What happened

Shares of NCR Corporation (VYX -0.49%) have jumped today, up by 15% as of 11 a.m. EDT, after the company reported third-quarter earnings. The maker of ATMs and point-of-sale cash registers posted better-than-expected profits.

So what

Revenue in the third quarter fell 7% to $1.55 billion, which translated into non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.58. Analysts had been modeling for $1.58 billion in revenue and an adjusted profit of $0.52 per share. That better-than-expected profitability was thanks in part to services gross margin expanding by 70 basis points. Cloud revenue was also up 6%. NCR also recently announced an agreement to acquire JetPay for $184 million, which the company says will expand its payment processing offerings.

Person inserting a card into an ATM

Image source: Getty Images.

Now what

NCR continues to pursue other cost savings and announced a program designed to generate $100 million in cost savings next year. "Our evaluation of our business has uncovered significant cost reduction opportunities in areas targeting spend optimization to improve margins," CEO Michael Hayford said in a statement. "Moving forward, we will drive operational efficiencies through a targeted plan that we expect will result in at least $100 million cost savings in 2019."

In terms of guidance, NCR reaffirmed its full-year revenue outlook, expecting sales to fall by 1% to 3% for 2018. NCR now expects 2018 GAAP earnings per share to be $0.10 to $0.68, up from its prior forecast of $0.07 to $0.65 per share. The outlook for non-GAAP earnings per share for the year remains unchanged at $2.55 to $2.75.