NetApp Masks Company Earnings and Poor Guidance with Layoffs, Dividend, and Buyback

Guidance for the quarter is being offered to the downside as well. NetApp sees earnings at $0.45 to $0.50 per share and for revenues to be in the range of $1.475 billion to $1.575 billion. Unfortunately this is soft guidance as earnings are expected to be $0.53 per share and $1.6 billion in sales.

NetApp will increase its current stock repurchase program by an additional $1.6 billion. With the $1.4 billion which remains available that brings the total up to $3 billion. The buyback plan expires in three years. The company did signal that it expect that the outstanding share count to decrease to approximately 367 million shares, a signal that the buyback will go into effect.

NetApp declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per common share, and the company said up front that it intends to increase its payout over time. The first dividend will be payable on July 23, 2013 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on July 11, 2013. Investors will have a 1.6% dividend yield based upon the $36.63 closing price.

Now for the bad news is you are one of the 12,000 or so employees. A portion of the press release shows a “Resource Realignment” section, which is simply a layoff announcement. NetApp represented this as “a realignment of resources and restructuring which includes a global workforce reduction of approximately 900 employees.” Those layoffs will result in charges of $50 to $60 million related to employee severance and other restructuring charges. If you are one of those fired workers, you will at least know that your sacrificed job will help your former employer keep spending money to buy back the stock and to send out quarterly dividends to the shareholders.

NetApp shares closed down 1.5% at $36.63 against a 52-week range of $26.26 to $39.15. So far shares are up by 2% at $37.40 or so in the after-hours. That $3 billion for share buybacks compares to a market cap of $13.2 billion.