I’m actually surprised that shares of cyber-security company Palo Alto Networks (PANW) rose only 10.7% in after-hours trading after the company reported adjusted fiscal third quarter earnings of $1.79 a share. That was ahead of the adjusted earnings of $1.68 a share expected by analysts, and it was up from $1.38 a share in the fiscal third quarter of 2021. Revenue of $1.39 billion, up from $1.07 billion a year ago, was ahead of analyst projections of $1.38 billion. Billings rose to $1.8 billion from $1.27 billion in 2021.
But the big news, the news that powered the after-hours gains, came when executives at Palo Alto raised their full-year outlook for the third time in as many quarters. The company now expects adjusted earnings of $7.43 to $7.46 a share and revenue of $5.48 billion to 5.5 billion. Last quarter, the company hiked its outlook to adjusted earnings of $7.23 to $7.30 a share. For the full year analysts were expecting $7.29 a share on revenue of $5.46 billion.
Despite that increased guidance, CEO Nikesh Arora said the company wasn’t immune to supply-chain issues–which are likely to persist for another year, he said–or go price pressures.“The cost pressures are really all within the supply-chain area,” said CFO Dipak Golechha.
Palo Alto Networks has been a member of my Jubak Picks Portfolio and my Volatility Portfolio since June 27,2019, The shares were up 113% during that period as of the close of regular trading on May 19. The stock is also a member of my long-term 50 Stocks Portfolio where it is up 79% from June 16, 2020.
