F5 Networks’ stock plunged about 8 percent on Thursday, the day after the company predicted a revenue decline going into the next quarter.
The company delivered mediocre earning results for the previous quarter, showing a $130.7 million profit on revenues of $501.3 million.
The bottom line wasn’t the problem, as net income climbed 12 percent from the same time last year and 8.7 percent from last quarter. But revenue numbers left something to be desired, climbing 8 percent year-over-year but missing analyst expectations of $506 million.
Next quarter, the company, which develops software and hardware products designed to securely delivery applications over the Internet, said it expects earnings to drop to about $1.60 per share and revenues down between $480 and $490 million.
“For the past several years, we have experienced a seasonally slower first quarter, followed by a steady ramp in sales through the end of the fiscal year,” the company warned investors.
The quarter caps off an up-and-down year for F5. Longtime CEO John McAdam announced in October 2014 that he would retire, and Manny Rivelo took over the top post this summer.
Even before today’s drop, the company’s stock was sitting about where it was at the start of the year even though the company showed a 16 percent increase in annual profits aboard record revenue of $1.92 billion.
