Fortinet® (Nasdaq: FTNT), a global leader in broad, integrated and automated cybersecurity solutions, today announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2018.
Fortinet HQ in Sunnyvale, California
“We delivered strong third quarter financial results. Our market share gains are being driven by the competitive advantages associated with our highly differentiated Security Fabric platform,” said Ken Xie, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Organically built from the ground up, our Security Fabric platform provides a broad set of security capabilities with exceptional integration and automation, for both on-premise and cloud deployment. Fortinet is well positioned to empower our customers with the latest evolution in network security and we are excited about the sizable opportunities that lie ahead.
Recent Highlights
Gartner Magic Quadrants: Fortinet has recently been recognized in three Gartner Magic Quadrants; as a Leader in the Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Network Firewalls for the second time, as a Leader in the Magic Quadrant for Unified Threat Management (SMB Multifunction Firewalls) for the ninth time, and is positioned furthest for completeness of vision in the Challengers quadrant of the first Magic Quadrant for WAN Edge Infrastructure.* Fortinet has appeared in seven Gartner Magic Quadrants* over the last twelve months.
Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice: Fortinet has also been recognized as a 2018 Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice for Enterprise Network Firewalls and a 2018 Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice for Unified Threat Management.**
NSS Labs SD-WAN Recommendation: Fortinet was the only vendor with security capabilities to receive an SD-WAN “Recommended” rating in the first NSS Labs Software-Defined Wide Area Networking test report.
NSS Labs Additional Recommendations: The FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall received a fifth consecutive “Recommended” rating in the NSS Labs NGFW report, delivering high SSL performance suited for encrypted cloud access. Fortinet is the only vendor to have received NSS Labs Recommended ratings in both the SD-WAN and Next-Generation Firewall group tests. Fortinet’s commitment to third party testing and validation has resulted in Fortinet solutions earning NSS Labs Recommended ratings across nine different group tests.
ZoneFox Acquisition: In October, Fortinet acquired ZoneFox, further enhancing Fortinet’s Security Fabric platform and strengthening its existing endpoint and SIEM security business. By adding ZoneFox’s cloud-based threat-hunting technology, Fortinet is well positioned to provide its customers with an integrated approach to defend against insider threats, eliminate blind spots and protect today’s expanding attack surface with automation and machine learning.
Financial Highlights
Revenue: Total revenue was $453.9 million for the third quarter of 2018, an increase of 21% compared to $374.2 million in the same quarter of 2017.
Product Revenue: Product revenue was $164.5 million for the third quarter of 2018, an increase of 20% compared to $137.1 million in the same quarter of 2017.
Service Revenue: Service revenue was $289.4 million for the third quarter of 2018, an increase of 22% compared to $237.1 million in the same quarter of 2017.
Billings1: Total billings were $527.5 million for the third quarter of 2018, an increase of 22% compared to $431.7 million in the same quarter of 2017.
Deferred Revenue: Total deferred revenue was $1.54 billion as of September 30, 2018, an increase of 27% compared to $1.22 billion as of September 30, 2017.
GAAP Operating Income and Margin: GAAP operating income was $62.8 million for the third quarter of 2018, representing a GAAP operating margin of 14%. GAAP operating income was $33.7 million for the same quarter of 2017, representing a GAAP operating margin of 9%.
Non-GAAP Operating Income and Margin1: Non-GAAP operating income was $108.5 million for the third quarter of 2018, representing a non-GAAP operating margin of 24%. Non-GAAP operating income was $70.0 million for the third quarter of 2017, representing a non-GAAP operating margin of 19%.
GAAP Effective Tax Rate: GAAP effective tax rate was 17% in the third quarter of 2018, compared to an effective tax rate of 30% for the same quarter in 2017.
Non-GAAP Effective Tax Rate: Non-GAAP effective tax rate was 24% in the third quarter of 2018, compared to 32% for the same quarter in 2017.
