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F5 Gears Up to Report Q4 Earnings: What's in the Offing?

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Key Takeaways

  • F5 expects Q4 non-GAAP EPS between $3.87 and $3.99, down 7.9% year over year.
  • Q4 non-GAAP revenue forecast of $780-$800 million implies 6.1% annual growth.
  • Demand for BIG-IP, NGINX, and hybrid deployments likely fueled F5's top-line growth.

F5 Inc. (FFIV - Free Report) is scheduled to report fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings after market close on Oct. 27, 2025.

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, F5 projects non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) in the range of $3.87-$3.99 (midpoint $3.93) for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the same is pegged at $3.96, suggesting a year-over-year decline of 7.9%. The figure has remained unchanged for the past 60 days.

FFIV projects its fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 non-GAAP revenues in the range of $780 million to $800 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the same is pegged at $792.5 million, suggesting year-over-year growth of 6.1%.

FFIV’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average earnings surprise of 12.5%.

F5, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

F5, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

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

Factors to Consider

FFIV’s fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 performance is likely to have been aided by the strong demand for hybrid deployments across on-prem, cloud, and edge environments. Rising demand for FFIV’s Application Delivery and Security Platform is likely to have driven the top line in the to be reported quarter.

The acceleration in BIG-IP and NGINX subscription software deals is expected to have remained a major growth driver in the to-be-reported quarter. BIG-IP’s data point performance, automation capabilities and the lower cost of ownership are likely to have helped F5 win multiple deals in the fiscal fourth quarter.

Moreover, FFIV is anticipated to have witnessed strong demand for its NGINX subscription as large enterprises continue to adopt the solution for their cloud and Kubernetes workloads. Partnerships with NVIDIA for BlueField-3 DPUs and MinIO are likely to have enhanced FFIV’s AI factory performance and data throughput in the to-be-reported quarter.

As FFIV continues to replace competitors through its platform consolidation strategy, the company is going to drive its top-line growth in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025. Additionally, the company’s cost-saving initiatives, which include headcount reduction, eliminating portions of its facilities footprint and travel reduction, are likely to have boosted the bottom line.

However, the persistent macroeconomic uncertainty and its impact on customer spending are expected to have affected FFIV’s fiscal fourth-quarter revenues, especially the Systems sub-divisions of the Product segment. As Telco/carrier business remains volatile, including slower 5G monetization, this is going to affect FFIV’s growth in the to-be-reported quarter.

What Our Model Says About FFIV

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for FFIV this season. 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. However, that’s not the case here.

Though FFIV currently carries a Zacks Rank #2, it has an Earnings ESP of -0.65%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Stocks to Consider

Here are some stocks worth considering, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this reporting cycle.

Intel (INTC - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +116.7% and carries a Zacks Rank #3 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Intel is set to report third-quarter fiscal 2025 results on Oct. 23. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for INTC’s third-quarter fiscal 2025 earnings has remained unchanged at breakeven over the past 30 days, indicating a rise of 100% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

Seagate Technology (STX - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +5.28% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present

Seagate is slated to report first-quarter 2026 results on Oct. 28. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for STX’s first-quarter 2026 earnings is pegged at $2.37 per share, unchanged over the past seven days, indicating a rise of 50% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure.

NXP Semiconductors (NXPI - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +1.11% and carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present.

It is set to report third-quarter 2025 results on Oct. 27. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NXPI’s third-quarter earnings is pegged at $3.11 per share, unchanged over the past 30 days, indicating a decline of 9.8% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure. 

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