Nuance Slides On FY Q1 Miss; 'Siri, What Went Wrong?'

Nuance Communications shares are trading sharply lower after hours Thursday on disappointing results for the voice technology company's fiscal first quarter ended December 31. There were high hopes for the company given its position as the underlying technology supplier for Apple's Siri speech recognition feature.

For the quarter, Nuance posted non-GAAP revenues of $382 million, below the Street consensus at $319.6 million, with non-GAAP profits of 34 cents a share, below the Street at 36 cents.

For Q2, the company sees non-GAAP revenue of $395 million to $415 million; the Street has been expecting $404.5 million. Nuance sees non-GAAP EPS for the quarter ranging between 36 and 40 cents; the Street has been forecasting 38 cents.

For the full year, the company sees non-GAAP revenue of $1.66 billion o $1.71 billion; consensus has been $1.68 billion. Profits for the full year are expected to be $1.55 to $1.62 a share on a non-GAAP basis; Street consensus has been $1.60.

In remarks prepared for the company's post-report earnings calls, the company noted that its relationships with mobile customers have become more complex. "In some cases, this has resulted in delayed revenues, due in part to revenues deferred until completion of certain deliverables and in part to longer negotiation cycles."

NUAN in late trading is down $2.83, or 9.4%, to $27.60.