Why Spansion Shares Plunged

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 Spansion have plunged today by as much as 12% after the company reported earnings that fell short.

So what: Revenue in the fourth quarter came in at $224 million, with non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.34. Investors were expecting more, as consensus estimates were perched at $234 million in sales and an adjusted profit of $0.36 per share.

Now what: CEO John Kispert said the company was able to deliver another profitable quarter amid tough market conditions. Spansion made progress this year with new NAND flash products. Kispert also said the company expects to grow revenue in 2013 after a seasonally soft first quarter. First-quarter outlook calls for revenue of $180 million to $205 million, resulting in an adjusted bottom line of a $0.05 per share loss to a $0.06 per share profit.

Interested in more info on Spansion? Add it to your watchlist by clicking here.

2013 and beyond
The Motley Fool's chief investment officer has selected his No. 1 stock for the next year. Find out which stock it is in our brand-new free report: "The Motley Fool's Top Stock for 2013." I invite you to take a copy, free for a limited time. Just click here to access the report and find out the name of this under-the-radar company.

The article Why Spansion Shares Plunged originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Evan Niu, CFA, has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.