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F5 Networks (FFIV) to Report Q1 Earnings: What's in Store?

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F5 Networks (FFIV - Free Report) is set to report first-quarter fiscal 2022 results on Jan 25.

For the fiscal first quarter, F5 Networks estimates revenues in the range of $665-$685 million (midpoint $675 million). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $677.5 million, suggesting year-over-year growth of 8.5%.

The company anticipates non-GAAP earnings in the range of $2.71-$2.83 per share (midpoint $2.77). The Zacks Consensus Estimate stands at $2.78 per share, indicating a year-over-year increase of approximately 14%.

The company’s earnings surpassed estimates in all the trailing four quarters, the average beat being 7.3%.

Let’s see how things have shaped up prior to the upcoming announcement.

F5, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise F5, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

F5, Inc. price-eps-surprise | F5, Inc. Quote

Factors at Play

F5 Networks’ fiscal first-quarter performance is likely to have benefited from the pandemic-induced work-from-home and online-learning wave, which is boosting demand for secured communication networks.

The company’s sustained focus on transitioning the business to a software-driven model is anticipated to have aided the company’s overall performance in the fiscal first quarter. The surging demand for multi-cloud application services is expected to have been a key growth driver during the quarter.

The rising traction of the Enterprise License Agreement and annual subscriptions by customers is likely to have boosted software growth. This, in turn, is anticipated to have fueled the product’s top line. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for product revenues stands at $334 million, indicating an approximately 16% improvement from the year-ago reported figure of $289 million.

Additionally, FFIV and NGINX’s first combined solution — Controller 3.0 — is expected to have boosted the total addressable market and deal sizes across DevOps and Super-NetOps customer profiles. This is estimated to have positively impacted the company’s overall performance during the fiscal first quarter.

Furthermore, the COVID-19 crisis is anticipated to have had a minimal impact on F5 Networks’ business during the fiscal first quarter due to its efficient inventory management.

However, as more organizations continue shifting to cloud computing due to its maintenance-free and cost-effective nature, F5 Networks’ hardware business might have seen a declining trend during the quarter under review as well.

What Our Model Says

Our proven model does not predict an earnings beat for F5 Networks this season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. However, that’s not the case here.

F5 Networks currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3 and has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell, before they’re reported, with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Stocks With the Favorable Combination

Per our model, Apple (AAPL - Free Report) , Advanced Micro Devices (AMD - Free Report) and Alphabet (GOOGL - Free Report) have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in their upcoming releases.

Apple is slated to report first-quarter fiscal 2022 results on Jan 27. The company carries a Zacks Rank #2 and has an Earnings ESP of +2.89% at present. Apple’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate thrice in the preceding four quarters while meeting the same on one occasion, the average surprise being 22.3%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Apple’s quarterly earnings is pegged at $1.89 per share, suggesting a year-over-year improvement of 12.5%. AAPL’s quarterly revenues are estimated to increase 6.1% year over year to $118.1 billion.

Advanced Micro Devices carries a Zacks Rank #2 and has an Earnings ESP of +3.77%. The company is scheduled to report fourth-quarter 2021 results on Feb 1. Advanced Micro Devices’ earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 14%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMD’s fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 75 cents per share, indicating year-over-year growth of 44.2%. The consensus mark for revenues stands at $4.52 billion, suggesting a year-over-year increase of 39.4%.

Alphabet currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 and has an Earnings ESP of +10.08%. The company is slated to report its fourth-quarter 2021 results on Feb 1. Alphabet’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate thrice in the preceding four quarters while missing the same on one occasion, the average surprise being 4.6%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Alphabet’s fourth-quarter earnings stands at $26.85 per share, implying a year-over-year increase of 20.4%. GOOGL is estimated to report revenues of $59.3 billion, which suggests growth of 27.7% from the year-ago quarter.

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


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