Feb 5 (Reuters) - Walmart-backed warehouse automation company Symbotic projected second-quarter core earnings below Wall Street estimates on Monday, sending its shares down 18% in trading after the bell.

Shares of the company, which builds solutions to automate warehouses using artificial intelligence software and robots that can collect, store and retrieve products, soared more than four times last year.

Symbotic forecast adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of $12 million to $15 million in the quarter ending March, compared with analysts' average estimate of $28.1 million, according to LSEG data.

It reported revenue for the quarter ended December at $368.5 million, largely in line with analysts' estimates.

Meanwhile, its loss stood at 2 cents per share in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024, compared with analysts' expectations of loss of 6 cents per share.

Symbotic went public in June 2022 after the company merged with a blank-check firm sponsored by Japan's SoftBank.

SoftBank Group is forming a joint venture with Symbotic to build AI-powered warehouses that will be majority owned by the Japanese technology investor, the companies had said in July. (Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)