Security and data storage software house Symantec warned of lower than expected revenue and adjusted earnings in its Q4 prelims, triggering a c11% drop in the share price. The warning follows patchy Q3 results (see Symantec shines – except for EMEA). While the shift to a subscription business model was part of the cause, it also saw the number of deals drop during the quarter. Symantec cites falls in storage and server management licences (around 60% of its revenue comes from these areas). Hopefully this suggests security is still moving ahead – something we would expect in these days of cloud computing and mobile devices.
The company expects adjusted earnings of 38 cents per share, down from its previous 41 cents to 42 cents range (fewer larger deals are having an effect here) and revenue of c$1.68bn vs previous guidance of $1.72bn to $1.73bn and market expectations of $1.72bn.
The Q1 outlook (to the end of June) did not provide better news with revenue expected to be "down half a percent or up half a percent," and an EPS drop of between 5% to 7.5%. Revenue is expected to decline 24% to 28%. The full results on May 2 will make informative reading.