FireEye Jumps on Solid Earnings and Guidance

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 13, 1:32AM EST · Published Nov 4, 7:10AM EDT

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FireEye Jumps on Solid Earnings and Guidance — © Thinkstock

When FireEye Inc. (NASDAQ: FEYE) reported its third-quarter financial results after the markets closed on Thursday, it posted a net loss of $0.18 per share and $186.4 million in revenue. Consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters had called for a net loss of $0.20 per share on revenue of $195.67 million. The same period of last year reportedly had a per-share net loss of $0.36 and $184.77 million in revenue.

Billings totaled $215.4 million at the end of the quarter, an increase of 2% from last year. Gross margin was 74%, compared to 73% in the third quarter of 2015.

In terms of guidance for the fourth quarter, the company expects to have a net loss in the range of $0.16 to $0.18 per share and revenues between $187 million and $193 million. The consensus estimates are a net loss of $0.24 per share and $189.57 million in revenue for the current quarter.

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Cash flow from operations of $14.1 million, compared to −$8.3 million in the third quarter of 2015. On the books, FireEye’s cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled $926.2 million at the end of the quarter, down from $1.17 billion at the end of 2015.

Kevin Mandia, FireEye CEO, commented:

Our performance in the third quarter — with billings, revenue, operating margin, earnings per share and cash flow above guidance — reflected customer confidence in FireEye intelligence-led products and services. We experienced strong demand for our cloud-based email security and threat intelligence solutions, as well as continued growth in renewal subscriptions. Of the 47 customers who spent more than one million dollars on FireEye solutions in the third quarter, 41 invested in multiple products.

Shares of FireEye closed Thursday down 2.7% at $11.01, with a consensus analyst price target of $17.89 and a 52-week trading range of $10.87 to $24.16. Following the report, the stock was up 13% at $12.45 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.