Sep. 2 at 12:47 AM
Palo Alto Networks reported a strong fiscal fourth quarter, with revenue rising 34% year over year to
$3.41 billion, above the
$3.35 billion consensus, while adjusted EPS reached
$1.02 versus expectations of
$0.98.
CEO Nikesh Arora said AI-driven cyber threats are creating “durable tailwinds” for cybersecurity demand as enterprises prioritize protection against increasingly advanced attacks. Next-Generation Security ARR rose 63% to
$9.1 billion, while remaining performance obligations increased 34% to
$21.2 billion.
The company forecast fiscal first-quarter revenue of
$3.30-
$3.31 billion and adjusted EPS of
$0.96-
$0.98, both above Wall Street estimates. However, shares turned lower after initially gaining 5% following the earnings release, partly due to a free-cash-flow margin outlook of 37.5%-38%, below buy-side expectations. The stock is up about 100% this year, while CrowdStrike has also posted strong gains amid rising AI-related cybersecurity demand.
$PANW