Palo Alto(US:PANW) ZACKS·2024-11-21 15:50Core Insights - Palo Alto Networks (PANW) reported first-quarter fiscal 2025 non-GAAP earnings of $1.56 per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.4% and improving 13% year over year, surpassing management's guidance of $1.47-$1.49 [1][2] - The company's revenues for the first quarter reached $2.14 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.93% and slightly exceeding management's guidance of $2.10-$2.13 billion [2][3] - PANW's strong performance is attributed to a 14% year-over-year revenue increase, driven by the adoption of its Next-Generation Security platforms amid a growing need for enhanced security [3][4] Financial Performance - Subscription & Support revenues rose 16% year over year to $1.79 billion, accounting for 83.5% of total revenues, while Product revenues increased 3.7% to $353.8 million, contributing 16.5% [5] - Non-GAAP gross profits increased 12.8% to $1.653 billion, with a non-GAAP gross margin of 77.3%, reflecting a contraction of 70 basis points [7] - Non-GAAP operating income rose 16.4% to $544.9 million, with an operating margin expansion of 60 basis points to 28.8% compared to the previous year [7] Balance Sheet and Cash Flow - As of October 31, 2024, PANW had cash and cash equivalents of $3.4 billion, up from $2.56 billion as of July 31, 2024 [8] - The company generated an operating cash flow of $1.51 billion and a non-GAAP adjusted free cash flow of $1.47 billion in the first quarter [8] Guidance and Outlook - For fiscal 2025, PANW raised its revenue guidance to between $9.12 billion and $9.17 billion, up from the previous range of $9.10-$9.15 billion [9] - The company expects non-GAAP earnings per share in the range of $6.26-$6.39, an increase from the prior guidance of $6.18-$6.31 [11] - For the second quarter of fiscal 2025, revenues are projected between $2.22 billion and $2.25 billion, indicating year-over-year growth of 12-14% [12]