What happened

Shares of ADTRAN (ADTN) have plunged today, down by 14% as of 2:45 p.m. EDT, after the company reported third-quarter earnings yesterday. Both top- and bottom-line results declined meaningfully from a year ago.

So what

Revenue in the third quarter was $140.3 million, down from $185.1 million a year ago. Non-GAAP earnings per share came in at $0.21, also down from $0.37 per share in adjusted profit in the year-ago period. On a GAAP basis, the telecommunications networking equipment company posted net income of $7.6 million, or $0.16 per share.

Fiber-optic networking equipment

Image source: Getty Images.

On the bright side, CEO Tom Stanton noted that gross margin improved on a sequential basis, rising from 39% in the second quarter to 42%. However, gross margin a year ago was 53%.

Now what

"Notwithstanding the G.fast shipment impact, our third quarter results showed strong improvements in gross margins and operating expenses. On a regional basis, sales contributions followed typical seasonal patterns with growth in the Americas, expected seasonal declines in Europe and growth in Asia-Pacific, driven by new customer activity," Stanton said in a statement. "Looking forward, we are very encouraged by the continued momentum in ultra-broadband shipments to both carriers and MSOs globally as service providers continue to evolve their networks to meet changing customer expectations."

ADTRAN also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share to be paid to shareholders of record as of Oct. 31, 2018.