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 equipment technologist Extreme Networks, Inc (EXTR -1.93%) surged 14% today after its preliminary Q4 results impressed Wall Street.
So what: Extreme Networks shares have plummeted in 2014 on signs of rapidly decelerating growth, but today's upbeat outlook suggests that management's turnaround initiatives are starting to gain traction. In fact, Extreme now sees non-GAAP gross margin of 56.5%-57.5% versus previous guidance of 55%, suggesting that its cost structure and competitive position are improving much faster than expected.
Now what: Management now sees Q4 EPS of $0.06-$0.08 on revenue of $154 million-$156 million, nicely ahead of its prior view of $0.02-$0.04 and $145 million-$150 million, respectively. "We saw better than expected results in North America, driven by several NFL stadium wins, as well as full year and quarter over quarter growth in the EMEA region," said President and CEO Charles Berger. "Our integration remains ahead of plan as we continue to execute against key Company operational and financial milestones, including successfully completing our ERP integration in early July, two months ahead of schedule." When you couple today's double-digit pop with Extreme's still-questionable competitive moat, however, conservative Fools would probably do well to maintain their distance.
