Red Hat Shares Up 4% After Earnings, Stock Buyback

Shares of Red Hat Inc. rose in after-hours Wednesday after the Raleigh, N.C.-based tech company reported fourth-quarter results that topped Wall Street expectations. Red Hat also announced a $500 million stock buyback program. The company said it earned $48 million in the quarter, or 26 cents a share, compared with $45 million, or 24 cents a share in the year ago quarter. Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned 43 cents a share in the quarter, compared with 39 cents a share a year ago. Revenues for the quarter hit $464 million. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected Red Hat to report adjusted earnings of 41 cents a share on revenues of $457 million.