EMC shares tumble on weak 2013 outlook

HOPKINTON, Mass. (AP) -- EMC posted strong fourth-quarter results, but its outlook and the outlook from majority owned VMware sent shares sliding 7 percent in early trading Tuesday.

The software and IT storage company earned $869.9 million, or 39 cents per share, up from $832 million, or 38 cents per share, in the same quarter the year before.

Excluding one-time items, EMC posted an adjusted profit of 54 cents per share and revenue rose 8 percent to $6.03 billion.

That topped Wall Street estimates of 52 cents per share on $5.99 billion in revenue, according to FactSet.

EMC shares were weighed down even before they were released, however, by news from VMware Inc., which said late Monday that it was cutting 900 jobs, nearly 7 percent of its work force, and warned on revenue for the current quarter.

EMC said it expects to post a profit of $3 billion, or $1.35 per share. Excluding items, the company projected a profit of $4.1 billion, or $1.85 per share. Revenue is expected to total $23.5 billion.

That's short of analyst projections of $1.90 per share on $23.58 billion in revenue.

For the full-year 2012, EMC earned $2.73 billion, or $1.23 per share, up from $2.46 billion, or $1.10 per share, in 2011. Revenue rose to $21.71 billion from $20.01 billion.

Shares of EMC Corp. fell $1.65 to $23.56 in heavy morning trading, after dropping as low as $23.11 earlier in the day. Over the past 52 weeks, the company's shares have traded between $22.77 and $30.

Shares of VMware Inc. tumbled $19.03, or 19 percent, to $79.29.