Image source: Juniper Networks.
What happened
Shares of Juniper Networks, Inc. (JNPR +0.00%) were up 11.5% as of 1:45 p.m. EDT after the networking products specialist released strong preliminary third-quarter 2016 results.
So what
Revenue in the third quarter was $1.285 billion, marking growth of 3% year over year, and coming in above the company's latest guidance for revenue of $1.22 billion to $1.28 billion. On the bottom line, that translated to adjusted net income of $222 million, or $0.58 per diluted share, which was also above the high end of Juniper Networks' guidance for adjusted EPS in the range of $0.48 to $0.54.
"We are executing well on our strategy, with a product and innovation pipeline that has never been stronger," explained Juniper Networks CEO Rami Rahim. "One of the most important trends happening around us is the shift to the cloud, which is shaping our strategy and plays to Juniper's core competencies in building high-performance networks."
Now what
In addition, Juniper Networks expects fourth-quarter revenue to be in the range of $1.32 billion to $1.38 billion, with adjusted earnings per diluted share in the range of $0.59 to $0.65. Analysts, on average, were expecting both revenue and earnings to be near the low ends of Juniper Networks' respective Q4 guidance ranges.
In the end, there's little not to like about this report, from Juniper Networks' relative outperformance to industry trends that play to the company's strengths. So with shares trading at a reasonable 16 times trailing-12-month earnings and still down more than 4% year to date as of this writing, it's no surprise to see Juniper Networks stock trading significantly higher today.
