Fiserv earnings missed by $0.61, revenue fell short of estimates
Investing.com -- F5 Networks Inc (NASDAQ:FFIV) reported better-than-expected fourth quarter results but saw its shares tumble 7.5% in after-hours trading Monday as the company warned of potential sales disruptions following a recent security incident.
The application delivery and security solutions provider posted adjusted earnings of $4.39 per share for the fourth quarter, significantly beating analyst expectations of $3.97. Revenue came in at $810 million, surpassing the consensus estimate of $794.86 million and representing 8% growth YoY. The strong performance was driven primarily by a 42% surge in systems revenue, which reached $186 million.
Despite the solid quarterly results, investors focused on F5’s cautious outlook. The company expects first-quarter fiscal 2026 revenue between $730 million and $780 million, well below analyst expectations of $790.1 million. Similarly, its adjusted earnings guidance of $3.35 to $3.85 per share falls short of the $4.03 consensus estimate.
"Following the recent security incident, our immediate priority remains supporting customers as they evaluate and safeguard their environments," said François Locoh-Donou, F5’s President and CEO. "We are raising the bar on security across all aspects of our business."
The company acknowledged that while market dynamics support mid-single-digit revenue growth in fiscal 2026, it anticipates "near-term disruption to sales cycles" as customers focus on assessing and remediating their environments after the security incident. For the full fiscal year 2026, F5 projects revenue growth of 0% to 4%, with impacts expected to be more pronounced in the first half before normalizing later in the year.
F5’s fourth quarter product revenue grew 16% YoY, while software revenue increased marginally by 0.3% to $229 million. Global services revenue rose 2% to $396 million.
The company also announced that Locoh-Donou will assume the additional role of Chairman of the Board effective March 2026, succeeding Al Higginson who is retiring after nearly 30 years as a director.