EMC’s first quarter earnings were strong and the company raised its 2010 outlook as enterprise spending on data centers picks up.
The company, which provides enterprise storage and software services, reported first quarter earnings of $373 million, or 17 cents a share, on revenue of $3.9 billion, up 23 percent from a year ago. Non-GAAP earnings were 26 cents a share, two cents ahead of Wall Street estimates. Wall Street was looking for revenue of $3.7 billion.
EMC’s strong quarter wasn’t totally unexpected given VMware reported better-than-expected results. Since EMC is the majority owner of VMware, the results tend to move in tandem.
In a statement, EMC CEO Joe Tucci said that the company is poised to take advantage of private cloud and data center buildouts. “We are confident in our ability to lead the next major wave of IT, maintain a long-term double-digit revenue growth rate and continue to take share,” said Tucci.
On a conference call with analysts, EMC CFO David Goulden also noted that customers are transitioning from cost cutting to building out their data center infrastructure. “IT spending is on track with what we’re expecting, up 3 to 5 percent this year,” said Goulden. He added that EMC gained from pent up demand that carried over from the fourth quarter.
Indeed, EMC also raised its outlook. The company is projecting 2010 earnings of 84 cents a share on revenue of $16.5 billion for 2010. Non-GAAP earnings are expected to be $1.18 a share. Wall Street was looking for earnings of $1.14 a share on revenue of $16 billion.
And here’s a look at a few slides detailing EMC’s businesses by product line:
On a conference call, EMC executives spoke of a triple play of gaining market share, investing in the business and growing profits.
