What's happening: Shares of cybersecurity firm Check Point Software (CHKP 2.87%) surged on Wednesday after the company beat analyst estimates for both earnings and revenue when it reported its second quarter earnings. Up as much as 10% at market open, by 11:50 a.m. the stock had lost some of that gain, still up about 5.5%.
Why it's happening: Check Point reported quarterly revenue of $395 million, up 9% year over year and a few million dollars above the average analyst estimate. Product and license revenue jumped 6.4% year over year, while revenue from software blade subscriptions rose 20.2%. Software updates and maintenance revenue, which accounted for nearly half of the company's revenue during the quarter, increased by 6.8% year over year.
Check Point reported non-GAAP EPS of $0.99, up from $0.89 in the same period last year and $0.04 better than analysts were expecting. The company's deferred revenue balance increased to $780 million, up from $660 million one year ago, a year-over-year increase of 18.2%. Deferred revenue increased at about double the rate that revenue increased, a sign that strong growth will likely continue.
In addition to beating analyst estimates, Check Point provided third-quarter guidance that was in-line with what analysts were expecting. The company expects revenue between $392 million and $410 million, with non-GAAP EPS between $0.92 and $1.02. At the top end of this range, Check Point is expecting year-over-year revenue growth of 10.8%.
Check Point had a solid quarter, with both revenue and earnings growing faster than analysts predicted. The same consistent growth is expected during the third quarter as well, and Check Point's share buyback program, driven by its impressive cash flow, should allow per-share earnings to grow faster than net income.
