GEN - Norton & Avast parent Gen Digital jumps on record FQ2 sales sequential customer growth

2023-11-07 10:53:10 ET

Shares of Gen Digital ( NASDAQ: GEN ) on Tuesday rose more than 7% , after the cybersecurity company reported record quarterly revenue and saw a sequential growth in its customers.

GEN stock was up 7.4% to $18.74 in morning trade, and was the top percentage gainer on the S&P 500 ( SP500 ).

GEN posted FQ2 2024 adjusted earning per share of 47 cents, which came in-line with estimates. Revenue rose nearly 27% Y/Y to an all-time high of $948M, which also came in-line with expectations.

Tempe, Ariz.-based Gen Digital ( GEN ) provides cybersecurity services through its brands such as Norton, LifeLock, Avast and AVG.

GEN's FQ2 bookings rose 28% Y/Y to $923M. Meanwhile, its quarter-end direct customer count stood at 38.5M, compared to 38.2M at the end of FQ1. Direct average revenue per user rose to $7.28 from $6.98 a year ago.

"Our second quarter of FY24 marks the first anniversary of Gen following the acquisition of Avast," the company's executives wrote in an investor letter .

"Importantly, we drove our large direct customer base back to growth, up 380K sequentially ... Coming out of the post-COVID environment, our new customer acquisition grew high single digits YoY across several countries and channels, despite ongoing macro-level headwinds," the executives added.

Turning to Gen Digital's ( GEN ) guidance, the company tightened its fiscal year 2024 revenue and adjusted earnings per share ranges. GEN now sees sales of $3.81B to $3.835B, compared to a prior outlook of $3.8B to $3.85B. Profit is now seen to be in the range of $1.95 to $2.00 per share, versus a previous range of $1.95 to $2.02 per share. The consensus revenue estimate is $3.83B and the earnings per share estimate is $1.98.

For FQ3 2024, GEN sees revenue of $950M to $960M and adjusted earnings per share of $0.49 to $0.51. The consensus estimates are $967.33M and $0.51, respectively.

More on Gen Digital

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• Gen Digital Stock: A Value Pick In Cybersecurity
• Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Gen Digital
• Historical earnings data for Gen Digital
• GEN growth metrics

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