Network application delivery and security specialist F5 (NASDAQ:FFIV) will be reporting results tomorrow after the bell. Here's what to look for.
F5 beat analysts' revenue expectations by 1.1% last quarter, reporting revenues of $692.6 million, down 1.1% year on year. It was a very strong quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analysts' billings estimates and strong sales guidance for the next quarter.
Is F5 a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it's free.
This quarter, analysts are expecting F5's revenue to decline 2.7% year on year to $684.3 million, a reversal from the 10.9% increase it recorded in the same quarter last year. Adjusted earnings are expected to come in at $2.87 per share.
The majority of analysts covering the company have reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they are expecting the business to stay the course heading into earnings. F5 has only missed Wall Street's revenue estimates once over the last two years, exceeding top-line expectations by 0.6% on average.
With F5 being the first among its peers to report earnings this season, we don't have anywhere else to look to get a hint at how this quarter will unravel for software development stocks. What we do know, however, is that the whole sector has faced a sell-off over the last month with stocks in F5's peer group down 3.7% on average. F5 is down 0.4% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $194 (compared to share price of $189.15).
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