Palo Alto - after Earnings

The largest publicly traded company specializing in cybersecurity has published its results. Palo Alto is growing and is expected to continue growing, according to the management. The company delivered and exceeded expectations in almost all key indicators, yet the stock fell by over 4% in after-hours trading. So what dampened investor sentiment?
At first glance, the financial report doesn't reveal any reasons for concern or disappointment.

• Revenue: $2.47 billion compared to the expected $2.46 billion. Year-over-year growth of 16%.
• EPS at $0.93 compared to the expected $0.89. Year-over-year growth of 19%.
• Increase in order portfolio to $15.5 billion, with $5.85 billion being recurring revenue from "Next Gen Security" solutions - in this segment, growth was 24% and 29% year-over-year, respectively.
• Revenue growth is not at the expense of profits, with free cash flow increasing to $1.7 billion with an FCF margin of 19%.

Forecasts are meant to reassure investors about promising future results:
Revenue for the next quarter is expected to be between $2.47-2.50 billion, and revenue for the entire fiscal year is expected to exceed $10.5 billion with EPS between 3.8-3.9 - both figures above consensus expectations. By 2028, the operating margin is expected to exceed 40%.
At the same time, the company announced another major acquisition — this time it's Chronosphere, aimed at improving Palo Alto's offerings and capabilities regarding oversight and AI. This acquisition will cost $3.35 billion.
In light of this information, which of them caused the stock price to drop?

Primarily, it's not the numbers but the trends that speak here — specifically its slope. It's about the growth rate which, although impressive, is declining when compared to historical data. The growth is still incredibly impressive, but with a P/E ratio exceeding 140, impressive is not enough.

PANW.US (D1)

Source: xStation5