Symantec Shares Tumble on CEO's Departure, Downbeat Forecast

(Bloomberg) -- Symantec Corp. shares tumbled as much as 16% in extended trading after the company said President and Chief Executive Officer Greg Clark is stepping down and leaving the security-software maker’s board.

Richard Hill, a current director and former CEO of Novellus Systems Inc., was named interim leader to replace Clark, who has been at the helm since 2016, the company said Thursday in a statement. Symantec said it will begin the process of finding a permanent successor. The company also named Vincent Pilette as chief financial officer, replacing Nicholas Noviello, whose exit was announced in January.

Separately, the company forecast fiscal first-quarter profit of 30 cents to 34 cents a share, falling short of the average analyst estimate of 40 cents, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Adjusted revenue will be $1.18 billion to $1.21 billion, Symantec said, compared with projections of $1.2 billion.

In the fourth quarter, which ended March 29, profit excluding certain items was 39 cents a share, matching estimates. Adjusted revenue was $1.2 billion, compared with average predicted sales of $1.21 billion.

Shares slid as low as $18.60 in late trading following the announcements, after ending the day little changed at $22.17 in New York. The stock had gained 17% this year on optimism that Symantec was gaining ground in enterprise security products and that its 2016 acquisition of Blue Coat Systems LLC -- the deal that brought Clark to the company -- was paying off.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jillian Ward in San Francisco at jward56@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net, Andrew Pollack

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.