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    PANW
    Earnings call· Apr 2025(Q3 FY25)

    Palo Alto Networks Q3 FY25 earnings call PANW

    May 20, 2025 Source

    Executive summary

    Palo Alto Networks Q3 FY25 — NGS ARR Crosses $5 Billion with Strong XSIAM and SASE Momentum

    Palo Alto Networks delivered strong Q3 FY25 results, driven by its platformization strategy and significant AI-led demand. The company is seeing accelerated adoption of cloud-delivered security solutions, particularly XSIAM and SASE, as customers prioritize AI transformation and vendor consolidation. Management remains confident in its long-term growth targets, leveraging its data-centric approach to cybersecurity.

    Highlights

    5
    • Next-Generation Security (NGS) ARR crossed $5 billion, growing 34% year-over-year.

    • XSIAM ARR grew over 200% year-over-year, with average ARR per customer over $1 million.

    • SASE ARR grew 36% year-over-year, more than twice the overall market rate.

    • Product revenue grew 16% year-over-year, driven by increasing software mix.

    • Diluted non-GAAP EPS was $0.80, marking the 12th consecutive quarter of positive GAAP EPS.

    Concerns

    2
    • Geopolitical discussions and tariff concerns in April caused a temporary period of uncertainty, though teams executed through it.

    • Contract duration decreased slightly on both a year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter basis.

    Guidance & targets

    13
    CategoryTargetConfidence
    Fiscal Year 2025 NGS ARR
    $5.52B-$5.57B
    high materiality
    High
    Fiscal Year 2025 Remaining Performance Obligation (RPO)
    $15.2B-$15.3B
    high materiality
    High
    Fiscal Year 2025 Revenue
    $9.17B-$9.19B
    high materiality
    High
    Fiscal Year 2025 Operating Margin
    28.2%-28.5%
    high materiality
    High
    Fiscal Year 2025 Diluted Non-GAAP EPS
    $3.26-$3.28
    high materiality
    High
    Fiscal Year 2025 Adjusted Free Cash Flow Margin
    37.5%-38%
    high materiality
    High
    Fiscal Year 2026 Adjusted Free Cash Flow Margin
    37%+
    high materiality
    High
    Fiscal Year 2027 Adjusted Free Cash Flow Margin
    37%+
    high materiality
    High
    Q4 FY25 NGS ARR
    $5.52B-$5.57B
    high materiality
    High
    Q4 FY25 Remaining Performance Obligation (RPO)
    $15.2B-$15.3B
    high materiality
    High
    Q4 FY25 Revenue
    $2.49B-$2.51B
    high materiality
    High
    Q4 FY25 Diluted Non-GAAP EPS
    $0.87-$0.89
    high materiality
    High
    FY30 NGS ARR Target
    $15B
    high materiality
    High

    Segment performance

    8
    SegmentRevenueYoYQoQMargin
    Total Revenue
    Total revenue grew at the high end of the guided range.
    $2.29B15%
    Product Revenue
    Product revenue growth was broad-based, with software increasing in the overall mix.
    16%
    Total Services Revenue
    Total services revenue grew in line with overall revenue.
    15%
    Subscription Revenue
    Subscription revenue showed strong growth.
    18%
    Support Revenue
    Support revenue grew.
    10%
    Americas
    Double-digit growth in the Americas region.
    12%
    EMEA
    Strong double-digit growth in the EMEA region.
    20%
    APAC
    Strongest double-digit growth in the APAC region.
    23%

    Operational metrics

    26
    NGS ARR
    $5.09B34% YoY
    Q3 FY25

    Crossed the $5 billion milestone in Q3.

    AI ARR
    ~$400M>2.5x YoY
    Q3 FY25

    AI-specific Annual Recurring Revenue.

    XSIAM customers
    ~270
    Q3 FY25

    Number of customers using XSIAM.

    XSIAM average ARR per customer
    >$1M
    Q3 FY25

    Average Annual Recurring Revenue generated per XSIAM customer.

    XSIAM ARR growth
    >200%YoY
    Q3 FY25

    Growth rate of XSIAM Annual Recurring Revenue.

    SASE ARR growth
    36%YoY
    Q3 FY25

    Growth rate of SASE Annual Recurring Revenue, more than twice the overall market.

    SASE customers
    ~6,00022% YoY
    Q3 FY25

    Total number of SASE customers.

    New SASE customers (net new to PANW)
    40%
    Q3 FY25

    Percentage of new SASE customers that were net new to Palo Alto Networks.

    Prisma Access Browser licensed seats
    ~3M>10x YoY
    Q3 FY25

    Licensed seats for Prisma Access Browser, acquired 18 months ago.

