Symantec CEO Resigns, Outlook Weak; Shares Tumble

(RTTNews) - Shares of Symantec Corp. (SYMC) tumbled more than 13% in extended trading session after the security-software maker said President and Chief Executive Officer Greg Clark is stepping down and leaving the board. The company also detailed a weak outlook for the full year 2020.

Symantec announced that Richard Hill has been named Interim President and CEO, effective immediately. The Company will commence a search process to find a permanent CEO.

"It has been a privilege to lead this great organization and I am proud of all that the team has accomplished in nearly three years," said Clark, who has served as CEO since Symantec's acquisition of Blue Coat in 2016. "As Symantec enters its next phase of growth and value creation, it is the right time for the Board to identify the next generation of leadership."

Separately, Symantec reported a fourth-quarter net income of $34 million or $0.05 per share, compared with last year's net loss of $59 million or $0.10 per share last year.

Adjusted earnings for the quarter dropped to $0.39 per share from $0.44 per share last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.39 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Fourth-quarter revenues dropped to $1.19 billion from $1.21 billion last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $1.21 billion for the quarter.

"We achieved company revenue in the fourth quarter in line with guidance and generated strong cash flow from operating activities," said interim CEO Richard Hill. "Our Consumer Cyber Safety segment continued to deliver solid results, and we were pleased with increases in average revenue per user, both year-over-year and sequentially.

Enterprise Security revenues were below the company's guidance range due to lower than expected bookings, which led to year-over-year reported billings decline.

Looking forward to the first quarter, Symantec expects adjusted earnings of $0.30 and $0.34 per share and adjusted revenues of $1.175 billion to $1.205 billion. Analysts currently estimate earnings of $0.40 per share and revenues of $1.20 billion.

For the full year 2020, the company sees adjusted earnings of $1.65 to $1.80 per share and revenues of $4.76 billion to $4.90 billion. Analysts currently estimate earnings of $1.78 per share and revenues of $4.97 billion.

SYMC closed Thursday's trading at $22.17, down $0.09 or 0.40%, on the Nasdaq. The stock further dropped $2.92 or 13.17% in the after-hours trading.