How Will Cybersecurity Earnings Stack Up?

Cybersecurity has become a hot topic in 2017 following headlines of a reported hack of the election along with Yahoo! Inc. YHOO suffering two of the biggest data breaches in history.

“Cyber security really was not a focus for companies before 2015, we are now seeing a greater push for security and compliance. Now that we are reading more about IOT (Internet of Things) being compromised, companies are becoming more aware of security,” said Jason Ford, chief technology officer of BlackMesh, a cybersecurity and compliance hosting company.

“Companies are becoming more aware of actual security problems and are trying to understand what the attack vectors are, before it was a nebulous thing that few companies understood or thought about it before 2015,” he added.

Key names in the industry are set to report earnings in the upcoming weeks, providing investors some key information on the growth and state of the industry.

Upcoming Earnings

FireEye Inc FEYE is expected to report earnings on February 2 after the market closes. Consensus analyst’s estimates are expecting the company to deliver EPS of ($0.16) in the fourth quarter. Currently nine analysts have a Buy rating on the company, with just two maintaining a Sell rating. FireEye has performed well in 2017 thus far, with shares gaining nearly 9 percent year-to-date.

Symantec Corporation SYMC will release its third-quarter results on February 1 after the market closes. Analysts are expecting EPS in the range of $0.22–$0.26 with revenue estimates ranging from $872.5 million–$906 million. Shares of the company have moved up 15 times out of the past 27 quarters and are already up over 14 percent on the year.

Imperva Inc IMPV will release its fourth-quarter earnings on February 8 after the market closes. Consensus earnings estimates currently sit at ($.036) per share, with revenue in the $69.5 million–$71 million range. Imperva is up 6 percent on the year so far.

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. CHKP will release its fourth-quarter report on January 19 before the market opens. Shares are already up 17 percent on the year. Consensus estimates currently sit at $1.05 for Checkpoint.

Proofpoint Inc PFPT is scheduled to post its fourth quarter earnings this week on Thursday after the close. Analysts are expecting the company to post EPS of $0.13 in the quarter. Proofpoint has already clocked a 13 percent gain on shares in 2017.

Palo Alto Networks Inc PANW is expected to report second-quarter earnings on February 28 after market close. Sell-side analysts are looking for the company to post quarterly earnings of ($0.38) per share. Currently, 22 analysts have Palo Alto Networks listed as a Strong Buy, with no analysts rating the company as a Sell. Shares have already gained over 15 percent year-to-date.

No Rest For The Weary

Cybersecurity has become a key issue in 2017 and is situated to continue its increase in importance against data breaches and significant headline risk.

“Companies that you would think would have a strong security posture have still been threatened by Cybersecurity breaches. No one is immune to an attack, but having a strong security stance to thwart those events and attempts coming inbound can protect you. Have a response plan to mitigate them when they do occur,” concluded Ford.