For the quarter, net income was $1.7 billion, or $4.89 per share. This is up from $84 million, or $0.25 per share, in the fiscal second quarter of 2023.
Instead of predicting $10.7 to $10.8 billion in overall billings for the year, the company now says it expects them to be between $10.1 and $10.2 billion. Also, Palo Alto Networks now thinks that its full-year income will be between $7.95 billion and $8 billion, down from the $8.15 billion to $8.2 billion it had earlier said it expected.
In a call with analysts, CEO Nikesh Arora said that the lower guidance was because the company wanted to “accelerate growth, our platform migration and consolidation, and activating AI leadership.” He also said that the company was expecting “a difficult customer” as a result of the change in position.
Predictions for the next quarter also didn’t match up with what most people thought they would be. Analysts polled by LSEG thought the company would report revenue of $2.04 billion in the fiscal third quarter. However, Palo Alto Networks now thinks revenue will be between $1.95 billion and $1.98 billion.
The new billings guidance shows growth of 10% to 11% for the whole year, down from the previous advice of 16% to 17% growth in billings. In the same way, Palo Alto Networks now predicts that its full-year sales will grow by 15% to 16%, down from its original prediction of 18% to 19% growth.
The lower figures come at the same time that cybersecurity stocks and the tech sector as a whole are going through a big boom in AI. Arora said that the company planned to use its “AI leadership strategy” in the earnings report.
