Solid Results Expected From Oracle’s Q3

Software giant Oracle will report its quarterly results later today after the close of markets in New York, and analysts are expecting nothing but more of the same solid performance of the last few quarters.

On average, analysts expect earnings per share of 66 cents on sales of $9.4 billion, coupled with similarly solid guidance headed into Oracle’s fiscal fourth quarter.

Analyst Brad Reback of Stifel Nicolaus, in a note to clients March 18, wrote that Oracle’s hardware sales have likely bottomed out last quarter and should show signs of recovering, though he admits there’s still a lot of “wood to chop.” Sales in its newer Exa- line of hardware should finally start to offset the slowing business in commodity x86-based servers. Overall, he expects hardware sales to grow 11 percent sequentially, though they still should be down about 5 percent year on year.

Software license revenue should show about 7.5 percent, Reback writes. Additionally, Oracle has added to its revenue growth via acquisitions like Taleo and RightNow, both of which have benefited from Oracle’s strong distribution network.