Verint Systems Stock Plunges 11% Following Disappointing Q2 Results and Lowered Guidance

Why Artificial Intelligence Stock Verint Systems Dived by 11% on Thursday

Trailing quarterly performance didn't impress the market, and full-year guidance didn't blow anyone away either. Next-generation customer experience specialist Verint Systems (VRNT -11.15%) wasn't feeling like the future on Thursday. The company published an earnings report that displeased investors, who pushed its share price down by more than 11% during the trading session. That was a notably steeper decline than the relatively light 0.3% dip of the S&P 500 index on the day. Only flat top-line growth but meaningful profitability improvement Verint published said results from its second quarter of fiscal 2025 just after market hours on Thursday. The figures reveal that the company's headline revenue was essentially flat on a year-over-year basis, at $210 million. In a more encouraging development, non-GAAP (adjusted) net income climbed to nearly $35.6 million, or $0.49 per share, from the year-ago profit of just under $31 million. Both line items landed under the consensus analyst estimates. On average, pundits tracking the stock were expecting nearly $213 million on the top line and $0.53 per share for adjusted net income. Verint has been very assertive in the artificial intelligence (AI) sphere, having launched its AI business software platform in calendar 2023. It quoted CEO Dan Bodner as saying, "We believe the AI opportunity in the contact center is very large and still in its early stages and that our ability to demonstrate measurable AI business outcomes positions us well for strong AI bookings growth in the second half of the year and accelerating revenue growth over time." Guidance was not particularly inspiring Verint's guidance, however, doesn't quite jibe with the very bullish words of its leader. For the entirety of the current fiscal year, the company is anticipating revenue will increase or decrease as much as 2% compared to the previous year, while it's forecasting $2.90 per share net income at the midpoint of its revenue guidance. That figure, if realized, would represent a 6% year-over-year improvement.

These Analysts cUT Their Forecasts On Verint Systems Following Downbeat Q2 Results - Verint Systems (NASDAQ:VRNT)

Verint Systems Inc. VRNT reported worse-than-expected second-quarter financial results and announced a new $200 million stock buyback program on Wednesday. Verint reported quarterly earnings of 49 cents per share which missed the analyst consensus estimate of 53 cents per share. The company reported quarterly sales of $210.170 million which missed the analyst consensus estimate of $212.840 million. Dan Bodner, Verint CEO commented, "Behind our AI momentum is delivering 'AI Business Outcomes, Now'™ better than any other vendor in the market. We launched our AI platform a year ago and we now have many customers, including some of the world's leading brands, reporting strong AI business outcomes achieving significant ROI with Verint's AI-powered bots. In Q2, we reported strong AI bookings growth and Bundled SaaS revenue growth driven by AI. We believe the AI opportunity in the contact center is very large and still in its early stages and that our ability to demonstrate measurable AI business outcomes positions us well for strong AI bookings growth in the second half of the year and accelerating revenue growth over time." Verint shares fell 9.1% to trade at $27.14 on Thursday. These analysts made changes to their price targets on Verint following earnings announcement. Evercore ISI Group analyst Peter Levine maintained Verint with an In-Line and lowered the price target from $34 to $30. Jefferies analyst Samad Samana maintained the stock with a Hold and lowered the price target from $32 to $28. TD Cowen analyst Shaul Eyal maintained Verint Systems with a Buy and slashed the price target from $40 to $36. Considering buying VRNT stock? Here's what analysts think: Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs