NEW YORK (AP) — Oracle Corp. on Wednesday reported flat earnings for its fiscal third-quarter, hurt by a drop in sales of hardware systems and new software. Shares tumbled in after-hours trading on the weaker-than-expected results.

Revenue from new software licenses and online or “cloud” subscriptions, a closely watched figure, fell 2 percent year-over-year to $2.3 billion. The company had predicted that number would rise by 3 percent to 13 percent. Hardware systems revenue dropped 16 percent. But while the hardware revenue decline has been ongoing and expected, the drop in new software licenses and subscriptions was a surprise.

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