Citrix Systems and Extreme Networks both announced Thursday that their first-quarter earnings are going to disappoint.

Extreme's investors took the news harder than Citrix's did. Extreme share were down 15 percent in after-hours trading Thursday, while Citrix's were down 7 percent.

Extreme's problems stem from postponed orders from the higher-education sector and from deals related to venues including stadiums. That's worth noting, because Extreme has prided itself on being chosen as the official Wi-Fi partner of the NFL.

The company also announced, without explanation, that Chief Revenue Officer Jeff White has left.

Extreme said its first-quarter earnings would be $117 million to $119 million, compared with the company's forecast of $129 million to $139 million.

That means a non-GAAP net loss of 7 to 9 cents per share. Extreme had predicted non-GAAP earnings would range between a loss of 3 cents per share and a profit of 2 cents per share.

Extreme is scheduled to report earnings on May 6. Shares were down 49 cents at $2.75 in after-hours trading Thursday.

Citrix, meanwhile, is feeling the effects of a restructuring announced in January. The company said it would lay off 700 full-time employees and 200 contractors while also trimming some product lines.

Citrix underestimated what this would do to sales, however. The company is not simply going on a diet; it's instituted organizational changes and new sales strategies both in the field and in the channel. CEO Mark Templeton describes the plan as a way to prime the company for future growth.

Sales were also dampened by foreign-exchange issues, but Citrix's statement today made that sound like a secondary effect.

Citrix now expects revenues of $755 million to $760 million for the first quarter, as opposed to the $780 million to $790 million it was forecasting.

Net income will disappoint as well, the company said. Non-GAAP net income will be 63 to 65 cents per share compared with Citrix's forecast of 70 to 72 cents.

Citrix is scheduled to report first-quarter earnings on April 22.

At press time, Citrix's stock was down $4.56 at $60.09.

Photo by Debra Drummond on Flickr. Creative Commons 2.0 license.