Fortinet (FTNT) Stock: Shares Jump on Strong Q4 Earnings Beat

TLDR

• Fortinet (FTNT) shares jumped 2.8% to $81.11 premarket after Q4 earnings of $0.81 per share beat estimates by $0.07.
• Revenue climbed 15% to $1.91 billion while billings surged 18% to $2.37 billion, both exceeding forecasts.
• The cybersecurity firm expanded its buyback program by $1 billion to $10.25 billion total through February 2027.
• Unified SASE billings soared 40% as the company strengthened its position in cloud security markets.
• Q1 2026 revenue guidance of $1.70-$1.76 billion topped expectations despite tech sector weakness.

Fortinet shares climbed Friday morning as investors cheered better-than-expected quarterly results. The cybersecurity company delivered across all key financial metrics.

The stock rose 2.8% to $81.11 in premarket trading. This gain came as broader tech stocks struggled to find footing after a difficult week.

Fortinet, Inc., FTNT

Fourth-quarter adjusted earnings hit $0.81 per share. That crushed the analyst consensus of $0.74 per share.

Revenue increased 15% year-over-year to $1.91 billion. Wall Street had projected $1.86 billion for the period.

Billings Growth Signals Future Strength

Billings jumped 18% to $2.37 billion, beating the $2.24 billion estimate. This metric matters because it indicates future revenue for cybersecurity companies.

Product revenue grew 20% to $691 million. The company’s Unified SASE offerings showed particularly strong momentum with 40% billings growth.

For the full year 2025, Fortinet posted revenue of $6.80 billion. That represented 14% growth from the prior year.

Free cash flow reached $2.21 billion. The company maintained a non-GAAP operating margin of 35% for the year.

Forward Guidance Beats Expectations

Management issued upbeat guidance for the current quarter. First-quarter revenue is expected between $1.70 billion and $1.76 billion.

Billings should land between $1.77 billion and $1.87 billion. Both ranges exceeded analyst projections.

Earnings guidance of $0.59 to $0.63 per share came in slightly below estimates at the midpoint. However, the revenue outlook offset any concerns.

For fiscal 2026, the company projects revenue of $7.50 billion to $7.70 billion. Billings are forecast at $8.40 billion to $8.60 billion.

The board approved a $1 billion expansion of the share repurchase program. Total authorization now stands at $10.25 billion through February 2027.

Approximately $1.38 billion remains available under the program as of February 4.

Bucking the Tech Downturn

Fortinet’s performance stands out during a tough period for technology stocks. Shares had declined 2.9% earlier in the week before the earnings announcement.

Major tech names like Alphabet, AMD, and Amazon disappointed investors with their recent results. Those companies saw their stocks drop on AI spending concerns and mixed guidance.

Cybersecurity demand tends to hold up better during economic uncertainty. Enterprise spending on security software remains a priority regardless of broader conditions.

The stock now trades below 27 times forward 2026 earnings. That multiple looks attractive compared to peers in the cybersecurity space.

CEO Ken Xie pointed to the company’s firewall dominance in his statement. Fortinet commands 55% unit market share in that category.

The company announced new partnerships during the quarter. It teamed up with NVIDIA on AI infrastructure security and earned Google Unified Security Recommended partner status.

Fortinet also won a 2025 Red Dot Product Design Award for its FortiGate Rugged series. This marks the second consecutive year the company received this recognition.

The post Fortinet (FTNT) Stock: Shares Jump on Strong Q4 Earnings Beat appeared first on Blockonomi.