What happened
Shares of cybersecurity company Symantec (GEN 0.59%) slumped on Thursday following a mixed fiscal second-quarter report. Revenue was higher than expected, but the bottom line came up short of analyst estimates. Symantec's guidance also fell short of estimates, and the company lowered its outlook for fiscal 2018. The stock was down about 11% at 12:45 p.m. EDT.
So what
Symantec reported second-quarter non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) revenue of $1.276 billion, up 26% year over year and $10 million higher than the average analyst estimate. The company cited strong demand for its secure web gateway, rapid growth in its enterprise cloud offerings, and record LifeLock enrollments as drivers behind the double-digit revenue growth.
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Non-GAAP earnings per share came in at $0.40, up from $0.30 in the prior-year period but $0.03 below analyst estimates. The company completed its previously announced cost reduction and synergy programs during the second quarter, but it wasn't enough to match earnings expectations.
In a statement, Symantec CEO Greg Clark discussed the major opportunity in front of the company: "As large-scale, sophisticated attacks during the quarter underscored the importance of cyber security, more organizations and individuals entrusted their protection to Symantec's Integrated Cyber Defense Platform and Consumer Digital Safety solutions. In particular, our Consumer business exceeded our expectations due to heightened demand for a single trusted partner to help protect their digital lives."
Now what
Symantec expects to produce third-quarter revenue between $1.25 billion and $1.28 billion, along with non-GAAP earnings per share between $0.42 and $0.46. Both ranges are below what analysts were expecting, $1.33 billion of revenue and non-GAAP EPS of $0.51.
In addition to missing estimates for its third-quarter guidance, Symantec lowered its full-year outlook. The company now expects to produce revenue between $5.0 billion and $5.1 billion, along with non-GAAP EPS between $1.66 and $1.76. That's down from previous guidance calling for revenue between $5.16 billion and $5.26 billion, and non-GAAP EPS between $1.79 and $1.89.
While Symantec beat revenue estimates for the third quarter, that beat was overshadowed by an earnings shortfall and weak guidance.
