EMC's Q3, outlook disappoint amid 'cautionary environment'

Storage giant EMC reported third quarter earnings that fell short of earnings. The results indicate that even enterprise storage spending---thought to be bulletproof amid big data and virtualization implementations---is hitting some turbulence.

EMC becomes the latest large technology player to indicate that companies were cautious. IBM, HP, Cisco and others have cited a cautious spending. 

The company reported third quarter earnings of $626 million, or 28 cents a share, on revenue of $5.28 billion, up 6 percent from a year ago. Non-GAAP earnings were 40 cents a share, 2 pennies short of Wall Street estimates.

EMC's third quarter earnings were a bit of a shocker considering VMware's results, which are consolidated into parent EMC, were strong. Also: VMware's Q3 solid; Outlook in line as new CFO named

For 2012, EMC said that it would deliver non-GAAP earnings of $1.68 a share to $1.70 a share. Wall Street was expecting $1.72 a share. GAAP earnings for 2012 will be between $1.24 and $1.26 billion. EMC added that 2012 revenue will be between $21.6 billion and $21.75 billion.

EMC CEO Joe Tucci said in a statement that the company is resilient in "a more uncertain global economic environment." He also noted that EMC can cash in on cloud computing, big data and security through a cyclical slowdown.

David Goulden, EMC's operating chief, said that EMC grew faster than IT spending, but saw "what turned out to be a more cautionary environment than we expected heading into the quarter."

EMC saw tepid growth for its key storage systems. Networked storage revenue was up 2 percent from a year ago in the third quarter. High-end systems were up 5 percent. Mid-tier products were flat in the third quarter.