NetApp Jumps on Q2 Earnings Results

Shares of NetApp

were among the leaders on the NASDAQ exchange on Thursday after the company released bullish second-quarter earnings results. In late afternoon trading, the stock had surged a little better than 11 percent to $30.14. Although net income fell versus the year ago period, both earnings per share and revenues topped Wall Street estimates. The company also provided solid, if not spectacular, guidance for the fiscal third-quarter. For the second-quarter, NetApp reported non-GAAP net income of $189.0 million or $0.51 per share, compared to $235.5 million or $0.63 per share, in the year ago period. This was ahead of Wall Street consensus earnings per share estimates of $0.48 by 3 cents. Revenues in the period were $1.541 billion versus $1.507 billion last year. This also came in ahead of estimates, although only by a fraction. Heading into the report, analysts had consensus revenue estimates of $1.54 billion. Looking ahead to the third-quarter, NetApp guided for non-GAAP earnings per share between $0.53 and $0.58 on revenue of $1.575 billion to $1.675 billion. Currently, analysts have consensus EPS estimates of $0.54 on revenue of $1.62 billion for the fiscal third-quarter. The company also said that has authorized an additional $1.5 billion for its share repurchase program, which is another positive development for the stock.