higher
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Aerometrex Ltd (ASX: AMX) share price will be on watch on Thursday after the announcement of a very promising new product development.

What did Aerometrex announce?

This morning the Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) rival announced that it has developed a new technology that is able to determine, in three dimensions, the exact fuel load densities in any bushfire prone region in Australia.

The aerial mapping company believes the breakthrough should allow emergency authorities, government, and communities to adopt a far more science-based and pre-emptive fuel load strike position ahead of this year’s bushfire season.

Management advised that this product is an advance of its existing LIDAR (Light Detecting and Ranging) technology. It was developed by the company’s research and development team over 2020 in consultation with government and industry following the disastrous Black Summer fires across Australia last summer.

How does it work?

The release explains that the system employs up to two million individual laser pulses per second. These are emitted from a sensor within an aircraft as it flies above the area of interest.

The system then measures the time taken for each laser pulse to travel down to the surface and get reflected back up to the aircraft. This allows the precise location of the point of reflectance to be calculated in three dimensions. Positively, it can be applied regardless of location, topography, or ground cover.

This delivers a far more accurate image of vegetation and is more sensitive to variations in vegetation structure and density compared to remote sensing techniques such as satellite imagery and RADAR. After which, data from the advanced LIDAR technology allows for the extraction of understorey fuel load estimates that would otherwise be fully obscured from view in satellite or aerial imagery by overlying canopy.

Management notes that the outcomes and product development from its research are both timely and relevant following the detailed recommendations of the Bushfire Royal Commission, state-level bushfire inquiries, and the final reports published by the Bushfire & Natural Hazards CRC.

This is because many of these reports highlighted remote sensing technologies such as LIDAR as critical resources that have the potential to revolutionise bushfire management and response practices.

More reading

• Where to invest your first $500 into ASX shares today
• Aerometrex (ASX:AMX) share price flat despite positive update
• 3 exciting ASX growth shares to buy for stellar long term returns
• Why the Nearmap (ASX:NEA) share price is surging 8% higher today
• Is the Nearmap share price a buy after the tech sell-off?

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Nearmap Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nearmap Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) share price has been on an amazing journey over the past six months. It has risen around 250%. Can it go even higher?

What is Kogan.com?

Kogan.com is an e-commerce business where customers can access various retail and services businesses through a single website. There are plenty of different Kogan divisions that customers can decide to buy something from. Those segments include: Kogan Retail, Kogan Marketplace, Kogan Mobile, Kogan Internet, Kogan Insurance, Kogan Travel, Kogan Money, Kogan Cars and Kogan Energy. It also owns and operates the online stores of Dick Smith and Matt Blatt.

A key focus of Kogan.com is to provide products and services at a low cost for customers.

What has been happening recently?

It was only a couple of months ago that the online business reported a very impressive FY20 result.

The Kogan share price has risen around 20% since reporting that FY20 gross sales went up 39.3% to $768.9 million. This drove gross profit higher by 39.6% to $126.5 million. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA)  grew by 57.6% to $49.7 million and net profit after tax (NPAT) went up 55.9% to $26.8 million.

Growth was faster in the second half when COVID-19 was actually impacting Aussies. In the last six months of FY20, gross sales, gross profit and adjusted EBITDA went up by 62.5%, 68.3% and 74.1% respectively.

Perhaps the most important statistic was that Kogan.com’s active customer base grew 35.7% to 2,183,000. New customers can turn into long-term repeat customers, if people liked the experience. 

Kogan.com has been giving the market monthly updates since the end of FY20.

In July 2020 it generated gross sales growth of 110%, gross profit growth of more than 160% and it made more than $10 million of adjusted EBITDA. Kogan added another 126,000 of active customers over the month.

In August 2020 Kogan grew gross sales by 117%, gross profit went up 165% and adjusted EBITDA soared 466%. It also added another 152,000 active customers – the largest monthly increase in the company’s history.

Not only is it generating strong growth, but it also has a great balance sheet with a large pile of cash. 

