EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) released quarterly results the other day to a good amount of market fanfare. Its results spiked 77% from the year-ago quarter on strong sales of EMC's core competencies: data storage hardware and software. The market has reacted in favorable fashion since that time, pushing EMC's public shares to their highest level since 2001. Right now, the company's shares stand at over $24 each.

EMC's lingering problem for the near term was partially put to rest, as the company stated that a potential corporate spending pullback on data storage was not happening as far as it could see. Indeed, the internet continues to grow by leaps and bounds, and all that website traffic and web-based email has to live somewhere. Not to mention corporate data center storage.

Joe Tucci, EMC's CEO, told the market, "Despite the air of caution in the financial services industry, we see enough opportunity to achieve our growth objectives going forward." By "air," he's referring to the domino effects being seen in the mortgage industry at this time, causing hefty losses in the nation's largest banks, mortgage companies and investment houses that put so much risk into irrational housing loans that billions are now evaporating from their collective houses as homeowner defaults rack up month after month.

Apparently, someone (or something) is buying more corporate data storage in lieu of troubles in the financial sector. Maybe more storage needs are required to store all the default and bankruptcy paperwork in digital form or something.

EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) saw quarterly gains in its just-reported Q3 numbers, as profit spiked 77% on increasing sales of data storage hardware and software. EMC timed the sale of its past ownership stake in hot company VMWare in the quarter as well, which added significantly to the company's profit figure for the quarter.

Net income for the Q3 (July-September) period was reported at $492.9 million ($0.23 per share), a jump over last year's Q3 figure of $283.7 million ($0.13 per share). From July to September, EMC's revenue was up sharply from the year-ago quarter's $2.82 billion, landing at $3.29 billion for the quarter. Expectations were at $3.12 billion, so EMC can rest easy (well, for a week or so) knowing it beat analyst estimates.

For the quarter, EMC raked in over $115 million selling its six million share stake in VMWare to Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), so EMC's real gain for the quarter (minus that sale) stood at $377.8 million -- still a very handsome number. In addressing results for the quarter, the company said that it will be boosting its stock buyback total for 2007 to $2 billion, nearly double the prior commitment of $1 billion.