What happened
FireEye (MNDT) shareholders outperformed a declining market in October as the stock rose 12% compared to the S&P 500's 2.8% drop, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
That rally pushed shares closer to positive territory in 2020, but the cybersecurity specialist is still trailing the market this year.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
Investors were happy with FireEye's earnings update on Oct. 27, which showed that sales increased 6% in the third quarter while profitability also set a Q3 record. "Our third quarter results reflect the progress we've made transforming our business," CEO Kevin Mandia said in a press release.
FireEye benefited from strong demand in the wider cybersecurity industry, while a shift toward its cloud-based services platform pushed adjusted profit margin higher.
Now what
Mandia and his team raised FireEye's 2020 outlook, with sales now likely to reach between $930 million and $934 million. Management added context to that forecast in a conference call with investors. "I'm confident we will continue to show progress on all fronts as we expect adoption of emerging solutions to increase and the headwinds that have impacted our growth to lessen," CFO Frank Verdecanna said.
