Cerner, which along with Epic seems to have a lock on EHR sales across the country, reported bookings in the fourth quarter of 2012 at $1.02 billion, an all-time high and an increase of 13 percent compared to fourth quarter 2011 bookings of $899 million. Full year 2012 bookings were a record $3.14 billion, up 15 percent compared to 2011 bookings of $2.72 billion.

Cerner reported numbers that beat consensus estimates handily, Piper Jaffray analysts Sean Wieland and Mohan A. Naidu, wrote in a Feb. 6 brief.

[See also: Epic, Cerner reap benefits of meaningful use.]

And the analysts forecast a bright future for Cerner going forward. In their view, while the rest of health IT companies are focused on meeting meaningful use requirements, Cerner has moved way beyond meaningful use.

“While the stimulus rush is helping the bookings growth right now,” they wrote. “We believe the company is already establishing itself in data analytics, which is the next growth leg in Healthcare IT. We believe that healthcare data analytics is a huge developing market with very limited competition and early glimpses of the capabilities suggests that Cerner will become a dominant player.”

Fourth quarter revenue was a record $710.4 million, an increase of 15 percent compared to $615.6 million in the year-ago period. Full year 2012 revenue was $2.67 billion, up 21 percent compared to 2011 revenue of $2.20 billion.

On a U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) basis, fourth quarter 2012 net earnings were $111.8 million and diluted earnings per share were $0.63. Fourth quarter 2011 GAAP net earnings were $91.2 million and diluted earnings per share were $0.52. For the full year, 2012 GAAP net earnings were $397.2 million and diluted earnings per share were $2.26. Full year 2011 GAAP net earnings were $306.6 million and diluted earnings per share were $1.76.