Palo Alto Falls on Latest Figures

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) 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.Earnings per share were found to be 80 cents, adjusted vs. 77 cents expected, on revenue of $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."In Q3, we continued to make progress on our platformization strategy and achieved an important milestone in crossing $5 billion in Next-Gen Security ARR," said CEO Nikesh Arora. "Our scale and platform breadth makes us a leading consolidator of choice in cybersecurity.""We again delivered strong top-line results within our profitable growth framework, as we continue to see our business scale well across the P&L," said Dipak Golechha, chief financial officer of Palo Alto Networks. PANW shares fumbled $13.49, or 6.9%, Wednesday to $180.99.