=Red Hat (RHT) reported earnings on Thur 21 June 18 (a/h)

Red Hat beats by $0.04, reports revs in-line; guides AugQ EPS and revs below consensus; guides FY19 EPS above consensus, revs below consensus; announces new $1 bln stock repurchase plan 

• Reports Q1 (May) earnings of $0.72 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.68 and above prior guidance of approx $0.68; revenues rose 20.2% year/year to $813.53 mln vs the $807.48 mln Capital IQ Consensus and vs prior guidance of $800-810 mln.
  • Red Hat Q1 billings $709 mln vs. ~$725 mln estimates; non-GAAP operating margin came in at 20.7% vs prior guidance of approx 20.5%.
• Co issues downside guidance for Q2 (Aug), sees EPS of $0.81, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.89 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q2 revs of $822-830 mln vs. $854.74 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• Co issues mixed guidance for FY19, sees EPS of $3.44-3.48, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $3.43 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate and vs prior guidance of $3.38-3.41; sees FY19 revs of $3.375-3.410 bln vs. $3.45 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate and vs prior guidance of $3.425-3.460 bln.
• Stock Repurchase Plan: Co authorizes the repurchase of up to $1 bln of common stock. The new program is to replace the previous $1 bln repurchase program that will expire on June 30, 2018. From its commencement on July 1, 2016 through June 20, 2018, the company repurchased 8.2 mln shares for $751 mln.