Norwalk-based Xerox Corp. says third-quarter profit edged up 2 percent, topping Wall Street’s forecast, as sales to smaller businesses helped offset weakness in large U.S. corporations.
Bigger companies bought less new equipment from the printer and copier maker, crimping the imaging company’s sales growth and causing it to miss the consensus revenue prediction.
Xerox’s sales grew just 2 percent, to $4.37 billion, short of the $4.47 billion that analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting. Sales would have been flat were it not for a weak U.S. dollar.
Net income was $258 million, or 29 cents per share, a penny per share higher than the average analyst estimate. In the year-ago period, net income was $254 million, or 27 cents per share.
At 11 a.m., Xerox shares traded at $7.62, down 36 cents, or 4.5 percent. (AP)