Is the Kogan.com share price a buy?

Businesses that are generating strong growth are definitely worth taking notice of. If Kogan.com can continue to generate higher gross sales from its growing customer base then it can become a much bigger business. The longer someone stays with Kogan and makes additional orders, the more profitable that customer can become for Kogan.

A key thing for the Kogan.com share price and earnings will be whether it can get more of these active customers to use some of the extra services. That would make a customer much more valuable to Kogan and hopefully lead to even higher profit margins.

Many of the ASX’s hottest smaller shares have been rising over the previous months. Some managed to impress the market and go even higher when they gave a first quarter update, like Redbubble Ltd (ASX: RBL). However, others such as Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW) and Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) fell heavily in reaction to their first quarter update.  

For what it’s worth, I don’t think the Kogan.com share price will react that strongly either way because investors have been getting monthly updates from the company. We just don’t know the September figures. 

At the current Kogan.com value, it’s trading at 40x FY23’s estimated earnings. It’s certainly not cheap right now. But I think investors need to keep in mind two things. First, the shift to online shopping may well be permanent. COVID-19 has brought forward adoption of e-commerce. I don’t think these strong sales are a once-off. 

Second, interest rates are extremely low and are expected to stay low for a long time. This somewhat justifies the higher price for businesses generating growth.

I think Kogan.com could be a good long-term buy today, but I expect plenty of volatility over the next year or two. This could present further buying opportunities.

More reading

• Where to invest your first $500 into ASX shares today
• 5 ASX shares hitting record all-time highs this week
• New $259 million ASX tech player listing Thursday
• How to make $50,000 of passive income with ASX dividends
• Should you stay invested in an ASX share after a strong run?

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends MEGAPORT FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Kogan.com ltd and Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Kogan.com ltd, MEGAPORT FPO, and Temple & Webster Group Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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When it comes to ASX dividend shares, usually investors are sceptical when a yield of 10% or more is on offer. These shares are often referred to as ‘dividend traps’ because the yields simply look too good to be true (and in a dividend trap’s case, they are). However, sometimes an opportunity for a 10%-plus yield is worth a good look. 

So today, I’ll be looking at an ASX dividend share that indeed offers a trailing dividend yield of 6.95% on current prices, which grosses-up to 9.93% if you include the value of its full franking credits.

That share is WAM Research Limited (ASX: WAX)

What is WAM Research?

WAM Research is a listed investment company (LIC), which basically means it’s a company that buys and sells shares of other companies on behalf of its investors. It’s a similar structure to a managed fund, but is listed on the stock exchange in its own right.

WAM Research is run by the reputable Wilson Asset Management (WAM) and was founded back in 2003. Since 2010, the LIC has returned an average performance of 15% per annum (not accounting for fees and taxes). Its modus operandi is finding ‘undervalued’ industrial growth shares that the management team sees as having a ‘pricing catalyst’ ahead of it (something with the potential to result in share price appreciation). Once this catalyst is realised (if it is), the shares are often sold and the profit banked.

Some of the shares that WAM Research is currently invested in (as of 30 September) include Adairs Ltd (ASX: ADH), Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD), Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG), Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) and Redbubble Ltd (ASX: RBL).

Is a 10% dividend sustainable?

WAM Research banks its investing profits in what it calls a ‘profit reserve’. Dividends are then paid out of this profit reserve. So WAM Research’s last two dividends (paid in February and August 2020) came in at 4.9 cents per share each. That 9.8 cents per share in annual dividends is what gives WAM Research a trailing dividend yield of 6.95%, based on the most recent share price of $1.41 (at the time of writing).

So WAM Research’s profit reserve can give us a fairly good idea of how sustainable this massive yield is. As of 30 September, the LIC reported that its profit reserve stands at 34.9 cents per share. Using some crude mathematics, we can see that WAM Research has enough petrol in its tank to fund the current dividend for another three or so years. That looks pretty sustainable to me.

