Palo Alto Networks Stock Soars on Strong Earnings and Three-for-One Stock Split

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Demonstrating the continued strong demand for cybersecurity software,

Palo Alto Networks

posted better-than-expected results for the three months ended July 31, while providing impressive forecasts for both the October quarter and fiscal 2023.

The company also declared a three-for-one stock split and expanded its stock repurchase program by $915 million, increasing the total current authorization to $1 billion. The stock will begin trading on a post-split basis on Sept. 14.

The split is the latest in a series by high-profile technology companies, including

Apple

(ticker: AAPL),

Amazon.com
,

Alphabet

(GOOGL), and

Tesla

(TSLA). In late trading, Palo Alto Networks stock (PANW) was 7.5% higher, to $546.

For its fiscal fourth quarter, ended July 31, Palo Alto posted revenue of $1.6 billion, up 27% from the year-ago quarter, and ahead of the company’s guidance range of $1.53 billion to $1.56 billion. Non-GAAP profits were $2.39 a share, likewise above the forecast range of $2.26 to $2.29 a share. Billings were up 44%, to $2.7 billion. Remaining performance obligations were up 40% to $8.2 billion. Under generally accepted accounting principles, the company earned $3.3 million, or 3 cents a share.

“We were pleased by our fourth quarter results, which included GAAP profitability for the first time in four years,” CEO Nikesh Arora said in a statement. “As cybersecurity posture remains critical, our integrated three-platform strategy continues to drive large deal momentum as we consolidate and simplify our customers’ security architectures.”

For the full fiscal year, the company had revenue of $5.5 billion, with a non-GAAP profit of $7.56 a share, up from $4.3 billion in revenue and $6.14 a share in non-GAAP profits a year earlier.

For the October quarter, Palo Alto Networks sees revenue of $1.535 billion to $1.555 billion, up 23% to 25%, with non-GAAP profits of $2.03 to $2.06 a share. The previous consensus call on Wall Street had been for revenue of $1.53 billion and a profit of $2.04 a share. The company sees billings in the quarter of $1.68 billion to $1.70 billion, up 22% to 23%.

For the July 2023 fiscal year, Palo Alto Networks sees revenue of $6.85 billion to $6.9 billion, with non-GAAP profits of $9.40 to $9.50 a share, ahead of the Street consensus at $6.73 billion and $9.26 a share. The company sees full-year billings of $8.95 billion to $9.05 billion.

Write to Eric J. Savitz at [email protected]