Feb 20 (Reuters) - Palo Alto Networks on Tuesday forecast third-quarter billings below Wall Street estimates, signaling cautious spending by businesses in an uncertain economy, sending the cybersecurity company's shares down more than 20% in extended trading.
Businesses are navigating in a digital world which is highly susceptible to online threat activity as they ramp up digitizing and migration to cloud, but sluggish spending in an uncertain economy has hit demand for companies such as Palo Alto.
Moreover, slowing growth in firewall business, which helps secure boundary by inspecting traffic between the networks inside and outside the company, has also hit demand.
Palo Alto forecast third-quarter billings between $2.30 billion and $2.35 billion, compared with analysts' average estimate of $2.62 billion, according to LSEG data.
Revenue for the second quarter ended Jan. 31 grew about 19% to $1.98 billion, compared with estimates $1.97 billion.
Excluding items, the company earned profit of $1.46 per share in second quarter, beating estimates of $1.30.
