Salesforce.com
(
CRM
) is set to report fourth-quarter 2013 results on Feb 28. Last
quarter, the company missed expectations. Let's see how things
are shaping up for this announcement.
Factors This Past Quarter
Amid all the macro uncertainty and that resulted in
conservative tech spending, Salesforce.com reported dismal
third-quarter 2013 results. The company reported a much
wider-than-expected loss per share in the last reported
quarter.
On the positive side, the company witnessed revenue growth
across geographies and received strong business from its cloud
customers. The fourth-quarter guidance was modest, although the
results came below expectation.
However, we remain concerned about a sluggish business
environment in Europe, coupled with currency headwinds,
not-so-encouraging tech expenses and stiff competition from its
peers.
Though we are encouraged by Salesforce's growth prospects in
the cloud market, the renewed focus of tech giants such as
Dell Inc.
(
DELL
) and
Hewlett-Packard Co.
(
HPQ
) into the cloud space intensified competition in the third
quarter.
Considering the situation, it is hard to predict Salesforce's
success story, unless the company adopts other innovative
business strategies to influence growth.
Earnings Whispers?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the fourth quarter stands at
a loss of 3 cents, while that for fiscal 2013 stands at 11
cents.
There has been no estimate revision for the company over the
last 30, 60 or 90 days, as no major developments took place post
its third-quarter results.
Salesforce shares carry a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). The sell rated
stocks (#4 and #5) should never be considered going into an
earnings announcement.
Other Stocks To Consider
Here are a few stocks that might be worth considering at this
point since they have the right combination of elements - Zacks
Ranks #1, #2, or #3 and a positive Zacks expected surprise
prediction, or ESP (Read:
Zacks Earnings ESP: A Better Method
) to post an earnings beat this quarter:
Symantec Corp.
(
SYMC
), with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) with an ESP of +5.88%.
SALESFORCE.COM (CRM): Free Stock Analysis
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DELL INC (DELL): Free Stock Analysis Report
HEWLETT PACKARD (HPQ): Free Stock Analysis
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SYMANTEC CORP (SYMC): Free Stock Analysis
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