Gen Digital Q2 Earnings Meet Estimates: Will the Stock Move Upward?

Gen Digital Inc. GEN posted second-quarter fiscal 2025 results, wherein earnings matched the Zacks Consensus Estimate and revenues beat the same.

Gen Digital reported non-GAAP earnings of 54 cents per share, which improved 16% year over year and came in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. The bottom line increased 16% on a constant currency basis too. Increased revenues, disciplined spending and cost synergies from the NortonLifeLock and Avast merger drove the bottom-line growth.

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Gen Digital’s second-quarter non-GAAP revenues increased 3% year over year to $974 million and beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $968.5 million. The top line also increased by 3% on a constant-currency basis.

GEN’s revenues benefited from decent demand in the cyber safety space. The traction in the cyber safety market acted as a tailwind for the company’s privacy and identity offerings and increased direct customer sales and cross-selling for its portfolio.

Gen Digital Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

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

Gen Digital’s latest quarterly performance is anticipated to boost its share price. GEN stock has soared 17.9% year to date, underperforming the Zacks Technology Services industry’s gain of 28.1%.

Gen Digital’s Key Metrics

Gen Digital’s Direct Customer revenues increased 3% year over year to $860 million. Partner revenues improved 7% to $102 million. Our revenue estimates for Direct Customer and Partner were pegged at $857.5 million and $102 million, respectively.

The direct monthly average revenue per user (ARPU) marginally increased to $7.26 compared to the year-ago quarter’s ARPU of $7.25 and the previous quarter’s $7.23. Our estimate for the direct monthly average revenue per user was pegged at $7.27. The quarterly bookings advanced 4% on a year-over-year basis to $964 million.

Gen Digital’s average direct customer count increased to 39.7 million from 38.5 million in the year-ago quarter and 39.3 million in the previous quarter. Our estimate for the average direct customer count was pegged at 39.3 million.

GEN’s customer retention rate grew 1% year over year to 78%. The company’s customer retention rate was 78% in the previous quarter and 77% in the year-ago quarter.

Gen Digital’s Q2 Operating Details

The non-GAAP gross profit grew 1.8% year over year to $839 million. However, the gross margin contracted by 110 basis points (bps) to 86.1%.

Non-GAAP operating expenses decreased to $272 million from $278 million. Moreover, as a percentage of revenues, non-GAAP operating expenses deteriorated 150 bps to 27.9%.

The non-GAAP operating income in the second quarter of fiscal 2025 totaled $567 million, up 3.8% year over year. The non-GAAP operating margin expanded by 40 bps to 58.2%, due to disciplined spending.

Non-GAAP EBITDA grew 242.6% year over year to $507 million. Meanwhile, the non-GAAP reported EBITDA increased 3.4% year over year to $571 million.

Gen Digital Balance Sheet & Other Details

Gen Digital exited the second quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $737 million compared with the previous quarter’s $644 million. The long-term debt was $7.13 billion, down from $7.2 billion in the previous quarter.

The company generated operating and free cash flows of $158 million and $156 million, respectively, in the second quarter of fiscal 2025. In the first half of fiscal 2025, the company generated operating cash flow and free cash flow of $422 million and $418 million, respectively.

Gen Digital paid out $77 million in dividends during the second quarter. In the first half of fiscal 2025, it paid $159 million in dividends, repurchased stocks worth $272 million and repaid debt worth $88 million.

Gen Digital’s Guidance Update

For the third quarter of fiscal 2025, Gen Digital anticipates revenues in the band of $980-$990 million. The company projects non-GAAP earnings between 54 and 56 cents in the third quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter revenues and non-GAAP earnings is currently pegged at $969.5 million and 55 cents per share, respectively.

For fiscal 2025, Gen Digital projects revenues between $3.905 billion and $3.930 billion compared with the previous guidance range of $3.89-$3.93 billion. It now anticipates earnings per share in the range of $2.18-$2.23, compared with the earlier range of $2.17-$2.23. The consensus mark for fiscal 2025 revenues and non-GAAP earnings currently stands at $3.90 billion and $2.20 per share, respectively.

GEN’s Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider

Gen Digital currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some top-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector are Shopify SHOP, Palo Alto Networks PANW and ServiceNow NOW, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The consensus mark for Shopify’s 2024 earnings has remained unchanged at $1.12 per share over the past 60 days, indicating a 51.4% year-over-year increase. The long-term expected earnings growth rate for the stock stands at 39.2%. Shares of SHOP have increased 2.7% in the year-to-date period.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PANW’s fiscal 2025 earnings has been revised upward by a penny to $6.26 per share in the past 60 days, suggesting a year-over-year increase of 10.4%. It has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 19.3%. Shares of PANW have risen 21.9% in the year-to-date period.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ServiceNow’s 2024 earnings has been revised upward by 6 cents to $13.87 per share in the past seven days, indicating an increase of 28.7% on a year-over-year basis. It has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 24.7%. Shares of NOW have jumped 34.5% in the year-to-date period.

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