Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of networking-hardware technologist Gigamon Inc (GIMO) plummeted 32% today after its preliminary Q2 results disappointed Wall Street.
So what: Gigamon shares are off sharply year-to-date on disappointing growth, and today's downbeat Q2 revenue guidance only reinforces that worrisome trend. While management expects gross margins and operating expenses to be consistent with its prior view, ongoing difficulties surrounding the closing of deals suggest that Gigamon's competitive position continues to weaken.
Now what: Management now expects Q2 revenue of $34.5 million-$35 million, below its prior view of $38 million-$42 million. "We experienced challenges with closing the deals in our pipeline during the later stages of the quarter, as we continued to see longer review and approval cycles," said Chief Executive Officer Paul Hooper. "However, we remain confident in our market opportunity and our leading technology that created this market. We will take steps to improve our execution in order to grow revenue and improve the predictability of our business." Given Gigamon's still-questionable competitive position and management's lack of strategic detail, however, I wouldn't bet too heavily on that turnaround talk.
