Xerox's Stock Falls After Sales Fall Short Of Expectations

Shares of Xerox Corp. fell 1.5% in light premarket trade Friday, after the imaging and business process company missed third-quarter sales expectations, and revised its profit outlook to the lower end of previous guidance. For the quarter to Sept. 30, the company swung to a profit of $181 million, or 17 cents a share, from a loss of $34 million, or 4 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 27 cents, matching the FactSet consensus. Revenue fell 3% to $4.21 billion from $4.33 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $4.31 billion. The company expects fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of 32 cents to 35 cents, compared with the FactSet consensus of 34 cents, and narrowed its 2016 adjusted EPS outlook to $1.11 to $1.14 from $1.10 to $1.20. Xerox said it remained on track to complete its separation by year end. "In an important period for Xerox when our separation-related activities ramped up significantly, we delivered solid financial results despite challenging market conditions," said Chief Executive Ursula Burns. The stock has dropped 10% year to date through Thursday, while the S&P 500 has gained 4.4%.