Why TIBCO Software Shares Tanked Hard

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of TIBCO Software tanked hard today, down by as much as 23%, after the company gave a sneak peak of its fourth quarter results.

So what: The company released preliminary figures on what it expects in the fourth quarter, with revenue predicted in the range of $292 million to $295 million. Non-GAAP earnings per share should be either $0.37 or $0.38. Those results are well short of the $316 million in sales and $0.44 per share profit that the market was expecting.

Now what: CEO Vivek Ranadive said that the company fell short this quarter, while noting it's had 17 consecutive quarters of solid results. Some of the weakness was attributed to reductions in government spending as well as deal delays related to Hurricane Sandy. The official earnings release will come on Dec. 20, and full year adjusted earnings are expected in the range of $1.10 to $1.11.

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The article Why TIBCO Software Shares Tanked Hard originally appeared on Fool.com.

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