What Is Driving Fortinet’s Earnings?
Shares of Fortinet soared in the wake of better-than-expected fourth-quarter financial results.
[cnxvideo id=”509735″ placement=”ros”]When Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT) reported its fourth-quarter financial results on Thursday, the company posted $0.30 in earnings per share (EPS) on $362.8 million in revenue. Consensus estimates had called for $0.21 in EPS and revenue of $352.4 million. The same period of last year had EPS of $0.18 and $296.5 million in revenue.
Deferred revenue for the quarter totaled $1.04 billion, which was up 31% from the same period last year. Total deferred revenue increased by $100.6 million, compared to $934.8 million as of September 30, 2016.
At the same time, total billings were $463.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2016, an increase of 22% compared to $380.9 million in the same quarter of 2015.
In terms of the revenue breakdown the company reported:
- Product revenues totaled $158.93 million.
- Service revenues totaled $203.91 million.
[nativounit]
For the quarter, free cash flow totaled $84.2 million. On the books, Fortinet’s cash, cash equivalents and investments totaled $1.31 billion at the end of the quarter.
Ken Xie, founder, board chair and chief executive, commented:
We are pleased with our strong finish to 2016, demonstrating our strong technology advantage and revenue growth. Our ability to provide a broad, powerful, and automated Security Fabric that protects all points in the network, from IoT to cloud, sets Fortinet apart. This technology advantage, combined with improvements in sales execution delivered strong results in the mid to large enterprise segments of the market and positions us well for future growth.
Shares of Fortinet were last seen up 14% to $37.88 on Friday, with a consensus analyst price target of $35.48 and a 52-week trading range of $23.16 to $37.98.
[wallst_email_signup]
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Chris Lange is a financial and geopolitical writer with more than a decade of experience covering a myriad of topics. He has published thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St., with past coverage focused heavily on stocks, IPOs, healthcare, defense, global affairs, and technology.
His work has been quoted, or referenced by a number of outlets including Business Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, The Motley Fool, and many other publications. A graduate of Southwestern University, he studied business with a focus on investments and has previous experience in banking and startups.
When not reading or writing the news, he is following his passion for Lacrosse, playing chess, or building solar projects with his dad.