Foolish takeaway

Upon examination, WAM Research’s stupendous 10% dividend yield looks to be sustainable, at the very least for a number of years. Given this LIC’s long history of impressive performance, and its income potential, I think WAM Research would look pretty appealing for those investors seeking dividend income from their ASX shares.

More reading

• New WAM Alternative Assets LIC appoints portfolio manager
• 3 ASX shares I want to buy in October
• Is the WAM Capital (ASX:WAM) 10% dividend yield sustainable?
• Are these high yield ASX dividend shares worth buying?
• 2 ASX dividend shares with yields over 8%

Sebastian Bowen owns shares of WAM Research Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended ADAIRS FPO, Elders Limited, and Kogan.com ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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There are a lot of quality companies for investors to choose from on the Australian share market.

But two excellent ASX shares that stand out as no-brainers for me are listed below. Here’s why I think they are strong buys:

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)

The first no-brainer is Altium. I think the electronic design software company is one of the best buy and hold options on the local share market. This is due to the increasingly popular Altium Designer and Altium 365 platforms and its other growing businesses. The latter includes the NEXUS team-based PCB workflow solution and the Octopart electronic parts search engine.

As these businesses have exposure to the rapidly growing Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) markets, I believe they are in a strong position for growth over the 2020s. Management certainly believes this to be the case. It is aiming to grow its revenue to US$500 million by 2025-2026. This will be more than 150% higher than FY 2020’s revenue. It is also targeting market dominance in electronic design software and a massive 100,000 subscribers.

NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

Another no-brainer ASX share to buy is NEXTDC. It is a data centre as a service (DCaaS) company which operates a number of world class centres in key locations across Australia. Demand for capacity in its centres has been growing very strongly in recent years and particularly during the pandemic as more and more infrastructure shifts to the cloud. This underpinned strong earnings growth in FY 2020 and appears to have put NEXTDC in a position to repeat its heroics in FY 2021.

Another positive is its recent debt update. Not only has the company reduced its cost of debt materially, it has provided it with funds to accelerate its growth. And judging by the fact that some of the funds are multi-currency, NEXTDC could have its eyes on expanding into the Asia market in the future. Overall, with the cloud computing boom only really getting started, I believe NEXTDC is perfectly positioned for growth over the 2020s.

More reading

• Why the Infratil (ASX:IFT) share price is on watch today
• 5 ASX shares hitting record all-time highs this week
• 2 ASX shares I would buy for growth and income today
• Brainchip (ASX:BRN) share price jumps on quarterly update
• 10 must-buy ASX shares to snap up before it’s too late

James Mickleboro owns shares of NEXTDC Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Altium. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The outlook for interest rates in Australia is looking incredibly bleak. In fact, the RBA is widely expected to cut rates again next month.

In light of this, I continue to believe that dividend shares will remain the best way to earn a passive income for some time to come.

But which ASX dividend shares should you buy today? Two that I think investors should snap up right now are listed below:

Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)

Accent is a footwear-focused retailer which owns  a collection of retail store brands such as HYPE DC and Platypus. It also has the exclusive licence to a number of popular shoe brands in the Australian market. 

Thanks to its growing online business and strong and on-trend offering, Accent has been a positive performer in 2020 despite the pandemic. Pleasingly, I believe this form can continue in FY 2021. Especially given the Federal Budget’s tax cuts, which is putting extra disposable income in the pockets of consumers. I expect this to allow Accent to pay a 9 cents per share fully franked dividend over the next 12 months. Based on the current Accent share price, this means investors will receive a forward 4.9% dividend yield.

National Storage REIT (ASX: NSR)

Another option I would buy is National Storage. I believe the self-storage operator could be a great long term option due to its strong position in a fragmented market and its growth through acquisition strategy. In addition to this, an increasing number of small businesses are using its storage units for non-traditional uses such as running their ecommerce businesses. This is made possible thanks to supplied Wi-Fi, shelving, power connectivity, and packaging supplies.

In FY 2021, management has warned that its earnings could be flat because of the pandemic. As a result, I expect it to pay a distribution of 7.6 cents per share over the next 12 months. Based on the current National Storage share price, this represents a generous 4.1% yield.

