Palo Alto(PANW) - 2025 Q3 - Earnings Call Transcript

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Total revenue for Q3 was $2,290,000,000, representing a 15% year-over-year growth, at the high end of the guided range [36] - Product revenue grew by 16%, while total services revenue increased by 15% [36] - Next Generation Security ARR surpassed$ 5,000,000,000, ending the quarter at $5,090,000,000, a growth of 34% year-over-year [39] - Adjusted free cash flow generated in Q3 was$ 578,000,000 [44] - Total gross margin was 76%, with product gross margin at 78.4% [42] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Subscription revenue within total services grew by 18%, while support revenue rose by 10% [36] - Software firewall ARR grew approximately 20% year-over-year, driven by public cloud deployments [26] - SASE ARR grew 36% year-over-year, with 40% of SASE customers being net new to the company [28] - AI ARR reached approximately $400,000,000 in Q3, up over 2.5 times year-over-year [39] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The Americas region grew by 12%, EMEA by 20%, and JPEG by 23% [37] - The average duration of new contracts remained at approximately three years, with a slight decrease year-over-year [37] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focused on a platformization strategy, which is resonating with customers and resulting in larger deals [6][8] - The urgency to adopt AI is becoming a strategic imperative for customers, leading to increased investments in technology transformation [10][12] - The company aims to reach a target of$ 15,000,000,000 in ARR by FY30 [8] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in achieving adjusted free cash flow margin targets over the next few years [9] - The geopolitical environment has caused some uncertainty, but the company has executed well despite challenges [84] - There is strong momentum heading into the fiscal year-end, with expectations for a robust Q4 pipeline [33] Other Important Information - The company announced its intention to acquire Protect.ai for $700,000,000 to enhance its AI security capabilities [45] - The transition to a contract manufacturing facility in Texas is expected to benefit from scale and innovation [42] Q&A Session Questions and Answers Question: How are customers thinking about the upgrade from QRadar on-premise? - Management highlighted a strong partnership with IBM to facilitate the transition from on-premise SOC to cloud-delivered SOC, indicating a significant ARR opportunity [50][51] Question: Can you unpack the details behind the product revenue growth? - Management noted that product revenue growth is driven by both hardware and software, with a notable inflection in the software firewall business due to increased AI adoption [62][66] Question: What does the AI imperative mean for Palo Alto Networks? - Management indicated that securing AI implementations is becoming a priority, leading to faster adoption of cloud firewalls and a shift from hardware to software [76][77] Question: How is the company navigating geopolitical volatility? - Management acknowledged that April was an anomalous month but expressed pride in the team's execution during a challenging quarter [84][85] Question: How does the company plan to evolve its AI product portfolio? - Management emphasized the importance of runtime security in AI and the acquisition of Protect.ai to enhance capabilities in this area [89][95]