Mixed FireEye Earnings Fail to Impress Investors

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 13, 4:54AM EST · Published Aug 5, 8:40AM EDT

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Mixed FireEye Earnings Fail to Impress Investors — © Thinkstock

FireEye Inc. (NASDAQ: FEYE) reported its second-quarter financial results after the markets closed on Thursday. Although the company had a less-than-favorable quarter, management believes that FireEye is on the path to optimizing its cost structure.

The company posted a net loss of $0.33 per share on $175 million in revenues for the quarter. Consensus estimates had called for a net loss of $0.39 per share on revenue of $181.7 million. In the same period of last year, FireEye posted a net loss of $0.41 per share on $147.2 million in revenue.

During the quarter, billings rose 10% to a total of $196.4 million. At the same time, operating margin was −28%, compared to −41% in the second quarter of 2015.

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In terms of the outlook for the third quarter, the company expects have a net loss in the range of $0.30 to $0.32 per share on revenues between $180 million and $186 million, with billings in the range of $200 million to $215 million. The consensus estimates are a net loss of $0.24 per share on $208.23 million in revenue.

Kevin Mandia, chief executive of FireEye, commented on earnings:

I believe FireEye has competitive advantages that will help re-invigorate our growth and deliver shareholder value in the future. Our MVX advanced threat detection engine, powered by our threat intelligence, leads the industry in high fidelity detection of unknown threats. Our global infrastructure allows us to deliver FireEye as a Service to customers around the world, and the expertise of our security consultants positions us as a trusted advisor to organizations and governments. As we introduce the latest versions of FireEye products, improve sales execution, and continue to optimize our costs, I believe we will see steady improvement in our performance. We still have much work to do, but I am convinced that FireEye has the critical assets necessary for long term success, and that we are taking additional steps to achieve balanced growth and profitability.

On the books, FireEye’s cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled $916.8 million at the end of the quarter, versus $1.17 billion at the end of 2015.

Shares of FireEye closed Thursday down 3% at $16.75, with a consensus analyst price target of $21.25 and a 52-week trading range of $11.35 to $44.92. Following the release of the earnings report, the stock was down nearly 15% at $14.25 in early trading indications Friday.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.