What happened

Shares of FireEye (MNDT) jumped just over 20% in May according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence after the company reported a solid first quarter 2017 and management pointed to more growth in the next quarter. 

Man touching a screen with shield and lock image.

Image source: Getty Images.

So what

FireEye reported revenue of $173.3 million in the first quarter, a gain of just 3% year over year, but it was much higher than the company's guidance for the quarter of $160 million to $166 million.

That helped slow the company's non-GAAP net loss per share in the quarter, which came in at $0.09 in the first quarter compared to a loss of $0.47 in the year ago quarter. FireEye also increased its non-GAAP gross margin to 73%, which is up from 70% in Q1 2016 and higher than the company's guidance of 70%.

"We made continued progress on our path to profitability in the first quarter, improving operational efficiency while managing transitions on multiple fronts," FireEye CEO Kevin Mandia said in a statement.

Now what

FireEye's management expects total revenue for the second-quarter 2017 to come in between $173 million to $179 million, and a non-GAAP net loss per share of $0.10 to $0.14. And the company said that it anticipates full-year revenue in the range of $724 million to $736 million, non-GAAP EPS loss of $0.26 to $0.36, and positive cash flow of $1 million to $10 million.

The company's CFO, Frank Verdecanna, said on the first-quarter earnings call that, "We continue to target operating profitability in Q4, along with renewed billings and revenue growth. We also think we will generate positive operating cash flow for the full year."