National Instruments Reports Q4 EPS of $.53 vs. $.45

National Instruments NATI today announced Q4 revenue of $250 million, a new quarterly revenue record and a 24 percent increase compared to Q4 2009. This exceeded the company's guidance of between $230 million and $244 million, which was provided on Oct. 25, 2010. In Q4, the company's large order business, defined as orders greater than $20,000, grew 22 percent sequentially. Backlog increased by $5 million from Sept. 30 to Dec. 31, 2010. GAAP and non-GAAP operating income were all-time quarterly records, and operating margins improved significantly over Q4 2009. Net income for Q4 2010 was $38 million, with GAAP fully diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.48. Non-GAAP net income was $42 million, with non-GAAP fully diluted EPS of $0.53. When comparing these results to 2009, investors should recall that the company incurred a $21.6 million noncash tax charge that reduced both GAAP and non-GAAP EPS by $0.28 in Q4 2009.