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 Polycom Inc (PLCM) jumped nearly 10% early Friday after the video conferencing company announced better-than-expected fourth quarter results.
So what: Though quarterly revenue rose only slightly over the same year-ago period to $348.9 million, adjusted net income climbed 32% to $33.6 million. And thanks to Polycom's ambitious share repurchase activity -- which included $25 million in buybacks last quarter -- adjusted net income per share climbed an even more impressive 50% to $0.24. Analysts, on average, were looking for earnings of $0.23 per share on sales of $347.9 million.
Polycom also generated $91 million operating cash flow during the quarter, and ended the period with cash and investments net of existing debt totaling $446 million.
Finally, during the subsequent conference call and keeping in mind typical seasonality, Polycom offered current-quarter guidance for revenue in the range of $328 million to $338 million, and adjusted earnings per share of $0.19 to $0.21. Both ranges are roughly in line with Wall Street's expectations.
Now what: Today's beat might have been slight and forward guidance "merely" in line, but Polycom stock's pop is arguably justified given the company's solid operating performance and -- however small its top-line gains -- its ability to at least sustain revenue amid ever-increasing competition in the space. In the end, while I'm personally happy to continue observing Polycom from the sidelines, I can't blame the market for its optimism.
