©Reuters. Cybersecurity services provider Fortinet (FTNT) is reporting strong financial results.Stock price surge
shares of fortinet (NASDAQ:) Shares soared more than 12% after Tuesday's close after the company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter profits and sales.
The cybersecurity company reported fourth-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $0.51, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43. Sales increased 10% from the previous year to $1.42 billion, exceeding expectations of $1.41 billion.
Services revenue increased significantly by 25% year over year to $927 million, beating expectations of $914.8 million. However, product revenue fell 9.6% year over year to $488.1 million, falling short of expectations of $498.1 million.
Deferred revenue increased 24% year over year to $5.74 billion, exceeding expectations of $5.5 billion.
Billings increased 8.5% year over year to $1.86 billion, exceeding expectations of $1.62 billion.
Adjusted operating margin remained stable at 32%, compared to 32.5% in the same period last year, which exceeded expectations of 27.9%.
Fortinet projects first quarter 2024 EPS of $0.37 to $0.39, consistent with analysts' average estimate of $0.37. The company expects first-quarter sales to be in the range of $1.3 billion to $1.36 billion, slightly below the analyst consensus of $1.37 billion.
First-quarter charges are expected to be in the range of $1.39 billion to $1.45 billion, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.47 billion.
Fortinet projects full-year 2024 EPS in the range of $1.65 to $1.70, roughly in line with the consensus estimate of $1.67. The company's revenue for this year is expected to be between $5.715 billion and $5.815 billion, falling short of the consensus estimate of $5.93 billion.
Full-year billings are expected to be in the range of $6.4 billion to $6.6 billion, compared with analysts' expectations of $6.52 billion.
“In Q4 2023, Security Operations billings increased 44% year-over-year and SASE billings increased 19% year-over-year due to a successful sales strategy shift and improved sales team execution. ” said founder Ken Xie. Chairman and CEO of Fortinet.
