FireEye Inc. (NASDAQ: FEYE) announced first-quarter 2018 results on Wednesday after the market closed, highlighting stronger-than-expected revenue growth and narrowing losses, as more customers embraced its powerful Helix cybersecurity platform. FireEye also boosted its full-year revenue guidance.
But keeping in mind shares were up nearly 30% over the past year as of yesterday's close, FireEye stock pulled back as the market appeared unimpressed by that outlook. Let's take a closer look at what FireEye had to say and what investors should be watching as the year progresses.
IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.
FireEye results: The raw numbers
| Metric | Q1 2018 | Q1 2017 | Year-Over-Year Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $199.1 million | $184.8 million | 7.7% |
| GAAP net income (loss) | ($71.8 million) | ($77.2 million) | N/A |
| GAAP earnings (loss) per share | ($0.39) | ($0.45) | N/A |
DATA SOURCE: FIREEYE INC.
What happened with FireEye this quarter?
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On an adjusted (non-GAAP) basis, which excludes items like stock-based compensation, FireEye's net loss was $7.5 million, or $0.04 per share, narrowed from an adjusted loss of $0.05 per share in last year's first quarter.
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For perspective, FireEye's latest guidance, provided in February, called for lower revenue of $192 million to $197 million and an adjusted net loss per share of $0.03 to $0.06.
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Billings increased 21% year over year, to $175.1 million, also above guidance for a range of $165 million to $175 million.
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Product, subscription, and support revenue grew 7.6%, to $165.5 million.
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Professional services revenue grew 8.3%, to $33.6 million.
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Fireeye added 230 new customers during the quarter compared to 237 in the same year-ago period. During the subsequent call, management acknowledged the slight decline. But they also noted they're seeing a "healthy increase" in new customers that's consistent with expectations, given sales-cycle lengths following the launch of their next-generation Endpoint with Antivirus product two quarters ago.
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FireEye also added 40 new Helix customers, bringing Helix's total customer base to more than 200.
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FireEye secured 29 transactions greater than $1 million during the quarter, with roughly 85% of those transactions including more than one product.
What management said
FireEye CEO Kevin Mandia stated:
We continued to execute well in the first quarter and delivered revenue above our guidance range and billings slightly above our guidance range. We also continued to drive innovation across our product portfolio, added new features and functionality, and updated our pricing and packaging. Our frontline knowledge of the threat landscape and how organizations are combating cyber attacks is at the heart of our unique innovation cycle. FireEye network, email and endpoint security products continue to detect attacks that evade other security solutions. Our Helix platform operationalizes our intelligence and expertise to reduce the complexity of security operations and capture the untapped potential of prior security investments.