SYMANTEC CORP. $15.03 (Nasdaq symbol SYMC; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (1-408-517-8000; www.symantec.com; Shares outstanding: 729.4 million; Market cap: $11.0 billion; No dividends paid) makes computersecurity software, including the popular Norton antivirus program. It also sells products and services for email filtering, data backup and other business-related uses. In addition, Symantec offers data-archiving software that helps its clients meet increasingly strict regulatory and compliance standards.
In the three months ended March 31, 2012, Symantec’s earnings per share excluding one-time items were unchanged at $0.38. That matched the consensus estimate. Sales rose slightly, to $1.68 billion from $1.67 billion. The company gets 52% of its sales from outside North America.
The main reason for the flat results was that the company is selling more of its products as ongoing subscriptions instead of one-time purchases. That gives Symantec steadier revenue streams but lower upfront sales. Sales of data-storage products are also down, mainly because the company completed several big contracts in the year-earlier quarter.
As well, Europe supplies 27% of Symantec’s sales, and economic uncertainty on the continent will likely weigh on the company’s future results.
The stock trades at 10.0 times Symantec’s likely fiscal 2013 earnings of $1.51 a share.
Symantec is a hold.