Oracle Shares Plunge as Revenue Trails Estimates

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Oracle (ORCL) shares fell 5% after the software and services giant missed Wall Street expectations, with revenue coming in well short of estimates.

The company, led by CEO Larry Ellison, reported third-quarter earnings of 65 cents per share on $8.97 billion in revenue, as new software licenses and cloud-software subscription revenue were down 2% to $2.3 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were looking for earnings of 66 cents per share on $9.38 billion in revenue.

Total software revenue was up 4% to $6.67 billion, and hardware-systems revenue declined 16% to $1.24 billion. Services revenue fell 8% to $1.045 billion.

"Our non-GAAP operating margin increased to a Q3 record of 47%, and we expect it to reach an all-time high for the fiscal year," said Oracle President and CFO, Safra Catz in the press release. "Both operating cash flow and free cash flow were at record levels for a Q3, with operating cash flow of $13.7 billion over the last 12 months."

Oracle will hold a press conference at 5 p.m. EST to discuss the results.

Shares closed the regular session up 0.2% to $35.75, but the stock is moving lower in extended trading, down 5.5% to $33.78, according to Nasdaq.com.

-- Written by Chris Ciaccia in New York

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