F5, Inc. (FFIV)

F5, Inc. (FFIV) stock has experienced several notable events in the past six months. The stock price increased by 12.97% over the last six months and 67.48% over the last year. In Q1 Fiscal Year 2025, F5 reported strong results, surpassing EPS and revenue estimates, leading to the stock hitting an all-time high and raised its full-year fiscal 2025 revenue and adjusted EPS growth guidance. In Q2 Fiscal Year 2025, F5 again exceeded earnings estimates and raised its full-year revenue growth guidance. There has been significant insider selling of FFIV shares in the past three months.

F5, Inc. experiences demand seasonality, particularly concerning its software revenue. The growth in software revenue is weighted towards the second half of the fiscal year (Q3 and Q4), tied to a substantial subscription software renewal opportunity. This seasonality can lead to flat or weaker software growth in earlier quarters. The company's Q1 is typically a seasonal low quarter for gross and operating margins.

F5, Inc. specializes in multi-cloud application security and delivery solutions, operating in the Technology sector, specifically in Computer Communications Equipment, Computer Networks, and IT Services & Consulting. The company ensures the security, performance, and availability of applications across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid cloud environments. F5's major products and services include application services for load balancing and performance optimization, security solutions like web application firewalls and DDoS protection, cloud services for multi-cloud management, the BIG-IP Family integrating hardware and software modules, NGINX products, and F5 Distributed Cloud Services for web application and API protection.

F5, Inc. has a significant global presence, headquartered in Seattle, Washington, with 75 offices in 43 countries. Its business operations are organized into three primary geographic regions: Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and Asia-Pacific (APAC). In fiscal year 2024, net sales were distributed as follows: United States (52.8%), Americas (3.3%), Europe/Middle East/Africa (26.9%), and Asia/Pacific (17%). F5 continues to expand its global reach, for example, by establishing new points of presence (PoPs) in regions like Indonesia.

F5 has a strong brand reputation, known for reliability and performance in the market. The company is recognized as a leader in the application delivery controller (ADC) market and is expanding its presence in application security. In 2024, F5 received recognition from several industry experts, including IDC, SecureIQLab, TrustRadius, KuppingerCole, and Gartner, for its WAAP capabilities. F5 is trusted by 85% of the Fortune 500 companies.

F5, Inc.'s ownership structure is primarily institutional, with institutional investors holding approximately 94.92% of the company's stock. Major institutional owners include Vanguard Group Inc, BlackRock, Inc., Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management Llc, State Street Corp, Invesco Ltd., Geode Capital Management, Llc, and First Trust Advisors Lp. Individual insiders hold about 1.68% of the stock, while retail investors account for 3.40%.