Oracle Skids as 4Q Results Miss Estimates

Shares of Oracle slumped in aftermarket trading Thursday, after the business-software maker posted fourth-quarter results that fell short of Wall Street estimates.

The Redwood Shores, California, company said its net income fell 4 percent, to $3.65 billion from $3.81 billion, in the three months that ended on May 31. The recent devaluation of Venezuela’s currency cut into profit.

In both periods, Oracle earned 80 cents per share. It had fewer shares outstanding in the latest quarter, which supports earnings per share.

Excluding one-time items, Oracle said it earned 92 cents per share over the three months that ended May 31. FactSet says analysts expected net income of 95 cents per share.

Oracle’s revenue rose 3 percent, to $11.32 billion from $10.95 billion, but Wall Street had expected a bigger gain, to $11.48 billion.

Oracle also said its cloud-computing revenue improved from a year ago. The company has been rolling out more cloud-computing options, but investors have questions about its ability to compete in this growing market. The cloud-computing shift is being led by smaller companies that were set up to focus on leasing software over the internet.

Oracle has traditionally licensed software that is installed on individual computers kept on the premises of its customers, but now, more businesses and government agencies are buying software through monthly or annual subscriptions that enable employees to access applications on any machine with an internet connection.

For the full year, Oracle said its net income rose less than 1 percent to $10.96 billion, or $2.38 per share. Revenue grew 3 percent to $38.28 billion.

Oracle Corp. shares lost 30 cents to $42.51 on Thursday, then dropped another $2.13, or 5 percent, to $40.38 after the close.

This article appeared in print in the June 20th, 2014 edition of Hamodia.