Connect with us

Published

on

Palo Alto Networks signage displays on the screen at the Nasdaq Market in New York City, U.S., March 25, 2025.

Jeenah Moon | Reuters

Palo Alto Networks reported better-than-expected earnings and revenue for the latest quarter but its gross margin was below estimates. The stock dropped 4% in extended trading on Tuesday.

Here’s how the company did, compared to analysts’ consensus estimates from LSEG:

  • Earnings per share: 80 cents, adjusted vs. 77 cents expected
  • Revenue: $2.29 billion vs. $2.28 billion expected

Sales in the company’s fiscal third-quarter grew 15% from $1.98 billion a year earlier. Net income fell to $262.1 million, or 37 cents per share, from $278.8 million, or 39 cents per share, a year ago.

The company said its fourth-quarter adjusted earnings will come be between 87 cents and 89 per share, ahead of analysts estimates of 86 cents.

Palo Alto Networks said that its non-GAAP gross margin was 76%, which trailed analysts’ estimates of 77.2%.

The company said capital expenditures for its latest quarter were $68.3 million, below Wall Street estimates of $70.8 million.

WATCH: Pinterest CEO on the ad market, AI usage and state of the consumer.

Pinterest CEO on the ad market, AI usage and state of the consumer

Continue Reading

Technology

Broadcom earnings primer: AI chip demand and growth are key

Published

on

By

Broadcom earnings primer: AI chip demand and growth are key

Broadcom CEO Hock Tan.

Lucas Jackson | Reuters

Broadcom is scheduled to report earnings for its fiscal third quarter after the close of regular trading on Thursday.

Here’s what analysts are expecting, according to a consensus from LSEG.

  • Earnings per share: $1.65
  • Revenue: $15.83 billion

Broadcom, which develops custom chips for Google and other huge cloud companies and also makes networking gear needed to tie thousands of artificial intelligence chips together, is expected to report revenue growth of 21% from $13.07 billion a year ago.

Analysts project revenue growth will hold steady the rest of this year and accelerate a bit in 2026.

Broadcom has been one of the chief beneficiaries of the AI boom thanks largely to its accelerator chips, which the company calls XPUs. The processors are generally simpler and less expensive to operate than Nvidia’s graphics processing units, or GPUs, and they’re designed to run specific AI programs efficiently.

Analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald wrote in a report last week that they expect to see increased signs of demand from Google and Meta.

“Additionally, all eyes will turn towards any visibility of current AI Custom Silicon engagements converting into customers with high-volume ramps in sight,” wrote the analysts, who recommend buying the stock.

The analysts estimate that custom silicon could generate $25 billion to $30 billion in revenue for Broadcom next year and more than $40 billion by around 2027. The company generated total revenue of $51.6 billion in the latest fiscal year.

Read more CNBC tech news

Shares of Broadcom are up 30% this year and have almost doubled in the past 12 months, lifting the company’s market cap to $1.4 trillion.

In the fiscal second quarter, AI revenue jumped 46% from a year earlier to more than $4.4 billion, with 40% from networking. CEO Hock Tan said that number should reach $5.1 billion in the third quarter, “as our hyperscale partners continue to invest.”

Some of Broadcom’s expansion has been fueled by acquisitions, most notably the purchase of server virtualization software vendor VMware for $61 billion in 2023. VMware is key to Broadcom’s infrastructure software business, which accounted for 44% of sales in the most recent quarter.

WATCH: Nvidia has best percentage of revenue from AI

Nvidia will be the ‘best beneficiary’ of AI spending, says Morgan Stanley’s Joseph Moore

Continue Reading

Technology

Salesforce slump deepens as stock drops 7% on disappointing guidance

Published

on

By

Salesforce slump deepens as stock drops 7% on disappointing guidance

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff attends the 55th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 23, 2025.

Halil Sagirkaya | Anadolu | Getty Images

A bad year just got worse for Salesforce.

Following a disappointing revenue forecast in its quarterly earnings report late Wednesday, Salesforce’s stock slumped 8%, bringing its decline for 2025 to 28%. That’s the worst performance in large-cap tech.

Revenue increased 10% in the fiscal second quarter from a year earlier, cracking double-digit growth for the first time since early 2024. Sales of $10.24 billion topped the average analyst estimate of $10.14 billion, and earnings per share also exceeded expectations.

However, for the fiscal third quarter, Salesforce said revenue will be $10.24 billion to $10.29 billion, while analysts were expecting $10.29 billion, according to LSEG.

Salesforce regularly touts its investments in artificial intelligence and the advancements in its software as a service, or SaaS, but the company hasn’t been lifted by the AI boom in the same way as many of its tech peers — particularly those focused on infrastructure.

There’s also a concern on Wall Street that AI is going to eat away at much of the software sector.

“While the investor community oozes angst over the future of SaaS, the here and now from Salesforce, while impressive at scale, is not enough to reshape the narrative,” wrote analysts at KeyBanc Capital Markets, in a report on Wednesday. The analysts have a buy rating on the stock.

Read more CNBC tech news

Salesforce is dealing with challenges selling marketing and commerce products, Robin Washington, the company’s president and chief operating and financial officer, said on a conference call with analysts.

In its earnings release, Salesforce said it closed over 12,500 total deals for Agentforce, which can automate the handling of customer service questions. That includes 6,000 paid deals. The company said that over 40% of bookings for Agentforce and its data cloud came from existing customers.

CEO Marc Benioff maintained his optimistic tone, downplaying concerns about the AI threat to software and telling analysts on the earnings call that “we are seeing one of the greatest transformations” in the space.

“To hear some of this nonsense that’s out there in social media or in other places, and people say the craziest things, but it’s not grounded in any customer truth,” Benioff said.

Salesforce kept its full-year revenue outlook but now sees higher earnings. The company is targeting $11.33 to $11.37 in adjusted earnings per share on $41.1 billion to $41.3 billion in revenue.

WATCH: Cramer interviews Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff

We're seeing an incredible transformation in enterprise, says Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff

Continue Reading

Technology

Figma’s stock slumps 18% after first earnings report to lowest since IPO

Published

on

By

Figma's stock slumps 18% after first earnings report to lowest since IPO

Figma shares continue to plunge on debut earnings call

Figma shares plummeted nearly 20% on Thursday, falling to the lowest price since the design software vendor’s IPO in July after the company reported earnings for the first time as a public company.

Results for the second quarter were largely inline with expectations, as Figma had issued preliminary results a little over a month ago. Revenue increased 41% from a year earlier to $249.6 million, slightly topping analyst estimates of $248.8 million, according to LSEG.

Analysts at Piper Sandler described the report as “largely a non-event,” but noted that the “shares have witnessed hyper-volatility” following their 250% surge in the trading debut.

Read more CNBC tech news

Since closing at $115.50 on its first day, the stock has lost more than half its value, lowering the company’s market cap to about $27 billion.

For the third quarter, Figma forecasted revenue of between $263 million and $265 million, which would represent about 33% growth at the middle of the range. The LSEG consensus was $256.8 million.

Figma’s IPO was significant for Silicon Valley and the tech sector broadly as it represented one of the highest-profile offerings in years and signaled Wall Street’s growing appetite for growth. The market had been in a multiyear lull that began in early 2022, when inflation was soaring and interest rates were on the rise.

Figma reported a 129% net retention rate, a reflection of expansion with existing customers. The figure was down from 132% in the first quarter.

— CNBC’s Jordan Novet contributed to this report.

WATCH: Figma shares plunge

Figma shares continue to plunge on debut earnings call

Continue Reading

Trending