- Palo Alto topped analysts’ estimates despite earnings coming in weaker than expected.
- Stocks rose in extended trading following extended selling.
- Investors worried about the complicated numbers since the company chose to report earnings after the market closed on Friday.
Arora Nikesh, CEO and Chairman, Palo Alto Networks at WEF in Davos, Switzerland on May 23;
Adam Kalika | CNBC
Shares of Palo Alto Networks rose as much as 9% in after-hours trading Friday after the security software vendor reported earnings that beat analysts’ estimates.
Shares fell 16% in August as investors suggested the company’s decision to announce results late on Friday suggested the release may have included problematic numbers.
Here’s how the company fared in the quarter ended July 31:
- Revenue: $1.44 per share, adjusted, vs. $1.28 per share, adjusted, Refinitiv had expected.
- Revenue: $1.95 billion, vs. $1.96 billion expected by Refinitiv.
Revenue in its fiscal fourth quarter was up 26% from $1.6 billion a year earlier, Palo Alto said. said. Net income rose to $227.7 million, or 74 cents a share, from $3.3 million a year ago.
For the first quarter, Palo Alto expects revenue of $1.82 billion to $1.85 billion, and sales for the year are expected to be between $8.15 billion and $8.2 billion. That fell short of analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion for the fiscal first quarter and $8.38 billion for the full year, according to Refinitiv.
Palo Alto has announced Revenue date on 2nd August. West Coast tech companies typically report earnings for the week after Thursday afternoon, giving investors a chance to run the numbers and trade stocks based on those results by the end of the week. Historically, companies with bad news often bury the numbers after the close of trading on Friday.
Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora noted the timing of the release on the company’s earnings call and said it “made for some interesting reading” in analyst reports over the past two weeks.
“We apologize to the people who were inconvenienced,” Arora said, adding that the company was caught between a handful of events. Palo Alto had a board meeting this week and starts a conference on Sunday, and wanted to get the numbers before all those people get together.
“Sorry to drag you out on Friday, but I think it’s important to share all these results with a few thousand people next week,” Arora said.
See: Jim Cramer interviews Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora
