Palo Alto forecasts annual results above estimates on robust cybersecurity demand

(Updates shares in paragraph 2, adds background and details in paragraphs 4-6, 9-10)
Aug 19 (Reuters) – Palo Alto Networks forecast fiscal 2025 revenue and profit above Wall Street estimates on Monday, a sign of growing demand for its comprehensive cybersecurity products as digital threat landscape evolves.
Shares of Santa Clara, California-based Palo Alto Networks rose about 4% in extended trading, as the company also announced an additional $500 million for share repurchases.
A surge in digital scams, online threats and high-profile cybersecurity incidents have triggered robust demand for companies such as Palo Alto offering integrated security products.
The results come at a time when analyst say the July 19 global IT outage, linked to CrowdStrike’s software update, has laid bare the risks of dependence on single-vendor providing consolidated security solutions.
The analysts added that the outage could partially slowdown aggressive vendor consolidation.
Palo Alto’s products include cloud security suite Prisma and AI-powered Cortex portfolio that help in prevention and detection of complex cybersecurity attacks on the endpoint.
The company expects its annual revenue to be between $9.10 billion and $9.15 billion, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $9.11 billion, according to LSEG data.
Palo Alto expects its annual adjusted profit per share in the range of $6.18 to $6.31, compared with estimates of $6.19 per share.
Its revenue for the fourth quarter rose about 12% from a year earlier to $2.19 billion, beating the average analyst estimate of $2.16 billion.
Earlier this month, rival cybersecurity firm Fortinet raised its annual revenue forecast and posted second-quarter revenue in line with analysts’ estimates. (Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)