Why Fortinet Stock Is Soaring After Hours

Fortinet Inc FTNT shares are trading higher in Tuesday's after-hours session after the company reported mixed fourth-quarter results and issued strong guidance. 

What Happened: Fortinet said fourth-quarter revenue increased 33% year-over-year to $1.28 billion, which missed consensus estimates of $1.29 billion. The cybersecurity company reported fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of 44 cents per share, which beat average analyst estimates of 39 cents per share.

Fortinet said product revenue was up 43% year-over-year, while service revenue grew 27%. Billings jumped 32% compared to the prior year's quarter.

Free cash flow reached $497.2 million during the quarter, while cash flow from operations totaled $528.1 million. 

"Our market share gains are being driven by Fortinet's integrated and single platform approach to cybersecurity combined with FortiASIC technology, which lowers the management costs and the total cost of ownership for organizations," said Ken Xie, founder, chairman and CEO of Fortinet.

"Given our cost-for-performance advantage, the convergence of security and networking, and the consolidation of products and vendors, we expect to continue our solid growth trajectory."

Fortinet expects first-quarter revenue to be between $1.18 billion and $1.22 billion versus estimates of $1.18 billion. First-quarter adjusted earnings are expected to be in a range of 27 cents to 29 cents per share versus estimates of 27 cents per share.

On a full-year basis, Fortinet sees 2023 revenue between $5.37 billion and $5.43 billion versus estimates of $5.36 billion. The company sees full-year adjusted earnings in a range of $1.39 to $1.41 per share versus estimates of $1.39 per share. 

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FTNT Price Action: Fortinet has a 52-week high of $71.52 and a 52-week low of $42.61.

The stock was up 17% after hours at $62.90 at the time of publication, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: Kris from Pixabay.