April 30 (Reuters) - Twilio ( TWLO ) raised its full-year forecast on Thursday and posted stronger-than-expected first-quarter results, signaling sustained demand for its cloud communications tools as companies invest in customer engagement and AI-driven services.

The company's shares surged 18% in extended trading.

Twilio ( TWLO ), which provides messaging, voice and email tools used by companies to communicate with customers, has been working to boost profitability after years of prioritizing growth.

The company has also been repositioning itself around AI-powered customer engagement, aiming to embed more automation and data-driven capabilities into its platform.

For 2026, Twilio ( TWLO ) raised its forecast for revenue growth to 14% to 15%, from 11.5% to 12.5% previously. It also lifted its expectations for operating income and free cash flow to between $1.08 billion and $1.10 billion.

The San Francisco-based company reported revenue of $1.41 billion for the first quarter, up 20% from a year earlier and above Wall Street estimates of about $1.34 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Adjusted earnings per share of $1.50 also beat expectations of $1.27.

Twilio ( TWLO ) projected second-quarter revenue of $1.42 billion to $1.43 billion, ahead of analysts' estimates, pointing to continued momentum in its core communications business.

The company reported first-quarter net income of $90 million, or 57 cents per share, compared with $20 million, or 12 cents per share, a year earlier.

(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)