Oracle (ORCL) posted earnings on 6/18/12

** charts before earnings **

 

** charts after earnings **

Oracle Corp.'s (ORCL) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 7.5% as software revenue improved, though services and hardware-systems revenue fell. Oracle shares rose 3% to $27.94 after hours as adjusted earnings beat the company's expectations by a penny.

 Oracle reported financial results late Monday that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations and said it would buy back up to $10 billion of its shares. But the bigger surprise was the timing of the company’s announcement; the numbers were not expected to be released until Thursday.

Safra Catz, Oracle’s chief financial officer, told analysts in a hastily scheduled conference call that the company did not think investors would mind hearing about a solid quarter amid unsettling fears about how Europe’s shaky economy might be affecting business conditions.

It was still a puzzling decision, given that the announcement conflicted with an event in Los Angeles held by Microsoft to unveil a tablet computer to compete against Apple’s iPad. The overlap meant that some of the securities analysts who follow Oracle were focused on the Microsoft announcement.

For its fiscal fourth quarter, Oracle reported an 8 percent increase in net income that topped analysts’ predictions. Oracle also posted a 7 percent gain in its sales of new software licenses, indicating that there was still strong demand for technology that helps businesses automate administrative tasks.

Oracle is viewed as a technology bellwether because it sells software and high-end computers to companies and government agencies throughout the world.

** next day after earnings **

Oracle announced its most recent quarterly results three days earlier than expected, and the move is being seen as a way to soften the news that a senior executive is leaving the company, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Keith Block, Oracle's veteran executive vice president of North America Sales, has left the company that he has called home since 1986, according to reports. Block recently had an embarrassing private message revealed in a lawsuit that showed him criticizing both his bosses, President Mark Hurd and Chief Executive Larry Ellison, in nearly the same breath. Block wrote that Hurd has created "lot's [sic] of noise, not much results," while also suggesting that Hurd should replace Ellison in the top spot.

After an analyst said that Block was out and rumors circulated of a staff reorganization, the company's stock price began to slide. By 4 p.m. yesterday, the shares had dropped 2%. That's about when Oracle released its most recent quarterly results, an announcement that had been scheduled for Thursday. The results were strong. Revenue rose 1.3% to $10.9 billion and profits were up 7.5%. We also learned that Oracle is now a major cloud player, with recent acquisitions set to bring in $1 billion in bookings this year.

Oracle added 1,522 employees to its global head count over the last quarter, bringing total staff up to 115,166, according to its earnings release. About 67% of the increase was in the Americas.

As for what happens to North America Sales now that Block is gone, Joanne Olsen, senior vice president, cloud services, could take the role. Hurd said in a conference call with analysts that she will be taking on additional responsibilities, Bloomberg reports. Business Insider reports that Olsen, a favorite of Hurd, is a shoe-in.