Juniper Networks, Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) shares are getting hit after hours Thursday following fourth-quarter results which were inline with the company's January 9th pre-announcement but guidance which was very concerning.

Sales for the quarter declined 6 percent year over year from nearly $1.19 billion to $1.12 billion. Revenue was up 1 percent from the third quarter of 2011.

GAAP net income slumped more than 49 percent to $96.16 million, while pro-forma profit was down 34 percent to $150.12 million. On a per-share basis, non-GAAP EPS totaled 28 cents, down 33 percent from the same quarter last year.

Juniper generated net cash from operations in the fourth quarter of 2011 of $243.6 million, compared to $371 million generated in the fourth quarter of 2010.

"The December quarter was an atypical and unexpectedly weak finish to the year, with reduced spending by some of our largest customers," said finance chief Robyn Denholm. "While long-term industry fundamentals remain strong, we expect the near-term environment to remain challenging."

The real story here is in the outlook: first-quarter 2012 non-GAAP earnings of 11 cents to 14 cents per share and revenue of $960 million to $990 million. The outlook is 100 percent below views calling for earnings of 26 cents per share and revs of $1.10 billion.

Shares of Juniper are down about 8 percent.

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