=Red Hat (RHT) reported earnings Tue 26 Sept 2017 (b/o)

Red Hat beats by $0.10, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs above consensus; raises FY18 EPS and revenue above consensus 

• Reports Q2 (Aug) earnings of $0.77 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.10 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.67; revenues rose 20.6% year/year to $723.6 mln vs the $699.56 mln Capital IQ Consensus. Subscription revenue for the quarter was $638 million, up 20%. Subscription revenue in the quarter was 88% of total revenue. Subscription revenue from Infrastructure-related offerings for the quarter was $487 million, an increase of 14% in USD year-over-year, and 14% as measured in constant currency. Subscription revenue from Application Development-related and other emerging technology offerings for the quarter was $150 million, an increase of 44% in USD year-over-year, or 43% measured in constant currency.
• Billings $682 mln vs. $660 mln estimates
• Co issues guidance for Q3, sees EPS of $0.70, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.70 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q3 revs of $730-737 mln vs. $710.50 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• Co issues upside guidance for FY18, raises EPS to $2.77-2.89 from $2.66-2.70, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $2.69 Capital IQ Consensus; raises FY18 revs to $2.88-2.895 bln from $2.785-2.825 bln vs. $2.81 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
• "Strong demand for our technologies that enable hybrid cloud computing has contributed to accelerated revenue growth in the first half of the fiscal year.... IT organizations continued to turn to Red Hat as a strategic technology partner to help them transform and modernize their applications and infrastructure for the hybrid cloud."