Cerner's earnings beat expectations

Cerner Corp. on Tuesday reported sales for the second quarter of $402.8 million, leading the company to a $35.3 million profit. Sales for the three months were up 4 percent from the same period in 2007. Cerner beat Wall Street estimates for the quarter by about a penny per share. Cerner reported diluted earnings per share of 42 cents for the quarter, up 10 cents from the same quarter in 2007. The shares moved higher in after-hours trading. The North Kansas City-based health-care company said an increase in operating margin, bookings and cash flow offset a series of unusual events during the quarter. “While declines in sales of hardware, a non-core part of our business, again impacted our overall revenue growth, our core business is strong, as evidenced by our strong levels of bookings, earnings growth, operating margin... [read full story]