Breaking the "SaaS doomsday theory"! The demand for AI cybersecurity surges, Palo Alto Networks (PANW.US) Q3 performance exceeds expectations, and full-year guidance is raised surprisingly.

In the context of the escalating network security threats brought by artificial intelligence models, global network security giant Palo Alto Networks(PANW.US) delivered a third-quarter performance for the fiscal year 2026 that far exceeded Wall Street expectations, and significantly raised its full-year guidance. After-hours stock prices soared more than 13%, before falling back slightly. This strong performance completely shattered the market's fears of "AI disrupting the network security industry" at the beginning of the year. Core performance exceeded expectations, AI security ARR soared 60% Financial data shows that in the third quarter ending April 30, 2026, Palo Alto Networks achieved revenue of $3 billion, a year-on-year increase of 31%, higher than the market's expected $29.4 billion. Adjusted earnings per share were $0.85, significantly exceeding the market's general expectation of $0.80. The most crucial growth indicator Next-Generation Security Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) soared by 60% year-on-year to $8.1 billion, including approximately $1.6 billion in contributions from the recent acquisitions of CyberArk and Chronosphere. Remaining performance obligations (RPO) increased by 36% year-on-year to $18.4 billion. The financial report shows that organic RPO (excluding the impact of acquisitions) increased by 22% year-on-year, confirming the healthy growth momentum of the core business. Palo Alto Networks Chief Financial Officer Dipak Golechha revealed more business details during the financial report conference call: this quarter, 110 new platformization customers were added, totaling approximately 2,280 customers, reflecting customers' recognition of the company's integrated security architecture. Next-generation firewall orders increased by nearly 40% year-on-year, achieving the strongest hardware quarter performance in the past decade. SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) ARR reached $1.6 billion, a 40% year-on-year increase. XSIAM (Extended Security Intelligence and Automation Management) ARR exceeded $600 million, doubling year-on-year, with a customer base of over 740. Strong full-year outlook, but risks cannot be ignored Based on its strong Q3 performance, the company's management significantly raised its full-year guidance for the fiscal year 2026. It is expected that full-year revenue will be in the range of $11.415 billion to $11.425 billion, exceeding the previous expectation of $11.28 billion to $11.31 billion, as well as the market consensus of $11.29 billion. Adjusted earnings per share are expected to be raised to $3.77 to $3.79, significantly higher than the previous range of $3.65 to $3.70 and surpassing the market's general expectation of $3.68. For the fourth quarter, the company expects revenue to be between $3.345 billion and $3.355 billion, with adjusted earnings per...