Investors are closely following Palo Alto Networks, which is scheduled to present an extensive update to investors Friday as part of its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report.
The timing of the presentation, after the close of business on a Friday in mid August, is considered highly unusual on Wall Street, raising concerns the company may not have the most upbeat expectations.
A spokesperson for Palo Alto Networks acknowledged the timing is a bit unusual, but said the presentation was planned for this afternoon due to challenges with scheduling and logistics.
The late summer update, scheduled to begin after the market close, will gauge the company’s current performance and its longer term outlook.
Major cybersecurity providers like Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike, Google Cloud and Microsoft have benefited from a consolidation trend as enterprise customers have sought to consolidate the number of vendors they work with.
However, companies have increasingly delayed making major spending decisions due to concerns about inflation and the threat of an economic downturn.
“We’ve been talking about a recession right?” said Eric Bell, managing director at Cyber Advisory Partners. “I think in a lot of ways, people are feeling the pressure.”
Palo Alto Networks CEO Nikesh Arora and other key executives are set to provide an update on company strategy, product updates and financial objectives. The presentation, which begins at 1:30 p.m. PST, is scheduled to run for two hours with a live webcast, the company said.
Palo Alto Networks previously forecast total billings of $3.15 billion to $3.2 billion for the fiscal fourth quarter, representing year-over-year growth of 17% to 19%.
Revenue was expected to come in between $1.94 billion and $1.97 billion for the quarter, representing 25% to 27% growth year-over-year, based on the company’s own forecast.
The presentation comes at an important time for the cybersecurity industry, as key competitors have cut jobs and and the investment climate has turned more cautious.
Rapid7 disclosed plans earlier this month to cut 18% of its workforce and shutter certain offices.
Dragos, a leading specialist in industrial cybersecurity, said in June that it would cut 9% of its workforce amid a slowdown in sales.
