Zoom Video stock sinks 17% after earnings reveal back-to-work trend is slowing customer growth

• Shares of Zoom tumbled as much as 17% Tuesday.
• The video communications company saw sales growth slow significantly as many workers return to the office.

Shares of Zoom Video plunged as much as 17% Tuesday after the digital communications company reported better-than-expected third quarter earnings but projected a revenue slowdown as the pandemic subsides and people return to in-person work.

Shares of the company were trading at $200.93 as of 10:36 a.m. ET on Tuesday.

Zoom reported $1.11 earnings per share, beating estimates by $0.02 a share for the quarter. It notched a net income of $340.3 million — a 71% jump in the same period a year ago.

Revenue jumped 35% year over year, though it slowed from 54% growth in the prior quarter.

The communications company closed out October with 512,100 customers with more than 10 employees, an increase of 18%, but significantly less than the 36% of the second quarter. The figures suggest the company's user growth trajectory is slowing as more people trickle back to the office.

In weighing the company's long-term prospects, experts are eyeing its use among larger customers and whether it will be able to compete with giants like Alphabet and Microsoft, which both offer similar services that are integrated into broader workflow suites.

For the fiscal fourth quarter, Zoom Video expects adjusted earnings of $1.06 to $1.07 per share, with analysts estimating $1.05.