Oracle Plunges After Q4 Results

Leading enterprise software company

released its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings results on Thursday after the closing bell. The company reported earnings per share that were in-line with Wall Street estimates and revenue that was just below consensus expectations. Oracle also raised its quarterly dividend by 100 percent to $0.12 per share and announced a $12 billion stock buyback program. In late trading, however, Oracle shares were last down more than 9 percent to $30.11.

The company reported net income of $3.81 billion or $0.80 per share, compared to $3.45 billion or $0.69 per share, in last year's corresponding period. Adjusted earnings were $4.1 billion or $0.87 per share. This was in-line with analysts' consensus EPS estimates. Revenue in the quarter rose to $10.95 billion from $10.92 billion last year. Adjusted revenue was $11 billion. This missed Wall Street consensus revenue estimates of $11.12 billion. Software revenue in the quarter was up 4 percent to $8.4 billion from $8.14 billion last year. Hardware systems revenue fell 9 percent to $1.43 billion from $1.58 billion and services revenue also decreased 9 percent to $1.09 billion from $1.20 billion last year.