PANW Stock Gains After Revenue Beat As AI Usage Drives Cybersecurity Demand

• Palo Alto expects adjusted profit per share of $3.77 to $3.79 ​for fiscal 2026, up ​from ⁠its prior forecast of $3.65 to $3.70.
• Revenue for the third quarter grew 31% to $3 billion, above ⁠estimates ​of $2.94 billion. 
• The company expects Q4 revenue to range between $3.35 billion and $ 3.36 billion, versus a $3.28 billion estimate. 

Palo Alto Networks’ (PANW) share price rose about 1% in after-hours trading after the company beat third-quarter revenue estimates, as rising adoption of AI tools and products boosted demand for cybersecurity. However, the company reported a net loss compared to a profit in the same quarter last year.

The cybersecurity firm reported a 31% year-over-year revenue increase, which was bolstered by a $388 million contribution from its acquisitions of CyberArk and Chronosphere, the company said. Despite the growth, the company posted a net loss of $177 million, or $0.22 per share, a significant shift from the $262 million in net income, or $0.37 per share, recorded during the same period last year.

"Q3 was a standout quarter for Palo Alto Networks, with accelerating organic bookings growth as customers turn to us to secure their AI deployments at scale," said Nikesh Arora, chairman and chief executive officer of Palo Alto Networks.

PANW Q4 and FY26 Guidance 

For the fourth quarter, Palo Alto provided guidance that surpassed expectations, projecting revenue between $3.35 billion and $3.36 billion, compared to the $3.28 billion anticipated by analysts. Additionally, the company increased its full-year revenue forecast to a range of $11.42 billion to $11.43 billion, above $11.29 billion anticipated by analysts polled by Fiscal.ai. 

"The latest advancements at the AI frontier have increased the level of urgency around cybersecurity and redefined the shape of the industry for the coming years," Arora added.

With AI tools and agents from firms like Anthropic and OpenAI entering mainstream retail as well as corporate usage, the need for cybersecurity is expected to rise going ahead.  

As an early adopter of Anthropic’s Project Glasswing, Palo Alto is actively evaluating the cybersecurity implications associated with the robust Mythos model.

On Tuesday, testing for this model—which has raised concerns regarding its potential to help hackers speed up cyberattacks—was extended to an additional 150 partners.

PANW Retail View 

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits was “extremely bullish” with “extremely high” message volumes. 

PANW stock has gained about 53% over the past 12 months. 

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