Palo Alto Networks stories earnings beat, says founder Nir Zuk retiring from firm


Nikesh Arora, CEO of Palo Alto Networks, seems to be on in the course of the closing bell on the Nasdaq Market in New York Metropolis on March 25, 2025.

Jeenah Moon | Reuters

Palo Alto Networks reported better-than-expected quarterly outcomes and issued upbeat steering for the present interval. The cybersecurity software program vendor stated Nir Zuk, who based the corporate in 2005, is retiring from his function as chief expertise officer.

The inventory rose about 6% in prolonged buying and selling.

Here is how the corporate did in comparison with LSEG estimates:

  • Earnings: 95 cents adjusted vs. 88 cents anticipated
  • Income: $2.54 billion vs. $2.5 billion anticipated.

Income within the fiscal fourth quarter rose 16% from about $2.2 billion final yr, the corporate stated in a assertion. Web revenue fell to about $254 million, or 36 cents per share, from about $358 million, or 51 cents per share, within the year-ago interval.

The corporate additionally issued upbeat steering for the fiscal first quarter. Earnings per share can be between 88 cents and 90 cents, Palo Alto stated, topping an 85-cents estimate from StreetAccount.

For the complete yr, Palo Alto stated income will vary from $10.48 billion to $10.53 billion on adjusted earnings of $3.75 to $3.85 per share. Each estimates exceeded Wall Avenue’s projections.

Palo Alto stated that for the fiscal first quarter, remaining buy obligations, which tracks backlog, will vary between $15.4 billion and $15.5 billion, surpassing a $15.07 billion estimate.

Final month, the corporate introduced plans to purchase Israeli id safety supplier CyberArk for $25 billion. It is the most important deal Palo Alto has made since its founding, and most bold in an buying spree that ramped up after CEO Nikesh Arora took the helm of the corporate in 2018.

Shares offered off sharply after the information broke and have but to recuperate earlier highs. The inventory is down about 3% this yr as of Monday’s shut.

“We search for nice merchandise, a crew that may execute within the product, and we allow them to run it,” Arora advised CNBC following the announcement. “That is going to be a special problem, however we have executed nicely 24 instances, so I am fairly assured that our crew can deal with this.”

Lee Klarich, the corporate’s product chief, will change Zuk as CTO and fill his place on the board.

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