Riverbed (RVBD) Warns; Pulls Down Enterprise Software Industry (QLGC, ELX, BCSI, FFIV)

After the close yesterday, Riverbed Technology (Nasdaq: RVBD) issued preliminary Q1 earnings, saying it expects EPS to be in the range of $0.08-$0.10 and revs between $72-$74 million. As both of these numbers are lower than the current Street EPS and revenue outlook of $0.12 and $80.98 million, respectively, shares of Riverbed have sold-off today. The stock has traded down about $1.90, or about 13% to as low as $12.72.

This lower-than-expected outlook has spooked the entire enterprise software sector. Several analyst firms have come out with negative notes about the implications for this market as a whole. Each of the firms cited concerns about IT spending, sending shares of companies across the industry tumbling.

Just before the close, QLogic (Nasdaq: QLGC) is down about 4%, Emulex (NYSE: ELX) is down 9%, and Blue Coat (Nasdaq: BCSI) is down 12%. Also, F5 Networks (Nasdaq: FFIV), which has a lot of exposure to IT software, has traded down 6% on the day.

An analyst at Collins Stewart commented "we have learned that the overall tone of business in large enterprise slowed across the board."

Riverbed Technology, Inc. provides solutions to the fundamental problems of wide-area distributed computing in the United States and internationally. [BCS]
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