Why Pitney Bowes Inc.'s Shares Popped Today

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 postal service equipment maker Pitney Bowes jumped 18% today after reporting earnings.

So what: Fourth-quarter revenue was up 2% to $1.0 billion and net income dropped 18% to $90.1 million, or $0.44 per share on an adjusted basis. Results were only in line with expectations, but it's the first sales growth the company has had in six years so that's why investors got so excited today.

Now what: The digital commerce solutions business grew 17% last quarter and that's the big bright spot for investors to point to. It gave management enough confidence to predict earnings from continued operations of $1.75-$1.90 per share next year, compared to an expectation of $1.82 from Wall Street. I'm not terribly excited about a slow growing company trading at 14 times earnings so I'll sit out this move and look for better values on the market.

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The article Why Pitney Bowes Inc.'s Shares Popped Today originally appeared on Fool.com.

Travis Hoium 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.

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