Teradata falls as 3Q revenue misses Street view

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Teradata fell more than 6 percent Thursday as its third quarter revenue missed analysts' estimates and the data warehousing company lowered its full-year revenue expectations.

THE SPARK: Teradata reported that its third-quarter net income climbed 20 percent to $104 million, or 60 cents per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30. A year earlier it earned $87 million, or 51 cents per share.

Excluding stock-based compensation expense and other items, earnings were 69 cents per share.

Revenue increased 8 percent to $647 million.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected 67 cents per share on revenue of $666.4 million.

Teradata helps financial, marketing and other companies store and analyze their data. Demand is growing for these services and technology as more work, shopping and socializing takes place on the Internet, fueling the need for "Big Data" companies like Teradata to organize and make sense of all the information.

The company now expects 2012 revenue growth to be at the low end of its prior forecast of 12 to 14 percent. Full-year adjusted earnings are forecast in the middle to higher end of its previous guidance of $2.72 to $2.82 per share.

Wall Street expects 2012 earnings of $2.80 per share on revenue of $2.7 billion.

THE ANALYSIS: Ulrich Rathe of Jefferies said in a client note that the third-quarter revenue softness may have been mostly due to weak device sales. The analyst said that some consumers may have delayed purchases while they waited for the iPhone 5 to come out in late September.

Rathe kept a "Hold" rating on Teradata shares.

SHARE ACTION: Teradata Corp. shares fell $4.31, or 6.3 percent, to $64 in midday trading. The stock has traded in a range of $43.77 to $80.97 over the past 52 weeks.