Verint Systems Inc (NASDAQ:VRNT) stock was down over 16% in Thursday’s early deals after the data software firm reported quarterly earnings and revenue below market expectations.
Revenue was down 6% on the same period last year, at $210.2 million, versus analyst forecasts that pitched consensus at $225.1 million. Earnings per share similarly disappointed at 48 cents versus a consensus forecast of 57 cents.
The company also downgraded its outlook, moving full-year revenue guidance to $910 million from $935 million, lower than the $934.7 million previously anticipated in the market.
“We saw some deals we expected in Q2 slip out of the quarter and we expect elongated sales cycles to persist for the remainder of the year due to the macroeconomic environment,” Verint chief financial officer Grant Highlander, said in a statement.
He added: “But given our expectation for faster gross margin and operating margin expansion in the second half of the year, we are pleased to be in a position to maintain our annual outlook for mid-single digit diluted EPS growth.”
Verint is sticking with its $200 million stock buyback.
California-based stockbroker Wedbush described Verint’s cloud and SaaS transition as “bumpy in the near term”, with analyst Daniel Ives commenting, in a note, that the company continues to struggle with ‘sales cycle elongation’.
“Recurring revenues came in at $161.2 million, well below the Street’s $178.7 million estimate with recurring software revenue representing 86% of total revenue down from 87% in the prior quarter, while reducing its recurring revenue target to 88% by FYE24 down from the prior goal of 90% as sales cycle elongation expected to persist for the remainder of the year,” Ives highlighted.
In New York, Verint stock was down $4.97 or 16.1% changing hands at $25.90 per share in Thursday’s premarket dealing.