Ariba Misses Revenue Expectations, Beats Earnings

Ariba reported Q206 numbers that fell short of revenue estimates, but beat on the earnings side. According to one wire dispatch announcing the news, "Excluding items, non-GAAP net income for the quarter was $9.7 million, or $0.13 per share. Total revenues for the second quarter were $73.7 million compared to $81.3 million in the year ago quarter. Analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial expected the company to report earnings of $0.08 per share for the second quarter, on revenues of $75.2 million." A quick glance at the balance sheet shows that cash is up around $14 million in the past six months. And customer acquisition during the quarter was not bad including "AXA, Bongrain SA, Five Star Quality Care, Inc., Kohlberg & Company, Nissan Motor, Orkla ASA, PolyOne, The PNC Financial Services Group, Toshiba, University of Miami and V&M Star," according to the earnings announcement. Still, the total revenue number will disappoint some who were hoping to see a stronger performance. Personally, I'm most interested in hearing what Ariba's customers have to say about their experience and current technology / services investments with the Spend Management provider when I attend Ariba LIVE the week after next.