NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Announces Earnings Results

Key Points

• NetScout beat quarterly expectations, posting $0.52 EPS versus the $0.46 consensus and revenue of $203.04 million, topping estimates despite revenue slipping 1% year over year.
• The company raised FY2027 guidance to revenue of $885 million–$915 million and EPS of $2.65–$2.80, signaling confidence in continued growth.
• Management highlighted strength in cybersecurity and AI-related products, and noted the DigiCert DDoS asset acquisition should be immediately accretive, while the company also remains well-capitalized with strong cash flow.

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The technology company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.06, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $203.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $198.64 million. NetScout Systems had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 8.37%. NetScout Systems's quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. NetScout Systems updated its FY 2027 guidance to 2.650-2.800 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from NetScout Systems' conference call:

• NETSCOUT reported full FY2026 revenue up ~4.5% to ≈$860M and non‑GAAP diluted EPS up nearly 12% to $2.48, with expanded gross and operating margins year‑over‑year.
• Management guided FY2027 revenue of $885M–$915M and non‑GAAP EPS $2.65–$2.80, noting the May acquisition of DigiCert’s DDoS assets is expected to be immediately accretive with an initial ~$20M annualized revenue run rate.
• Cybersecurity is outpacing the company average (cybersecurity revenue +7.8% in FY2026, ~36% of revenue) and management highlighted AI‑ready innovations—like the Omnis Sensor/Streamer and Adaptive DDoS—that they expect to drive upgrade cycles and new use cases.
• Strong financial position and liquidity with cash & marketable securities of $705M, near‑record FY2026 free cash flow of $285M, no drawn revolver, and ~$61M of share repurchases completed during the year.
• Q4 revenue was flat (~$203M) and product revenue declined year‑over‑year due to timing/order shifts, leaving elevated product backlog (~$50M) that reflects timing uncertainty rather than immediate revenue recognition.

NetScout Systems Stock Performance

NTCT traded up $0.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $39.09. 815,544 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 549,134. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 30.07 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $31.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.10. NetScout Systems has a 1 year low of $20.39 and a 1 year high of $39.71.

NetScout Systems News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting NetScout Systems this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NetScout beat fiscal Q4 earnings estimates, reporting $0.52 per share versus the $0.46 consensus, and revenue came in ahead of expectations at about $203 million. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company also raised FY 2027 guidance to EPS of 2.65-2.80 and revenue of $885 million-$915 million, both above Wall Street estimates, signaling confidence in growth ahead. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management said fiscal 2026 results were strong across both top and bottom lines, reinforcing the earnings beat and improving investor sentiment around the stock. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada raised its price target on NTCT from $29 to $38, but kept a “sector perform” rating, which suggests the recent rally may already reflect much of the near-term upside. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent transcript coverage and valuation commentary may keep attention on the stock, but they do not appear to add a major new catalyst beyond the earnings and guidance update. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: One cautionary note is that RBC’s $38 target sits below the current share price, implying limited upside after the post-earnings move. Article Title

Insider Transactions at NetScout Systems

In other NetScout Systems news, EVP John Downing sold 3,000 shares of NetScout Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $90,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 129,494 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,884,820. The trade was a 2.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 3.82% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NetScout Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NTCT. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 23.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 51,798 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,088,000 after buying an additional 9,802 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 41,377 shares of the technology company's stock worth $869,000 after buying an additional 2,036 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 17.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,420,479 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,844,000 after buying an additional 207,807 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 213,284 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,481,000 after buying an additional 15,112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 64.3% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 348,209 shares of the technology company's stock worth $7,316,000 after buying an additional 136,253 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on NTCT. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of NetScout Systems from $29.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of NetScout Systems from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NetScout Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, NetScout Systems currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $35.50.

About NetScout Systems

NetScout Systems, Inc is a leading provider of network performance management, service assurance and cybersecurity solutions. The company designs and delivers hardware and software platforms that capture and analyze real-time and historical packet data, enabling IT teams and service providers to monitor application performance, troubleshoot network issues and defend against distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. NetScout's flagship offerings include the nGeniusONE service assurance platform and the InfiniStream packet broker, which together provide end-to-end visibility across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Westford, Massachusetts, NetScout has built a reputation for scalable and resilient monitoring infrastructure.

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