The broader market is having a pretty rough year, with the S&P 500 down nearly 7.7% in 2022. But shares of Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP 1.61%) have bucked the trend and are trading up about 26.5% so far this year. The cybersecurity specialist's price gain was aided by a solid fourth-quarter 2021 earnings report released on Feb. 3.
Let's take a closer look at the reasons why Check Point Software is bucking the market trends of late and see if it can sustain its positive share price momentum and turn out to be a top performer in 2022 and beyond.
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Check Point Software will step on the gas in 2022
Check Point finished fiscal 2021 with total revenue of $2.17 billion, an increase of 5% over the previous year. The company's non-GAAP earnings increased 4% last year to $7.02 per share. It is worth noting that Check Point's growth started picking up the pace in the fourth quarter of 2021, which has set it up for a stronger performance this year.
Check Point's fourth-quarter revenue increased 6% year over year to $599 million, while adjusted earnings increased 4% to $2.25 per share. The company's revenue exceeded the midpoint of its guidance range by $17 million, while earnings exceeded the high end of its $2.22 per share estimate for the quarter.
The stronger-than-expected growth was driven by the robust performance of the company's subscription business, which recorded a 14% year-over-year increase during the quarter to $204 million. For the full year, Check Point's subscription revenue was up 13% to $755 million, accounting for 35% of the top line. For comparison, the subscription business produced 32% of Check Point's total revenue in 2020.
What's more, Check Point saw an acceleration in the growth of its subscription business. Revenue from this segment was up 14% year over year in the fourth quarter, compared to 10% growth in the prior-year period. Given that the subscription business has more room for growth, it is not surprising to see that Check Point expects faster revenue growth in 2022.
The company has guided for 10% growth in its top line at the high end of its guidance range in 2022 to $2.37 billion, while non-GAAP earnings are expected to hit $7.50 per share at the higher end. It wouldn't be surprising to see Check Point hit the higher end of its guidance range considering the steps the company is taking to capture a bigger cybersecurity opportunity and the strong growth in its deferred revenue.
Check Point's deferred revenue increased 15% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2021 to $1.7 billion, clocking a faster pace of growth than its overall revenue. This points toward further growth in the company's subscription business, as deferred revenue is the money collected in advance for services that will be delivered later. In simpler words, Check Point is getting more subscribers to sign up for its offerings and creating a predictable revenue stream.
Check Point is pulling the right strings
Check Point is going to step up its pursuit of the cybersecurity opportunity in 2022. The company increased its research and development expenses by 24% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2021, while increasing its workforce by 9%. This year, Check Point aims to increase its frontline sales force by 25% in a bid to land more customers, a move it hopes will start reaping results by the end of 2022.
The company seems to have upped its game on the product development front as well, claiming that it is on track to launch the world's fastest data center firewall, which performs 20 times better than the competition in terms of security to price and undercuts rivals by a significant margin. The success of this product could give Check Point a long-term boost, as the data center security market is expected to clock annual growth of nearly 18% through 2026 and hit a size of $22 billion.
All of this indicates that Check Point Software can sustain its momentum. That's why investors who haven't bought this cybersecurity stock may want to consider doing so now, as it has room for more upside.
