F5 forecasts upbeat quarterly results on steady demand, shares jump

(Reuters) - F5 forecast second-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates and beat first-quarter revenue estimates on Tuesday, anticipating stable demand for its cloud services, sending its shares up 13% in extended trading.

As companies migrate to the cloud, digitization has increased demand for cloud and cybersecurity services such as those provided by F5.

"We are seeing new opportunities emerge in two main areas: hybrid multicloud and AI," said CEO François Locoh-Donou.

The Seattle, Washington-based company's software revenue grew 22% to $209 million in the first quarter.

The company forecast second-quarter revenue in the range of $705 million to $725 million, above analysts' estimate of $702.7 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Excluding items, it forecast earnings per share between $3.02 and $3.14, above expectations of $3.21 each.

F5 raised its full-year 2025 revenue forecast to a growth of 6% to 7% over fiscal year 2024, from its previous range of 4% to 5%.

Revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31 came in at $766.49 million, compared with analysts' estimate of $715.4 million.

(Reporting by Juby Anna Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Alan Barona)