Palo Alto Networks beats earnings forecasts, acquires AI firm Console

Palo Alto Networks reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results with revenue of $3.41 billion, up 34% year-over-year, and adjusted earnings per share of $1.02. It unveiled the acquisition of Console, an AI-native platform designed to enable agentic, automated workflows across enterprise operations, to bolster its Cortex security operations. CEO Nikesh Arora said customers will be able to build agentic workflows in natural language that automatically flag and remediate issues, signaling a shift to a software-as-an-agent model. The move comes as AI spending climbs globally and demand for AI-enabled cybersecurity grows, with market data suggesting trillions in AI investment and rising security budgets. Palo Alto guided for fiscal 2027 revenue of about $14.1–$14.2 billion and adjusted earnings per share around $4.16–$4.19, underscoring confidence in AI-driven security adoption. The Console acquisition is expected to accelerate autonomous security capabilities, enabling faster alerting, remediation, and broader automation across enterprise IT through Cortex AgentiX and related workflows.