More reading

• 4 ASX shares to buy for a rare Christmas surprise
• These ASX dividend shares could be strong buys for income investors
• Beat the rate cuts with these ASX dividend shares
• Forget Westpac savings accounts and earn an income from these ASX dividend shares
• Looking for income? Buy these strong ASX dividend shares

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Accent Group. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Despite the pandemic, over the last 12 months the healthcare sector has been a great place to invest your money.

Since this time last year, the S&P/ASX 200 Health Care index has generated a return of 17%. As a comparison, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 7.2% over the same period.

Due to the growing demand for healthcare services because of ageing populations, improving treatment options, and chronic disease burden, I expect this outperformance to continue over the 2020s.

In light of this, I believe having exposure to the healthcare sector would be a great thing for a portfolio.

But which shares should you buy? Here are two options to consider:

iShares Global Healthcare ETF (ASX: IXJ)

I think the iShares Global Healthcare exchange traded fund (ETF) would be a fantastic option for investors looking for healthcare exposure. Through a single investment, it provides investors with access to a wide range of companies across sectors including biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and medical devices.

Among its holdings you’ll find our very own CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) and Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC). And among its many international holdings are the likes of Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Novartis, Merck & Co, and United Health. I believe these companies are well-placed for growth over the next decade and feel confident the ETF can generate strong long term returns for investors. 

ResMed Inc. (ASX: RMD)

Another ASX healthcare share I think could provide strong returns for investors over the 2020s is ResMed. It is a medical device company with a focus on sleep treatment products and ventilators. It has been growing at a consistently strong rate over the last decade and looks well-placed to continue this positive form. 

This is due to its world-class, cloud-connected hardware and software solutions and its huge addressable market. Management currently estimates that there are 936 million people with sleep apnoea globally. With the majority of these sufferers undiagnosed, I believe this gives it a significant runway for growth. In addition to this, the company notes that there are 380 million people who suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and over 340 million people living with asthma. These are all people whose lives could be improved with ResMed’s products in the future. 

More reading

• 2 defensive ASX ETFs to add to a well-balanced portfolio
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• CSL (ASX:CSL) share price and 2 other ASX stocks among latest broker “buy” ideas
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended ResMed Inc. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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On Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was back on form and pushed slightly higher. The benchmark index rose 0.1% to 6,191.8 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to sink lower.

News that the U.S. Senate has blocked a US$500 billion COVID-19 stimulus package looks set to weigh on the Australian share market this morning. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is poised to open the day 57 points or 0.9% lower. Over on Wall Street, in late trade the Dow Jones is down 0.1%, the S&P 500 is up 0.15%, and the Nasdaq has risen 0.2%.

Oil prices tumble lower.

It could be a difficult day for energy shares such as Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) on Thursday after oil prices tumbled notably lower.  According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is down 3.9% to US$40.09 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is down 3.2% to US$41.78 a barrel. Weak demand for gasoline in the United States led to this decline.

Annual general meetings.

It is going to be a busy day of annual general meetings on Thursday. Among the companies holding meetings today are Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN), and Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB). Both companies are likely to provide an update on how they are performing so far this financial year. Webjet’s bookings and cash burn will be of particular interest.

Gold price charges higher.

It could be a good day for gold miners including Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) after the gold price charged higher overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is up 0.5% to US$1,925.30 an ounce. This was driven by further weakness in the U.S. dollar.

Westpac sells Zip stake.

The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price will be one to watch this morning after Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) announced an agreement to sell its 10.7% stake to institutional investors for a 6% discount of $6.65 per share. Westpac owns 55,460,987 Zip shares, which values its stake at approximately $368.8 million, based on the offer price. The bank notes that the sale will add around 8 basis points to its common equity tier 1 capital ratio.

More reading

• Here’s why Westpac (ASX:WBC) just sold its entire Zip (ASX:Z1P) stake
• The best ASX shares to buy during a market crash
• The ASX 200 finished 0.1% higher today
• How has COVID-19 shaken up the Sydney Airport share price?
• Are US shares a better investment than the ASX 200?

