Palo Alto Networks (NYSE: PANW) Q1 profit beats estimates, but guides Q2 below view

Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NYSE: PANW) slipped to a loss in the first quarter of 2020 from a profit last year, due to higher costs and expenses. Despite the results exceeding analysts’ expectations, the company guided second-quarter earnings below consensus estimates.

Net loss was $59.6 million or $0.62 per share compared to a loss of $38.3 million or $0.41 per share in the previous year quarter. Adjusted earnings decreased by 10% to $1.05 per share. Revenue jumped by 18% to $771.9 million. This was driven by an 18% jump in the total billings to $897.4 million.

Read: Pure Storage Q3 earnings snapshot

Looking ahead into the second quarter, the company expects billings to grow by 16-17% to the range of $985 million to $1 billion, and revenue to increase by 18-19% to $838-848 million. Adjusted earnings are anticipated to be in the range of $1.11 to $1.13 per share for the second quarter.

For fiscal 2020, Palo Alto predicts billings to grow by 18-19% to the range of $4.105-4.165 billion and revenue to rise by 19-20% to the range of $3.44-3.48 billion. Adjusted earnings are anticipated to be in the range of $4.90 to $5.00 per share.

In a separate release, Palo Alto said it agreed to buy Aporeto Inc., a machine identity-based micro-segmentation company. Under the terms of the agreement, the company will pay about $150 million in cash to acquire Aporeto. The acquisition is expected to close during Palo Alto Networks fiscal second quarter.

Read: Analog Devices Q4 earnings preview

The proposed acquisition of Aporeto will further strengthen the company’s Cloud Native Security Platform delivered by Prisma Cloud. Aporeto identifies workloads and applies micro-segmentation across all infrastructures, helping customers secure their applications at scale.

Also, the company expects the proposed acquisition to further extend its leadership in cloud security. The company’s Next-Gen Security offerings performed extremely well in its first quarter, bolstering its confidence in long-term prospects for Prisma and Cortex.

Follow our Google News edition to get the latest stock market, earnings and financial news at your fingertips.