EMC Shares Fall on Earnings Miss

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) this morning posted third-quarter results that missed on the top and bottom lines, and it lowered its full-year outlook.

The world’s biggest maker of corporate data-storage equipment posted adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.40 on revenues of $5.28 billion. In the same period a year ago, the company reported EPS of $0.37 on revenues of $4.98 billion. The quarter’s results also compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $0.42 and $5.46 billion in revenues.

Operating cash flow was up 12% year over year to $1.44 billion. Free cash flow rose 16% to $1.14 billion.

The Hopkinton, Mass.-based tech company’s president and COO said:

For the third quarter, EMC’s business continued to grow faster than overall IT spending growth and we gained market share in what turned out to be a more cautionary environment than we expected heading into the quarter. We remain extremely confident in our strategy, best-of-breed product portfolio and solid operational and financial model.

EMC now expects full-year 2012 EPS to be in the range of $1.68 and $1.70 on revenue of between $21.60 billion and $21.75 billion. The Thomson Reuters consensus estimates call for EPS of $1.74 and $22.24 billion in revenues.

Shares are down about 3% in premarket trading to $23.97. The 52-week range is $21.25 to $30.00. The mean price target before this report was $31.74.

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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