Palo Alto Networks Q4 Earnings
Palo Alto Networks Inc (PANW) just reported upbeat earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter. Its shares jumped roughly 9.0% in after-hours.
Palo Alto’s guidance for the full year
Shareholders are also cheering the full-year earnings guidance that topped Street estimates.
Palo Alto Networks expects its adjusted profit to fall between $5.27 a share and $5.40 a share this year. In comparison, analysts were at $4.98 per share. According to Joel Fishbein of Truist Securities:
The Street was expecting fireworks, we got sprinklers. What we liked is the free cash flow, really good free cash flow.
The cybersecurity stock is still down over 10% versus its year-to-date high.
Fishbein is bullish on Palo Alto Networks
Note that Palo Alto Networks did come in a bit shy of expectations on the revenue front.
It’s calling for up to $8.20 billion in fiscal 2024 versus analysts at $8.38 billion. Still, the Truist analyst said today on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime”:
They’re the long-term winner in this space. Palo Alto is one of the go-to companies in cybersecurity. They’ll grow above market and expand margins in the near-to-mid-term.
He has a “buy” rating on the California-based multinational that now sees a 19% to 20% increase in its full-year billings.
Palo Alto Networks Q4 financial highlights
- Net income printed at $227.7 million versus the year-ago $3.3 million
- Per-share earnings also climbed sharply from a penny to 74 cents
- Adjusted EPS came in at $1.44 as per the earnings press release
- Revenue went up 26% on a year-over-year basis to $1.95 billion
- Consensus was $1.29 of per-share earnings on $1.96 billion in revenue
- Billings also grew 18% in the fourth quarter to $3.16 billion
Truist’s Fishbein expects Palo Alto Networks to make acquisitions moving forward. He also told CNBC today:
They’re in the pole position in [cloud security]. It’s a $2.0 billion plus business growing at 50%. What they’ve shown today is not only can they grow above market, they can do it very profitably and expand margins.
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