Earnings Preview: Symantec

Symantec (SYMC) is expected to report Q4 earnings after the market close on Wednesday, May 6, with a conference call scheduled for 5:00 pm ET.

Guidance

The consensus estimate is 35c for EPS and $1.52B for revenue, according to First Call. On its last earnings call, management provided in-line guidance for Q4 EPS of 33c to 35c and revenue of $1.475B to $1.52B.

Analyst Views

Avian is expecting a solid quarter and forward guidance from Symantec. The firm believes that the Enterprise Vault continues to do well. The firm also believes Symantec is executing better in terms of sales productivity. Avian rates Symantec Positive with an $18 target.

On May 4, Thomas Weisel upgraded Symantec to Overweight on valuation. The firm did lower its estimates to take a more conservative stance. Weisel is estimating for Q4 revenue of $1.51M, down 2.3% year-over-year, within the guidance range. For EPS, Weisel is estimating 35c, in-line with consensus and at the high end of guidance. The firm's checks have indicated that the storage business had a solid quarter and they continue to hear that the Vontu acquisition inside the enterprise Security and Compliance Group continues to do well. Weisel is expecting flattish results from the Consumer division as the ongoing need for security products and a very highly regarded consumer release this last fall is mitigated by declining PC sales and potentially more challenging upgrades to higher SKUs in the current macro environment.

Looking forward: Morgan Keegan's revenue estimate of $1.51B for the June quarter are in-line with consensus, and the firm anticipates revenue guidance will be in-line to below consensus.