EMC Beats but Shares Slump on Weak Outlook

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- EMC (EMC) edged past Wall Street's estimates in its fourth-quarter results released before market open on Tuesday, although the storage giant's shares slumped more than 4% following tepid guidance.

The Hopkinton, Mass.-based firm brought in revenue of $6 billion, an 8% hike on the prior year's quarter, and just above the consensus estimate of $5.98 billion.

Excluding items, EMC earned 54 cents a share, a 10% increase on the same period last year. Analysts were looking for earnings of 52 cents a share.

Investors, however, were less than impressed with EMC's outlook. EMC expects 2013 revenue of $23.5 billion, below the consensus estimate of $23.57 billion. Excluding items, EMC expects earnings of $1.85 a share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters are looking for earnings of $1.90 a share.

The storage maker's shares slid 4.37% to $24.10 before market open as investors digested the numbers.

EMC's full-year revenue was $21.7 billion, a 9% year-over-year increase, which just topped Wall Street's prediction of $21.66 billion.

"EMC achieved its first $6 billion quarter for revenue, capping off a record breaking 2012," said EMC CEO Joe Tucci, in a statement.

During the fourth quarter, EMC's networked storage revenue grew 6% year over year, while revenue from the company's high-end Symmetrix offerings also climbed 6%. Sales of EMC's mid-tier storage technology rose 5% compared to the prior year's quarter, led by strong growth in its Isilon products.

In its statement, EMC also cited strong demand for its Flash-based storage products.

On Monday, VMware (VMW), which is majority-owned by EMC, also beat fourth-quarter estimates, but saw its shares plunge on weaker-than-expected guidance.

VMware's shares were off 16.6% in premarket trading at $82.

--Written by James Rogers in New York.

Follow @jamesjrogers

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