James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Crown Resorts Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Hot on the heels of the announcement of a partnership with payments company Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), this afternoon Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) has revealed plans to sell its entire stake in rival buy now pay later provider Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P).

What did Westpac announce?

Westpac has announced that it has signed an agreement with UBS for an underwritten sale of its 10.7% stake in Zip by way of a fully underwritten book build to institutional investors.

According to the release, the bank has agreed an offer price of $6.65 per share, which equates to a discount of 6.07% to Zip’s closing price of $7.08 on Wednesday.

The settlement of the transaction is expected to occur on 26 October 2020.

Why is Westpac selling its stake?

Australia’s oldest bank revealed that it is selling its stake as part of its strategy to simplify its business and ensure that it is using its capital efficiently.

The bank notes that the sale will add around 8 basis points to Westpac’s common equity tier 1 capital ratio when its settles.

At the last count, Westpac owned Zip 55,460,987 shares. This values its stake at approximately $368.8 million, based on the offer price.

What now for Westpac and Zip?

Despite this news and Westpac’s recent partnership with Afterpay, this doesn’t mean the end of the two companies working together.

Westpac Chief Information Officer, Gary Thursby, commented: “Larry Diamond, Peter Gray and the management team of Zip have done a tremendous job growing the company, including expanding globally. We look forward to seeing them continue to grow a global customer franchise.”

“We are continuing to explore opportunities with Zip, including working to integrate their buy now pay later functionality into our mobile banking apps across Westpac and our Regional bank brands. This would expand our offering to customers and broaden the customers Zip can reach.”

“We are also working with Zip on other opportunities for consumer, business, and corporate customers that we believe could be mutually beneficial, while continuing to develop our banking relationship with Zip,” Mr Thursby concluded.

More reading

• The best ASX shares to buy during a market crash
• Zip (ASX:Z1P) announces major payments expansion with Tap & Zip
• The ASX 200 slid 0.72% lower today
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• Douugh and Afterpay were among the most traded shares on the ASX last week

James Mickleboro owns shares of Westpac Banking. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Dubber Corp Ltd (ASX: DUB) share price shot up by 16% today as investors fought to get a parcel of its shares.

Shares in the cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) company closed out the day at $1.45. Let’s take a look at what was driving the gains in the Dubber share price today.

What does Dubber do?

Dubber is a cloud call recording and data capture company that provides unified communication products to its clients. The company’s technology enables voice calls to be analysed and turned into data for process improvement.

New product launch

Dubber unveiled today the global launch of its unified recording and voice artificial intelligence solution for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT)’s Microsoft Teams.

This marks the first-of-its-kind capability for Microsoft. The technology automatically records voice and video of every conversation and converts it into rich voice data. The captured information is then transformed for compliance and performance improvement.

The global channel program is expected to eliminate the cost, complexity and risk of traditional recording. In turn this allows the user to unlock benefits of voice data at scale.

Dubber advised the extensive launch for its Microsoft partners will include support, deployment, and training resources.

Management commentary

Commenting on the market gap, Dubber CEO Mr Steve McGovern said:

COVID has dramatically accelerated the demand globally for unified communications solutions. As workforces have dispersed and network end-points multiplied the demand for automated call recording at scale has become essential to addressing regulatory requirements and enterprise-wide visibility. With Dubber supporting Microsoft Teams via our global platform, users can activate recording immediately in the cloud – eliminating the need to build solutions or buy hardware.

He added:

Our integration with Microsoft Teams advances Dubber as the preeminent and de facto cloud-based unified call recording solution for communications providers – and as a source of differentiation and value for resellers globally.

More reading

• Why the Dubber (ASX:DUB) share price is tumbling lower today
• Why Dubber, New Hope, Pro Medicus, & Rio Tinto shares are dropping lower
• Why the Dubber (ASX:DUB) share price rocketed 16% higher today

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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