PeopleSoft lost $7.3 million, or two cents a share, on revenues of $624 million in Q3 but still beat expectations.

Excluding certain accounting adjustments related to its acquisition of JD Edwards, PeopleSoft said it would have earned 17 cents a share, exceeding its guidance of 10 cents-11 cents as well as Wall Street's expectations of 11 cents.

The company's revenues were also higher than its guidance of $575 million-$590 million.

Software license revenues, a yardstick of growth, totaled $160 million, well above the $135 million-$150 million the company thought it would do and nicely ahead of the $121.61 million in the year-earlier quarter.

Reflecting confidence in the future, PeopleSoft raised its Q4 revenue projections to $625 million-$640 million from $615 million- $630 million and its EPS outlook to 18 cents-19 cents from 16 cents- 17 cents excluding charges.

PeopleSoft's strong numbers in the face of the uncertainty provoked by Oracle's hostile takeover bid seemed to impress Wall Street. US Bancorp Piper Jaffray upgraded the stock to a "strong buy" from "outperform" citing better overall demand and growing operating margins, and Prudential declared that, "The positive impact of the JD Edwards acquisition is just starting to play out."

PeopleSoft's strong results also make it more difficult for Oracle's five-month-old bid to succeed unless it raises its offer, something it's said it's reluctant to do.