Weak Q4 Forecasts Send Tech Shares Down

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Real America IndexA sluggish economy is prompting computer and network equipment makers to trim their quarterly estimates as customers reduce spending on IT infrastructure.

Shares of Juniper Networks (NASDAQ:JNPR) tumbled more than 7% after the company predicted current quarter earnings of between 19 cents and 22 cents a share on revenue of between $1.1 and $1.13 billion. That missed Wall Street, which had expected of earnings of 24 cents a share on sales of $1.15 billion, Reuters noted.

Juniper said that it earned 16.8 million during the third quarter, down from $83.7 million last year. Adjusted EPS was 22 cents, which beat analysts by 5 cents. Revenue edged up 1% to $1.12 billion, which also exceeded forecasts.

A lower current quarter forecast sent shares of Broadcom (NASDAQ:BRCM) down more than 2%. The company said that it expected revenue for the fourth-quarter to range between $1.95 billion and $2.1 billion. Analysts had expected revenue of $2.11 billion.

Broadcom reported third-quarter revenue of $2.13 billion, up from $1.96 last year and surpassing the $2.09 billion that analysts had expected.

A reduced outlook also sent shares of EMC (NYSE:EMC) down 2% after the company said that anticipates full year earnings of between $1.68 and $1.70 a share on revenue of between $21.60 billion to $21.75 billion. That disappointed analysts who had expected a profit of $1.72 a share on revenue of $22.03 billion.

For the third-quarter, EMC posted a profit of $626.3 million and adjusted EPS of 40 cents, which fell short of the 38 cents Wall Street was looking for. Revenue during the quarter rose 6% to $5.28 billion, but missed the $5.46 billion analysts had forecast.

EMC is part of InvestorPlace‘s Real America Index, a list of companies — one from each state — whose performance provides a window on the health of the U.S. economy. EMC represents the state of Massachusetts in the index.

In contrast to its parent, VMware (NYSE:VMW), the publicly-traded unit of EMC, announced third-quarter earnings that beat analysts estimates. The division earned $157 million during the quarter, down from $178 million last year. Adjusted EPS was 70 cents, which topped the 63 cents analysts were expecting. Revenue rose 20% to $1.13 billion, matching estimates.

VMware forecast current quarter revenue of between $1.26 billion and $1.29 billion. Wall Street anticipates revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter. Shares of VMware rose more than 2% on the news.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2012/10/weak-q4-forecasts-send-tech-shares-down/.

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