    Net new platformization deals
    >90
    Q3 FY25

    Number of new platformization deals closed in the quarter.

    Total platformizations (top 5,000 customers)
    ~1,250
    Q3 FY25

    Cumulative number of platformization deals within the top 5,000 customers.

    Customers with multiple platformizations growth
    ~70%YoY
    Q3 FY25

    Growth in customers adopting multiple platformization solutions.

    Customers platformized on Cortex growth
    ~3x
    Q3 FY25

    Growth in customers platformized on Cortex, reflecting strong XSIAM momentum.

    Customers with >$5M NGS ARR
    130>40% YoY
    Q3 FY25

    Number of customers generating over $5 million in NGS ARR.

    Customers with >$10M NGS ARR
    44>60% YoY
    Q3 FY25

    Number of customers generating over $10 million in NGS ARR.

    Total gross margin
    76%
    Q3 FY25

    Company-wide gross margin.

    Product gross margin
    78.4%
    Q3 FY25

    Gross margin for product sales.

    Services gross margin
    75.4%
    Q3 FY25

    Gross margin for services.

    Operating expense as percentage of revenue leverage
    340 bpsYoY
    Q3 FY25

    Leverage achieved in operating expenses as a percentage of revenue.

    Diluted non-GAAP EPS
    $0.80
    Q3 FY25

    Diluted non-GAAP Earnings Per Share.

    Diluted GAAP EPS
    $0.37
    Q3 FY25

    Diluted GAAP Earnings Per Share, 12th consecutive quarter of positive GAAP EPS.

    Debt balance reduction
    $151M
    Q3 FY25

    Reduction in debt balance due to early conversion of convertible debt.

    Buyback authorization remaining
    $1B
    through Dec 2025

    Remaining authorization for share repurchases.

    Telemetry ingested daily
    ~12 petabytes
    daily

    Volume of telemetry data ingested daily across various security contexts.

    Software firewall ARR growth
    ~20%YoY
    Q3 FY25

    Growth in Annual Recurring Revenue from software firewalls, driven by public cloud deployments.

    Product revenue from software
    approaching 40%
    TTM Q3 FY25

    Proportion of product revenue derived from software, driven by virtual form factors and SD-WAN.

    Industry KPIs

    9
    MetricValueDetails
    Revenue growth$2.29BUSD
    Arr net new arr$5.09BUSD
    Rpo current rpo$13.5BUSD
    Bookings billingsapproaching $1BUSD
    Customer account count~270customers
    Large deal new logo metrics>90deals
    Multi product platform attach~1,250platformizations
    Operating FCF margin rule of 4076%%
    Ai product adoption monetization~$400MUSD

    Orderbook & backlog

    5
    Remaining Performance Obligation (RPO)$13.5BQ3 FY25

    19% YoY

    Current Remaining Performance Obligation (cRPO)$6.2BQ3 FY25

    16% YoY

    XSIAM TTM bookingsapproaching $1BQ3 FY25

    Trailing 12-month bookings for XSIAM.

    Cortex Cloud pipeline9-figureQ3 FY25

    Pipeline value for Cortex Cloud, spanning hundreds of customers.

    Protect AI pipeline8-figureQ3 FY25

    Pipeline value generated since the announcement of intent to acquire Protect AI.

    Product announcements

    3
    ProductTypeDetails
    Advanced e-mail securitylaunch
    Exposure management capabilitylaunch
    Prisma AIRS (AI Runtime Security)launch

    Deals & partnerships

    2
    Protect AIAcquisition of an early innovator leader in security for AI, providing AI model scanning and AI red teaming.$700M

    Palo Alto Networks announced its intent to acquire Protect AI for a total consideration of $700 million in cash and replacement equity awards. The transaction is expected to close by the first quarter of fiscal year 2026.

    IBMPartnership to facilitate the transition of QRadar on-premise customers to XSIAM.

    Palo Alto Networks has a phenomenal partnership with IBM, working with them to transition large customers from on-premise SOC solutions to cloud-delivered XSIAM, including QRadar on-premise conversions.

    Risks & headwinds

    3
    Geopolitical and tariff discussionsApril 2025

    Caused uncertainty and a brief pause in customer decision-making.

    Mitigation: Teams executed through the challenges, leveraging lessons from past crises; business climate has since stabilized.

    Contract duration decreaseQ3 FY25

    Decreased slightly on both a year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter basis.

    Mitigation: Company is absorbing this transition while maintaining high-end FY25 adjusted free cash flow margin guidance and reiterating confidence in FY26/FY27 targets.

