Are Palo Alto Networks’ Q4 Earnings Enough For Investors?

By Chris Lange Published Aug 24, 5:05PM EDT

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Are Palo Alto Networks’ Q4 Earnings Enough For Investors? — © Wikimedia Commons

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NYSE: PANW | PANW Price Prediction) released fiscal fourth-quarter financial results after markets closed Monday. The firm said that it had $1.48 in earnings per share (EPS) and $950.4 million in revenue, compared with consensus estimates that called for $1.39 in EPS and $923.51 million in revenue. The same period from last year had $1.47 in EPS and $805.8 million in revenue.

Management noted that it had a strong finish to the fiscal year with a strong increase in billings driven by strong execution, work-from-home tailwinds, and continued success in next-gen security.

The company also announced the proposed acquisition of The Crypsis Group, a leading incident response firm. Upon the closing of the transaction, The Crypsis Group will complement Palo Alto’s Cortex XDR platform with best-in-class incident response, forensic, and consulting capabilities. In addition to being able to predict and prevent cyberattacks, Cortex will be able to mitigate the impact of any breach that its customers may face.

Overall revenues grew 18% year over year. Product revenues were relatively flat year over year at $305.6 million, while subscription and support revenues grew 28.9% to $644.8 million.

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During the quarter, billings grew 32% year over year to $1.4 billion. Deferred revenue increased 32% year over year to $3.8 billion.

Looking ahead to the fiscal first quarter, the company expects to see EPS in the range of $1.32 to $1.35 and revenue in the range of $915 million to $925 million. Analysts are calling for $1.18 in EPS and $901.08 million in revenue for the coming quarter.

Shares of Palo Alto Networks closed Monday at $267.11, with a 52-week range of $125.47 to $275.03. The consensus analyst price target is $276.79. Following the announcement, the stock was initially down about 3% at $258.00 in the after-hours session.

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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.