Oracle drops after CEO delivers low earnings guidance on call

Oracle shares moved 6% lower in extended trading on Wednesday after the enterprise software maker announced lower-than-expected quarterly earnings guidance and said it was raising its quarterly dividend to 32 cents per share from 24 cents per share.

Here’s how the company did:

• Earnings: $1.16 per share, adjusted, vs. $1.11 per share as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.
• Revenue: $10.09 billion, vs. $10.07 billion as expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv.

Safra Catz, Oracle’s CEO, told analysts on a conference call that she expects $1.20 to $1.24 in adjusted earnings per share and 5% to 7% revenue growth in the fiscal fourth quarter. Analysts polled by Refinitiv had expected $1.28 in adjusted earnings per share and the equivalent of 4% revenue growth.

Oracle’s revenue increased by 3% on an annualized basis in the fiscal third quarter, which ended on Feb. 28, according to a statement. Revenue grew nearly 2% in the prior quarter.

The top business segment at Oracle, cloud services and license support, delivered $7.25 billion in revenue, up 5% year over year in the quarter and slightly lower than the FactSet consensus estimate of $7.28 billion.

Oracle’s cloud license and on-premises license revenue totaled $1.28 billion, which was up 4% and above the $1.21 billion FactSet consensus. The company reported $820 million in hardware revenue, down 4% and just under the $843 million FactSet consensus.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/10/oracle-orcl-earnings-q3-2021.html