F5 Networks (FFIV) reported its Q32020 earnings on 27th July 2020. F5 Networks revenue was up 4% Y-o-Y at $586 million. Revenues have topped consensus estimates 4 times during the past 4 quarters. FFIV earnings (GAAP) were $1.14 per share, below consensus estimates of $1.17. Non-GAAP earnings were $2.18, much above consensus estimates of $2.04.
Software revenue was the main driver of growth, rising by 43%. Service revenue growth was moderate at 5%. Systems revenue, however, was down 12% on a Y-o-Y basis. On a geographic basis, revenues from the Americas grew 11%, those from EMEA grew 6%, while APAC was down 15%.
In other FFIV news, company CFO Francois Locoh-Donou stated that the majority of F5 Networks employees will work from home for the calendar year 2020. In select geographies, F5 Networks is reopening its offices and allowing employees to return on a voluntary basis.
While the pandemic throws challenges to the global economy, it has also brought some opportunities to the table. According to Francois Locoh-Donou, “We noted last quarter, that customer’s plan to accelerate their digital transformations because of COVID-19. Our Q3 results are evidence that they are executing against that intent. Large enterprise and service provider customers are increasing their digital engagement and boosting capacity and security on customer-facing applications and on platforms that enable employee collaboration.”
F5 Networks’ footprint in the public cloud segment is also growing. Its partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) continues to present an increasing number of opportunities. Traditional applications are now moving to the public cloud as well. F5 Networks also expects plenty of opportunities due to the advent of 5G services.
F5 Networks stock closed at $151.24 on 27th July 2020, up 10.06% for the past month.
