Check Point Software (CHKP) reported third-quarter revenue of $669.8 million, down 1% year over year, and shares fell about 6.3% in pre-market trading. Management believes revenue bottomed this quarter. Security subscriptions grew 11% to $338.6 million, while products and licenses fell 19% to $105.5 million and software updates, maintenance and services fell 7% to $225.7 million. GAAP operating income was $177.2 million versus $199.1 million a year earlier, and a $25 million R&D credit helped the margin; the article says operating margin would be about 23% without it, versus the reported 26%. The article argues recovery requires subscriptions to grow faster than the declines in product and maintenance sales, and the release gives no revenue or EPS outlook.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Read the original on Yahoo Finance ↗
Keywords
Open a keyword to see other news on the same topic.
Related news
- Alphabet tumbles, software and cybersecurity stocks sink as earnings disappoint: AlphaCheck
Stocks fell Thursday as cybersecurity and software shares dropped after disappointing forecasts. Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) posted a rare miss on both top and bottom lines, dragging down Big Tech. Microsoft (MSFT) erased its after-hours gain despite strong results reported Wednesday. The tech sector (XLK) declined, pulling Nvidia (NVDA), AMD (AMD) and Broadcom (AVGO) lower, while Brent crude fell more than 2% to below $110 per barrel and WTI traded near $100.
- Software Stocks Are Getting Crushed Again After Hours
Fortinet and ServiceNow both beat revenue estimates after the close on October 28, 2026, yet their shares fell sharply: Fortinet dropped 25.71% after hours to $129.33 and ServiceNow fell 18.13% to $122.91, dragging many software and cybersecurity stocks lower. Fortinet's adjusted EPS of $0.91 beat the $0.86 consensus, but services revenue grew only 13% to $1.31 billion, prompting a cut to its full-year service revenue forecast and slowing total revenue growth to 20% from 26%. ServiceNow's revenue rose 20.5% to $4.106 billion, but adjusted EPS of $1.00 missed the $1.02 consensus, and its guidance for December-quarter cRPO growth of 18.5% was below the 21% in the September quarter. The article calls this the second major software selloff of 2026.
- ServiceNow, Fortinet Results Dent SaaS Sentiment: CRM, PANW, INTU, ADBE Slide In Sympathy
Software stocks fell after quarterly results from ServiceNow (NOW) and Fortinet (FTNT) fell short of high investor expectations, with added pressure from weakness in Alphabet's (GOOGL) core Search and Advertising business. Fortinet shares dropped over 25% as product revenue grew 37% in Q3, slower than 52% in Q2, dragging Palo Alto Networks (PANW) down 5.5%. ServiceNow reported adjusted EPS of $1, below the $1.17 analysts expected, though revenue rose 20.5% to $4.13 billion; its Q4 RPO growth forecast of 18.5% also trailed Bloomberg's 19% estimate. Salesforce (CRM) fell 4.7%, Intuit (INTU) and Adobe (ADBE) each slid about 2%, and the IGV ETF dropped 3%. Alphabet shares fell nearly 10% after Google Services revenue of $96.3 billion came in below the $98.5 billion expected.
- Is Crowdstrike’s Rally a Sign of a Sustainable Shift Toward Increased AI Cybersecurity?
CrowdStrike shares, at $261.83, rose 14.79% in a week and are up 123.42% year to date after a quarter that CEO George Kurtz called the best in the company's history. Revenue grew 25.8% to $1.47B, net new ARR rose 51% to $332.8M, and Falcon Flex ARR reached $2.29B, up 101%, while non-GAAP EPS of $0.31 beat the $0.2915 estimate. Full-year guidance was raised to $5.99B to $6.01B in revenue and $1.25 to $1.26 in non-GAAP EPS, though GAAP operating income was negative $33.23 million in the quarter. The stock trades at 189x forward earnings, and the average analyst target of $247.25 from 53 analysts sits about 5.6% below the current price. The article says the next report, with Q3 net new ARR guidance of $343 to $347 million, will test whether growth is still accelerating at this valuation.
- What Was Okta Telling You Before Its Stock Doubled?
Okta (OKTA) shares rose 112% from October 15, 2025 to October 16, 2026, beating the S&P 500's 16.2% after an 11.6% fall in the previous six months. The signals were public earlier: in late 2024 and early 2025, management named newer products such as Okta Privileged Access and Okta Identity Governance, while filings showed the operating margin improving from a loss equal to 2.4% of revenue in the quarter ended October 2024 to 5.6% by the quarter ended July 2025. Operating income for the four quarters ended July 2026 reached $236 million, up from $83 million, and the margin rose to 7.7% of revenue from 3.0%. Revenue growth has slowed to 10.6% in fiscal Q2 2027, and management expects 10% growth in fiscal Q3 2027, so the article points to sales growth as the number to watch in the next earnings report.
- CrowdStrike Wins an Upgrade After Tech Selloff: ‘You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet’
Deutsche Bank raised its price target on CrowdStrike to $300. It said the company’s market opportunity could exceed its own projections.
