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Gen Digital (GEN) to Report Q1 Earnings: What's in the Cards?

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Gen Digital (GEN - Free Report) is slated to report first-quarter fiscal 2025 results after market close on Aug 1.

The company projects quarterly revenues between $960 million and $970 million. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal first-quarter revenues is pegged at $961 million, indicating a 1.6% improvement from the year-ago quarter’s figure of $946 million.

For the first quarter of fiscal 2025, Gen Digital expects non-GAAP earnings in the range of 52-54 cents per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at 53 cents per share, indicating an increase of 12.8% from the year-ago quarter’s reported figure of 47 cents.

The company’s earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate thrice in the trailing four quarters while missing the same on one occasion, the average surprise being 0.5%.

Let’s see how things have shaped up before this announcement.

Gen Digital Inc. Price and EPS Surprise Gen Digital Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Gen Digital Inc. price-eps-surprise | Gen Digital Inc. Quote

Factors to Note

GEN’s fiscal first-quarter performance is likely to have gained from the improved demand for cybersecurity and ID analytics products, driven by the growth in hybrid work setups. Over the past few years, more people have been shifting online, exposing more individuals to phishing and spear-phishing attacks. The global workforce has been remotely working and logging into its employers' networks, amplifying the need for digital security. Notably, GEN achieved the milestone of a million downloads in April 2024.

Our first-quarter estimate for Gen Digital’s Consumer Security segment’s revenues is pegged at $611.3 million, indicating a year-over-year increase of 2.1%. Our estimate of $334.2 million for the Identity and Information Protection division implies growth of 1.3% from the year-ago quarter.

An expansion in the EMEA, Asia Pacific and Latin American regions is also likely to have been an upside for GEN this season. Further, the growing number of client bookings, supported by their retention and renewal rates, is anticipated to have contributed to the company’s fiscal first-quarter top line. At the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024, Gen Digital’s client retention rate was 77%. Moreover, billings crossed the $1 billion mark for the second consecutive quarter in the last reported quarter.

Nevertheless, GEN’s fiscal first-quarter performance is likely to have been negatively impacted by softening IT spending. Still-high interest rates and protracted inflationary conditions are expected to have hurt consumer spending. Meanwhile, enterprises are postponing their large IT spending plans due to a weakening global economy amid ongoing macroeconomic and geopolitical issues. Furthermore, rising interest expenses due to enhanced debt related to Avast acquisition financing are likely to have weighed on the bottom line.

What Our Model Says

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Gen Digital this season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. However, that’s not the case here.

Though GEN currently carries a Zacks Rank of 3, it has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Stocks With Favorable Combination

Here are some stocks worth considering, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings in their upcoming releases:

Arista Networks (ANET - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.95% and sports a Zacks Rank #1 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Arista Networks’ shares have gained 35.6% year to date. ANET is set to report its second-quarter 2024 results on Jul 30.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ANET’s second-quarter 2024 earnings has been revised upward by a penny to $1.94 per share over the past seven days and indicates an improvement of 22.8% from the year-ago quarter’s earnings of $1.58. The consensus mark for revenues is pegged at $1.64 billion, indicating a 12.4% increase from the year-ago quarter.

Apple (AAPL - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +3.23% and carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present. Shares of AAPL have gained 13.2% year to date. The company is set to report third-quarter fiscal 2024 results on Aug 1.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AAPL’s third-quarter 2024 earnings has been revised upward by a penny to $1.33 over the past 60 days and indicates an improvement of 5.6% from the year-ago quarter. The consensus mark for revenues is pegged at $83.8 billion, indicating a 2.4% increase from the year-ago quarter.

GoDaddy (GDDY - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +13.08% and a Zacks Rank #3 at present. GoDaddy’s shares have gained 35.3% year to date. GDDY is set to report second-quarter 2024 results on Aug 1.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GDDY’s second-quarter 2024 earnings has remained unchanged at $1.07 over the past 60 days, indicating an improvement of 69.8% from the year-ago quarter. The consensus mark for revenues is pegged at $1.11 billion, indicating a 6.3% increase from the year-ago quarter.

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