Cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks’ (PANW) stock is down 5% after the company announced quarterly billings that failed to meet analyst expectations.
For this year’s third quarter, Palo Alto Networks announced earnings per share (EPS) of $1.38 U.S., which was better than the $1.16 U.S. forecast among analysts.
Revenue in the quarter came in at $1.88 billion U.S., up 20% from a year ago, and above Wall Street forecasts of 1.84 billion U.S.
However, the company’s billings during the quarter totaled $2.02 billion U.S., which was short of the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion U.S. to $2.08 billion U.S.
Analysts appear to be viewing the weak billings as a sign of softening demand for Palo Alto’s cybersecurity technology.
Looking ahead, Palo Alto Networks forecast revenue of $1.955 billion U.S. to $1.985 billion U.S., which is in line with analyst views for $1.97 billion U.S. of revenue for the current quarter.
The company sees profit for the quarter of $1.29 U.S. to $1.31 U.S. a share, a little above consensus estimates of $1.25 U.S.
Before today (Nov. 16), Palo Alto Networks’ stock had increased 85% this year and was trading at $256.18 U.S. per share.
