UPDATED 19:40 EDT / AUGUST 06 2024

SECURITY

Cyber upside: Fortinet and Rapid7 impress investors with earnings beats

Shares in cybersecurity companies Fortinet Inc. and Rapid7 Inc. both rose in late trading today after they beat analysts’ expectations in their fiscal second-quarter earnings reports.

For the quarter ended June 30, Fortinet reported adjusted earnings per share of 57 cents, up from 38 cents in the same quarter of the previous year, on revenue of $1.43 billion, up 11% year-over-year. Both figures were ahead of an expected 41 cents per share on revenue of $1.43 billion.

Fortinet saw service revenue of $982.4 million in the quarter, up 19.8% year-over-year, while the company’s product revenue fell 4.4%, to $451.9 million. Billings were $1.54 billion, identical to the second quarter of fiscal 2023. Deferred revenue as of the end of June rose 15% from a year ago, to $5.9 billion.

Cash flow from operations in the quarter was $342 million, down from $515.1 million the year prior, and free cash flow fell from $438.3 million in the second quarter of 2023 to $318.9 million this year.

“In the second quarter, we successfully balanced growth and profitability,” Ken Xie, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Fortinet, said in the company’s earnings release. He noted that the company’s adjusted operating margin increased 820 basis points year-over-year to a company record of 35.1%, while billings and revenue came in at the high end of their guidance ranges.

For its fiscal third quarter, Fortinet expects adjusted earnings per share of 56 to 58 cents on revenue of $1.445 billion to $1.505 billion. For the full year, the company expects earnings per share of $2.13 to $2.19 on revenue of $5.8 billion to $5.9 billion.

Fortinet shares jumped about 17% in late trading.

Rapid7, which had a more modest but still healthy 8% increase in its share price after-hours, reported adjusted earnings per share of 58 cents per share, up from 18 cents per share a year ago, on revenue of $208 million, up 9% year-over-year. Like Fortinet, both were beats, as analysts had expected earnings per share of 52 cents on revenue of $204.1 million.

Through the quarter, Rapid7 saw its number of customers grow 2% from a year ago, to 11,484. Though 2% doesn’t sound overly impressive, the more important part is that those customers are spending more, with Rapid7 seeing a 9% year-over-year increase in annual recurring revenue, to $815.6 million, and annual recurring revenue per customer growing 7%, to $71,000.

The company saw a 10% year-over-year increase in product subscription revenue in the quarter, coming in at $200.1 million, while professional services revenue dropped 9%, to $7.9 million. Net cash provided by operating activities was $32.9 million, up from $31 million the year prior, and free cash flow grew from $25.8 million to $29.2 million.

“Rapid7 delivered solid second-quarter results in line with our expectations, growing ARR by 9% year-over-year to $816 million and continuing to innovate to bring customers the strongest security operations data platform,” Chairman and CEO Corey Thomas, said in the company’s earnings release.

For its third quarter, Rapid7 expects adjusted earnings per share of 50 to 53 cents on revenue of $209 million to $211 million. For the full year, the company expects earnings per share of $2.15 to $2.20 on revenue of $833 million to $837 million.

Image: The Finance Point

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