JNPR: Market Cheers Over 'Less Bad'

The Quarter That Was

Last week the company reported first-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street estimates but showed a drop in profits -- remarkably, it was also the fifth consecutive quarter in which Juniper showed shrinking gross margins.

The company reported a profit of $16.27 million or 3 cents per share -- representing a decline of over 87% from the previous year. So as much as I want to make a bullish case for the stock, this trend does not inspire enough confidence to warrant it.

Revenue arrived at $1.03 billion -- also down from the $1.10 billion it reported the previous year -- while reporting 16 cents per share in adjusted income.

For the current quarter, Juniper expects revenue in the range of $1.03 billion to $1.06 billion and adjusted profit in the range of 15 cents a share to 17 cents a share. Analysts were expecting a profit of 20 cents a share, on revenue of $1.05 billion, according to a consensus survey by FactSet Research.