Related markets
Latest news
- Black Cautions Tesla Shareholders On SpaceX Merger Risks: Says Marvell-Lumentum Deal Reaction Offers Early Warning
Gary Black said on X that in large, complex all-stock transactions with extended timelines, traders typically sell the acquirer's shares, which reduces the effective value delivered to the target's shareholders.
- Apple Q4 earnings live: iPhone 18 sales in the spotlight
Apple (AAPL) will report fiscal fourth-quarter results after the market closes today, with investors watching early iPhone 18 Pro sales. The iPhone Duo opened preorders on Oct. 16 and went on sale Oct. 23, so its sales fall outside Apple's fiscal Q4, though the company may still comment on them. It is also the first earnings call under new CEO John Ternus, who succeeded Tim Cook on Sept. 1. Bloomberg analyst consensus expects EPS of $2 and revenue of $113.46 billion, versus $1.85 and $102.46 billion a year earlier. iPhone sales are projected at $56.48 billion, up 15% year over year, while Services is expected to top $31.58 billion, Mac $9.69 billion, Wearables $8.99 billion and iPad $6.83 billion.
- Alibaba Soars 6% as Apple Sets December Launch for Qwen-Powered iPhone AI in China
Alibaba (BABA) shares rose 6% after Apple (AAPL) said Apple Intelligence will launch in China in December, built on Alibaba's Qwen model, while JD.com (JD) and PDD Holdings (PDD) also gained on reports that Chinese regulators met with banks and brokerages to support the market. The deal gives Qwen access to Chinese iPhone users at very low cost, while Alibaba's AI Labs and Applications segment lost RMB 13.9 billion (adjusted EBITA) in the June quarter, partly from marketing the Qwen app. Alibaba also posted a free cash flow outflow of RMB 44.7 billion in the June quarter, and the article argues the company still needs to show its AI spending can pay off. Apple's Greater China sales rose 30% to $64.8 billion in the nine months to June 27, without Apple Intelligence. JD.com and PDD traded at 7.1x and 6.9x forward earnings, but their growth is weak: JD's revenue fell 2.9% in the June quarter, while PDD's online marketing revenue grew 3%.
- Alphabet Stocks Rise 1.85% With Search Monetization Behind Wells Fargo's Target Cut
Alphabet (GOOG) shares rose 1.85% to $285.01 at 9:40 a.m. ET on November 2, after Wells Fargo cut its price target to $365 from $371 while keeping an Overweight rating. Wells Fargo attributes much of the search slowdown to AI Overviews and expects that pressure to last another two quarters. In Alphabet's October 28 results, Search and other revenue was $63.350 billion versus $30.709 billion for Cloud, and Cloud generated $11.121 billion in operating income, a 36.2% operating margin, though its revenue equals just 48.5% of Search's. The article says investors should watch Cloud's operating margin and Search's revenue growth, since holding the first while improving the second would offer stronger evidence that the AI push is boosting earnings.
- Apple reports after the bell. Options traders expect a big move
The article argues Apple (AAPL) heads into earnings with fundamental hurdles: iPhone unit shipments are expected to fall against tougher year-over-year comparisons and recent price increases, even as average selling prices likely rise. Unconfirmed reports of issues with Apple's foldable screens could come up on the earnings call, and foreign exchange headwinds could weigh on international sales growth. On a forward P/E basis, AAPL trades at a premium of more than 40% to Amazon (AMZN) and about 60% to Alphabet (GOOGL). Options pricing implies a move by week's end of less than $16.50, or under 4.8% of the stock price, versus a 3.25% median move over the last four quarters. The article outlines a put spread expiring November 6, with strikes 345/325 priced at $5.95, as a way to hedge a long position or speculate on a decline.
- Apple Stocks Move Lower With Earnings Facing a Distorted Margin Comparison
Apple (AAPL) shares fell 1.15% to $340.68 at 9:40 a.m. ET on November 2, ahead of results due tonight. Apple's prior-quarter gross margin was 50.1%, but excluding a disclosed tariff-refund benefit of about two percentage points brings the comparison to roughly 48.1%, which may give a clearer view of underlying profitability. Apple reported $109.4 billion in revenue in its July 30 release, and Reuters' November 2 preview cites LSEG estimates of $113.39 billion for fiscal fourth-quarter revenue, including $31.56 billion from Services. With rising memory costs in focus, Services would account for roughly 27.8% of revenue under those estimates, making it a key test of Apple's ability to defend profitability. GuruFocus shows a GF Score of 95/100 and a P/E of 39.06, and the article says the report needs to show how underlying margins and the holiday-quarter outlook compare with expectations.
Get the briefing on Telegram or Zalo
Join the Upside Telegram channel or Zalo group for the Vietnam stocks and gold briefing at 8:00 and 19:00 (Vietnam time) on trading days, plus a weekly wrap on Saturday morning.