    Accelerated threat speed from AIOngoing

    Bad actors using AI to move faster, demonstrated by a simulated ransomware attack in under 25 minutes.

    Mitigation: Palo Alto Networks is developing AI-driven solutions like XSIAM and Prisma AIRS to counter these advanced threats and enable faster incident response.

    What to watch in Q4 FY25

    5

    XSIAM ARR growth

    Next quarter (Q4 FY25)
    Current>200% YoY
    TargetContinued strong growth, approaching $1B TTM bookings

    Why it matters

    XSIAM is the fastest-growing product and a key driver for the $15B ARR target, disrupting the SIEM market.

    XSIAM ARR grew over 200% year-over-year in Q3, nearly twice as fast as our closest next-generation SIEM competitor. On a trailing 12-month basis, XSIAM bookings are now approaching $1 billion.

    Q&A highlights

    8

    How are customers migrating from QRadar on-prem to XSIAM, and what is the ARR opportunity for Palo Alto Networks towards its $15 billion target?

    Nikesh highlighted the strong partnership with IBM for QRadar conversions, noting that XSIAM deals are large, with an average ARR over $1 million. He views XSIAM as an inflection point for the $40 billion SIEM market, driven by AI's demand for real-time, cloud-based security. The data ingested by XSIAM also enables new products like advanced email security.

    I think this is the moment of the SIEM market. It's a $40 billion TAM. I think in the next 3 to 5 years, it will get replaced.

    asked by Saket Kalia · answered by Nikesh Arora

    3 min read6 chapters

    Detailed Narrative

    01

    Platformization Strategy & Large Deals

    Palo Alto Networks' platformization strategy is gaining traction, leading to larger deals and vendor consolidation. In Q3, the company closed over 90 net new platformization deals, bringing the total to approximately 1,250 within its top 5,000 customers. The number of customers with multiple platformizations grew nearly 70% year-over-year. Notable examples include a $90 million transaction with a global consulting firm, a $46 million deal with a financial services company, and a $33 million transaction with a U.S. financial services firm, all involving significant product consolidation and displacement of legacy vendors.

    02

    XSIAM Momentum & Market Disruption

    XSIAM is highlighted as Palo Alto Networks' fastest-growing product, showing accelerating growth in Q3. It now serves approximately 270 customers, with an impressive average ARR per customer exceeding $1 million. XSIAM ARR grew over 200% year-over-year in Q3, and its trailing 12-month bookings are approaching $1 billion. The company views XSIAM as a transformative force for the estimated $40 billion SecOps TAM, modernizing the traditional SIEM market by consolidating security data into an AI-driven SOC platform and significantly reducing mean time to respond.

    03

    Network Security & Software Firewalls

    The company continues to lead the network security market, with product revenue growing 16% year-over-year. Software firewall ARR increased approximately 20% year-over-year, primarily driven by public cloud deployments. Management believes that the acceleration of cloud adoption due to AI is expanding the long-term demand for scalable software firewalls, positioning Palo Alto Networks favorably for the ongoing shift from hardware to software-based security solutions.

    04

    SASE Growth & Prisma Access Browser

    SASE remains the fastest-growing form factor within network security and a significant contributor to overall growth, with ARR increasing 36% year-over-year, more than double the market rate. The company now serves approximately 6,000 SASE customers, a 22% year-over-year increase. Prisma Access Browser, acquired 18 months ago, has seen remarkable adoption, with approximately 3 million licensed seats sold, representing a more than 10x increase year-over-year, and a healthy 9-figure pipeline. This growth is driven by the browser becoming the primary interface for cloud-based applications in an AI-driven world.

    05

    AI Security & Prisma AIRS

    Palo Alto Networks is actively addressing the critical need to secure AI transformation. The newly launched Prisma AIRS (AI Runtime Security) helps enterprises discover, scan, and test AI artifacts to ensure safety and maintain a strong data security posture. To further bolster its capabilities in this rapidly evolving space, the company announced its intent to acquire Protect AI for $700 million. This acquisition aims to enhance AI model scanning and red teaming, with an 8-figure pipeline already generated from early customer interest.

    06

    Data-Driven Innovation

    The company leverages its extensive data ingestion capabilities, processing nearly 12 petabytes of telemetry daily across cloud, identity, endpoints, and email. This massive data stream not only powers XSIAM but also acts as a 'data to market engine,' enabling the identification and acceleration of entry into entirely new markets, unlocking additional TAM in the tens of billions. This comprehensive understanding of data sources allows for the development of new solutions, such as advanced e-mail security and exposure management, by providing full organizational context.

    AI-generated summary of the company’s earnings call. Not investment advice.