Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Palo Alto (PANW) Q2 Earnings Likely to Beat Estimates?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Palo Alto Networks (PANW - Free Report) is scheduled to report its second-quarter fiscal 2023 results on Feb 21.

Palo Alto projects its fiscal second-quarter revenues in the $1.63-$1.66 billion range, suggesting a year-over-year increase of 24%-26%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the same is pegged at $1.65 billion, suggesting growth of 25.2% from the year-ago reported figure.

For the fiscal second quarter, the company expects non-GAAP earnings in the range of 76-78 cents per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PANW’s non-GAAP earnings stands at 78 cents per share, indicating an increase of 34.5% from the year-ago quarter’s earnings of 58 cents.

The company’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 9.9%.

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise Palo Alto Networks, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Palo Alto Networks, Inc. Quote

Factors to Consider

In second-quarter fiscal 2023, Palo Alto is likely to have benefited from strong momentum stemming from deal wins, which is further expected to have boosted its top line. The strong demand for form factor hardware products, particularly the machine learning-powered models that ensure zero-trust network security for organizations, is expected to have contributed to the quarterly performance.

Palo Alto has been gaining from the Bridgecrew acquisition, which forms the crux of the Prisma public cloud and Xpanse, which forms the basis of Cortex. Prisma and Cortex are likely to have continued performing well in the fiscal second quarter as well.

The growing and accelerated migration to the cloud in a post-pandemic era is likely to have boosted the adoption of the aforementioned platforms. The company projects year-over-year billings growth between 21% and 24% ($1.94 billion-$1.99 billion) during the to-be-reported quarter.

Moreover, the increased use of cloud and remote networks amid a hybrid working environment has resulted in escalating cyberattacks currently. This is leading to a rise in demand for cybersecurity solutions. PANW’s fiscal second-quarter performance is likely to have benefited from this demand surge.

Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) recognitions are boosting the adoption of Palo Alto’s products by government organizations. The company’s Prisma Access, Cortex XDR, Cortex Data Lake, Prisma Cloud and WildFire received FedRAMP recognitions.

This FedRAMP recognition reflects the U.S. public sector’s trust in Palo Alto’s IoT security solutions. This is anticipated to have encouraged the adoption of its products during the period in discussion.

Earnings Whispers

Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for Palo Alto this time. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat, which is the case here.

Earnings ESP: Earnings ESP, which represents the difference between the Most Accurate Estimate (78 cents per share) and the Zacks Consensus Estimate (78 cents per share), is +0.56%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: PANW carries a Zacks Rank #3.

Other Stocks With the Favorable Combination

Per our model, OneSpaWorld (OSW - Free Report) , American Eagle Outfitters (AEO - Free Report) and Ulta Beauty (ULTA - Free Report) also have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in their upcoming releases.

OneSpaWorld has an Earnings ESP of +6.67% and sports a Zacks Rank #1 at present. The company is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter 2022 results on Feb 22. OneSpaWorld’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 84.2%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for OSW’s fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 11 cents per share, indicating a 1200% surge from the year-ago quarter’s loss of a penny. The consensus mark for revenues stands at $166.6 million, suggesting a year-over-year increase of 94.5%.

American Eagle has an Earnings ESP of +1.96% and currently flaunts a Zacks Rank #2. The company is slated to report its fourth-quarter fiscal 2023 results on Mar 1. American Eagle’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in one of the preceding four quarters, missing twice and matching once, the average surprise being negative 5%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AEO’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings stands at 30 cents per share, implying a year-over-year decline of 14.3%. The company is estimated to report revenues of $1.47 billion, which suggests a fall of 2.5% from the year-ago quarter.

Ulta Beauty has an Earnings ESP of +8.53% and flaunts a Zacks Rank #2 at present. The company is set to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2023 results on Mar 9. ULTA’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the preceding four quarters, the average surprise being 26.2%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ULTA’s quarterly earnings is pegged at $5.53 per share, suggesting a year-over-year increase of 2.2%. Its quarterly revenues are estimated to increase 10.3% year over year to $3.01 billion.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Published in