FireEye Shares Down 5% As Q4 Results Top Estimates

(RTTNews) - Shares of FireEye, Inc. (FEYE) rose more than five percent in extended trading on Wednesday after the cybersecurity provider reported results for the fourth quarter that topped analysts' expectations.

The company reported a loss for the quarter that sharply widened from last year, which was boosted by a significant discrete tax benefit related to the acquisition of Mandiant, as well as sharply higher operating expenses, despite strong triple-digit revenue growth. The company also provided initial guidance for the first quarter and full-year 2015.

FireEye provides automated threat forensics and dynamic malware protection against the next generation of cyber attacks. The company has invented a purpose-built, virtual machine-based platform that provides real-time threat protection. It has over 3,100 customers across more than 67 countries.

"Our growth over the last four quarters reflects the competitive differentiation of our security platform and incident response capabilities, as well as our sales execution and operational discipline," Chairman and CEO David DeWalt said in a statement.

The Milpitas, California-based malware protection system company reported a net loss of $105.73 million or $0.72 per share for the fourth quarter, sharply narrower than $2.51 million or $0.02 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Results for the year-ago quarter included a discrete tax benefit of $0.52 per share related to the acquisition of Mandiant.

Excluding items, adjusted net loss for the quarter was $56.61 million or $0.38 per share, compared to a loss of $40.47 million or $0.35 per share in the year-ago quarter.

On average, 26 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report a loss of $0.49 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Total revenues for the quarter soared to $142.98 million from $57.26 million in the same quarter last year, and topped twenty-three Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of $141.44 million by a whisker.

Billings for the quarter soared to $212.6 million from $97.93 million amid improved customer adoption of FireEye's advanced threat protection platform and services.

Product revenue for the quarter surged to $67.94 million from $32.30 million in the prior-year quarter, as well as subscription revenue soared to $38.32 million from $14.37 million last year.

Looking ahead to the first quarter, the company expects loss in a range of $0.49 to $0.53 per share, on projected revenues between $118 million and $122 million, and billings between $130 million and $140 million, while analysts are looking for a loss of $0.53 per share on revenues of $121.12 million.

For fiscal 2015, the company anticipates loss in the range of $1.80 to $1.90 per share, on projected revenues between $605 million and $625 million, and billings between $800 million and $820 million.

Street is currently looking for full-year 2015 loss of $1.87 per share on annual revenues of $622.41 million.

"The market for our advanced security solutions continues to expand, and we believe we enter 2015 well positioned to extend our leadership and market share gains with innovative new solutions such as FireEye-as-a-Service and the FireEye Endpoint Threat Prevention Platform," DeWalt added.

FEYE closed Wednesday's regular trading session at $35.69, down $0.83 or 2.27% on a volume of 11.59 million shares. However, the stock gained $1.81 or 5.07% in after-hours trading.