A month has gone by since the last earnings report for F5 Networks (FFIV). Shares have added about 4.8% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.
Will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is F5 due for a pullback? Before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late, let's take a quick look at the most recent earnings report in order to get a better handle on the important catalysts.
F5 delivered fourth-quarter fiscal 2024 non-GAAP earnings of $3.67 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.45 and increased 4.9% from the year-ago quarter’s $3.50.
The bottom line also surpassed management’s guidance of $3.38-$3.50. The robust bottom-line performance reflected the combined impact of gross margin improvement, disciplined operating expense management and strong top-line growth.
F5’s revenues of $746.7 million for the fiscal fourth quarter surpassed the consensus mark of $729.60 million and increased 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Revenues also surpassed management’s guidance of $720-$740 million. The robust revenue growth was a result of strong growth in the software division.
Product revenues (48% of total revenues), which comprise the Software and Systems sub-divisions, increased 10% year over year to $358.3 million. The increase in Product revenues was mainly due to strong growth in Software revenues, partially offset by lower Systems sales. The company’s reported non-GAAP Product revenues were higher than our estimate of $331 million.
Systems revenues declined 3% year over year to $130 million, accounting for approximately 36.3% of the total Product revenues. The company revealed that it is experiencing an improvement in the Systems division, driven by increased demand for systems upgrades among customers. Our estimate for Systems revenues was pegged at $122.7 million.
The negative impacts of lower Systems sales were partially offset by the improved performance of Software. Software revenues increased 19% year over year to $228 million in the fiscal fourth quarter. Software revenues grew on the back of renewals. Our estimate was pegged at $208.3 million.
Global Service revenues (52% of the total revenues) grew 1.8% to $388.4 million. The growth was mainly driven by price increases introduced in fiscal 2022. Our estimate for Global Services revenues was pegged at $397.9 million.
F5 registered sales growth across the Americas and EMEA regions, witnessing a year-over-year increase of 9% and 4%, respectively. However, revenues from the APAC region declined 3% on a year-over-year basis. Revenue contributions from the Americas, EMEA and APAC regions were 58%, 26% and 16%, respectively.
Customer-wise, Enterprises, Government and Service providers represented 72%, 18% and 10% of product bookings, respectively.
On a year-over-year basis, GAAP gross margin expanded 70 basis points (bps) to 80.8% and non-GAAP gross margin expanded 30 bps to 83%.
The company’s fiscal fourth-quarter GAAP operating expenses increased 4.5% to $412 million. Non-GAAP operating expenses increased from $344.8 million registered in the year-ago quarter to $362.6 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024.
F5’s GAAP operating profit jumped 11.3% to $191 million, while the margin expanded 130 bps to 25.6%. The non-GAAP operating profit increased 7.1% year over year to $256.8 million, while the margin improved 50 bps to 34.4%. An increase in the non-GAAP operating margin was primarily driven by an improvement in the gross margin and lower operating expenses as a percentage of revenues.
F5 exited the September-ended quarter with cash and short-term investments of $1.07 billion compared with the previous quarter’s $935.6 million. The company generated an operating cash flow of $247 million in the fiscal fourth quarter.
During the fiscal fourth quarter, FFIV repurchased shares worth $100 million. The company is committed to using at least 50% of free cash flow for share repurchases. FFIV also announced that its board of directors has authorized an additional $1 billion for its common stock repurchase program, which is incremental to the $422 million remaining in the existing program.
FFIV has released the first-quarter 2025 outlook and the guidance for fiscal 2025. F5 projects non-GAAP revenues in the $705-$725 million band (midpoint of $715 million) and non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) in the range of $3.29-$3.41 (midpoint of $3.35) for the first quarter of fiscal 2025.
For fiscal 2025, FFIV expects its revenues to grow in the band of 4-5% compared with 2024. Non-GAAP earnings per share are expected to grow in the range of 5-7% year over year.
In the past month, investors have witnessed an upward trend in estimates revision.
At this time, F5 has a nice Growth Score of B, though it is lagging a bit on the Momentum Score front with a C. Following the exact same course, the stock was allocated a grade of C on the value side, putting it in the middle 20% for this investment strategy.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of C. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
Estimates have been broadly trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions looks promising. Notably, F5 has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
F5, Inc. (FFIV) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research
Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.