How Palo Alto Networks Beat Expectations
Palo Alto Networks handily beat analysts' expectations for revenues and earnings when it reported third fiscal quarter results Wednesday night. The fourth-quarter outlook is also strong and the stock got a nice boost in the after-hours market.
Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NYSE: PANW) reported fiscal third quarter 2017 adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.61 on revenue of $431.8 million. In the same period a year ago, the network security company reported EPS of $0.46 on revenue of $345.8 million. Third-quarter results compare to consensus estimates for EPS of $0.55 and $411.92 million in revenue.
On a GAAP basis, the company posted a per-share net loss of $0.67 compared with a loss of $0.73 in the same quarter a year ago. Adjusted earnings excluded the negative effects of share-based compensation of $1.30 per share and other adjustments, partially offset by $0.20 per share in tax adjustments.
CEO Mark McLaughlin said:
We reported record revenue of $432 million in our fiscal third quarter and added the second highest number of new customers in the company’s history. The integrated and highly automated prevention capabilities of our Next-Generation Security Platform continue to differentiate us in the market as we help our customers protect our digital way of life.
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Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.