GAAP Net Income and Diluted Net Income Per Share: GAAP net income was $58.7 million for the third quarter of 2018, compared to GAAP net income of $26.7 million for the same quarter of 2017. GAAP diluted net income per share was $0.33 for the third quarter of 2018, based on 175.7 million diluted weighted-average shares outstanding, compared to $0.15 for the same quarter of 2017, based on 179.0 million diluted weighted-average shares outstanding.
Non-GAAP Net Income and Diluted Net Income Per Share1: Non-GAAP net income was $86.7 million for the third quarter of 2018, compared to non-GAAP net income of $50.6 million for the same quarter of 2017. Non-GAAP diluted net income per share was $0.49 for the third quarter of 2018, based on 175.7 million diluted weighted-average shares outstanding, compared to $0.28 for the same quarter of 2017, based on 179.0 million diluted weighted-average shares outstanding.
Cash Flow From Operations and Free Cash Flow1: In the third quarter of 2018, cash flow from operations was $176.7 million, compared to $162.3 million in the same quarter of 2017. Free cash flow1 was $158.5 million during the third quarter of 2018, compared to $140.6 million in the same quarter of 2017.
Guidance
For the fourth quarter of 2018, Fortinet currently expects:
Revenue in the range of $490.0 million to $500.0 million
Billings in the range of $620.0 million to $635.0 million
Non-GAAP gross margin in the range of 75% to 76%
Non-GAAP operating margin in the range of 24.0% to 24.5%, including a benefit associated with the adoption of ASC 606 of approximately 250 basis points
Diluted non-GAAP earnings per share in the range of $0.50 to $0.52, assuming a non-GAAP effective tax rate of 24%. This assumes a diluted share count of 178 million to 179 million
For the fiscal year of 2018, Fortinet currently expects:
Revenue in the range of $1.785 billion to $1.795 billion
Billings in the range of $2.125 billion to $2.140 billion
Non-GAAP gross margin in the range of 75% to 76%
Non-GAAP operating margin in the range of 21.5% to 22.0%, including a benefit associated with the adoption of ASC 606 of approximately 300 basis points
Diluted non-GAAP earnings per share in the range of $1.72 to $1.76, assuming a non-GAAP effective tax rate of 24%. This assumes a diluted share count of 174 million to 176 million.
The above guidance for the fourth quarter and full year of 2018 includes the transition impact of ASC 606 adoption, which was effective January 1, 2018. Our guidance with respect to non-GAAP financial measures excludes stock-based compensation and amortization of acquired intangible assets. We have not reconciled our guidance with respect to non-GAAP financial measures to the corresponding GAAP measures because certain items that impact these measures are uncertain or out of our control, or cannot be reasonably predicted. Accordingly, a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the corresponding GAAP measures is not available without unreasonable effort.
A reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures has been provided in the financial statement tables included in this press release. An explanation of these measures is also included below under the heading “Non-GAAP Financial Measures.”
Conference Call Details
Fortinet will host a conference call today at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time (4:30 p.m. Eastern Time) to discuss the earnings results. The call can be accessed by dialing (877) 303-6913 (domestic) or (224) 357-2188 (international) with conference ID # 4694837. A live webcast of the conference call and supplemental slides will be accessible from the Investor Relations page of Fortinet’s website at http://investor.fortinet.com and a replay will be archived and accessible at http://investor.fortinet.com/events.cfm. A replay of this conference call can also be accessed through November 8, 2018, by dialing (855) 859-2056 (domestic) or (404) 537-3406 (international) with conference ID # 4694837.
Fourth Quarter 2018 Investor Conference Participation Schedule:
UBS Global Technology Conference
November 12, 2018 – San Francisco, CA
Nasdaq 39th Investor Conference
December 4, 2018 – London, UK
Barclays’ Global Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Conference
December 6, 2018 – San Francisco, CA
Members of Fortinet’s management team are expected to present at these conferences and discuss the latest company strategies and initiatives. Fortinet’s conference presentations are expected to be available via webcast on the company’s web site. To listen to these presentations and access the most updated information and listen to the webcast of each event, please visit the Investor Relations page of Fortinet’s website at http://investor.fortinet.com. The schedule is subject to change.
