Cybersecurity provider Palo Alto Networks (NYSE:PANW) reported results in line with analyst expectations in Q4 FY2022 quarter, with revenue up 27.1% year on year to $1.55 billion. The company expects that next quarter's revenue would be around $1.54 billion, which is the midpoint of the guidance range. That was in roughly line with analyst expectations. Palo Alto Networks made a GAAP profit of $3.3 million, improving on its loss of $119.3 million, in the same quarter last year.
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Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Q4 FY2022 Highlights:
- Revenue: $1.55 billion vs analyst estimates of $1.54 billion (small beat)
- EPS (non-GAAP): $2.39 vs analyst estimates of $2.28 (4.94% beat)
- Revenue guidance for Q1 2023 is $1.54 billion at the midpoint, roughly in line with what analysts were expecting
- Management's revenue guidance for upcoming financial year 2023 is $6.87 billion at the midpoint, beating analyst estimates by 1.69% and predicting 24.9% growth (vs 29.4% in FY2022)
- Gross Margin (GAAP): 68.2%, down from 70.5% same quarter last year
"We were pleased by our fourth quarter results, which included GAAP profitability for the first time in four years. Next-Generation Security growth, driven by our rapid pace of innovation and strong sales execution, drove our results," said Nikesh Arora, chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks.
Founded in 2005 by a cybersecurity engineer Nir Zuk, Palo Alto Networks makes hardware and software cybersecurity products that protect companies from cyberattacks, breaches and malware threats.
Almost every company is slowly finding itself becoming a technology company and facing cybersecurity risks. The migration of businesses to the cloud and employees working remotely in insecure environments is increasing demand modern cloud-based network security software, which offers better performance at lower cost than maintaining the traditional on-premise solutions, such as expensive specialized firewall hardware.
Sales Growth
As you can see below, Palo Alto Networks's revenue growth has been strong over the last year, growing from quarterly revenue of $1.21 billion, to $1.55 billion.
![Palo Alto Networks Total Revenue](https://news-assets.stockstory.org/chart-images/Palo-Alto-Networks-Total-Revenue_2022-08-22-200921_fhux.png)
This quarter, Palo Alto Networks's quarterly revenue was once again up a very solid 27.1% year on year. On top of that, revenue increased $163.8 million quarter on quarter, a very strong improvement on the $69.8 million increase in Q3 2022, which shows re-acceleration of growth, and is great to see.
Guidance for the next quarter indicates Palo Alto Networks is expecting revenue to grow 23.8% year on year to $1.54 billion, slowing down from the 31.8% year-over-year increase in revenue the company had recorded in the same quarter last year. For the upcoming financial year management expects revenue to be $6.87 billion at the midpoint, growing 24.9% compared to 29.4% increase in FY2022.
In volatile times like these we look for robust businesses with strong pricing power. Unknown to most investors, this company is one of the highest-quality software companies in the world, and their software products have been the default standard in critical industries for decades. The result is an impressive business that is up an incredible 18,152% since the IPO. You can find it on our platform for free.
Profitability
What makes the software as a service business so attractive is that once the software is developed, it typically shouldn't cost much to provide it as an ongoing service to customers. Palo Alto Networks's gross profit margin, an important metric measuring how much money there is left after paying for servers, licenses, technical support and other necessary running expenses was at 68.2% in Q4.
![Palo Alto Networks Gross Margin (GAAP)](https://news-assets.stockstory.org/chart-images/Palo-Alto-Networks-Gross-Margin-GAAP_2022-08-22-200924_ibpk.png)
That means that for every $1 in revenue the company had $0.68 left to spend on developing new products, marketing & sales and the general administrative overhead. This would be considered a low gross margin for a SaaS company and it has been going down over the last year, which is probably the opposite direction shareholders would like to see it go.
Key Takeaways from Palo Alto Networks's Q4 Results
With a market capitalization of $51.1 billion and more than $3.63 billion in cash, the company has the capacity to continue to prioritise growth.
It was positive to see Palo Alto Networks's solid revenue guidance for the full year. And we were also glad to see good revenue growth. Zooming out, we think this was a good quarter, showing the company is staying on target. The company is up 6.15% on the results and currently trades at $539 per share.
Should you invest in Palo Alto Networks right now? It is important that you take into account its valuation and business qualities, as well as what happened in the latest quarter. We look at that in our actionable report which you can read here, it's free.
One way to find opportunities in the market is to watch for generational shifts in the economy. Almost every company is slowly finding itself becoming a technology company and facing cybersecurity risks and as a result, the demand for cloud-native cybersecurity is skyrocketing. This company is leading a massive technological shift in the industry and with revenue growth of 70% year on year and best-in-class SaaS metrics it should definitely be on your radar.
The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.