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The logo of network security provider Check Point Software Technologies Ltd is seen at their headquarters in Tel Aviv on August 14 2016. File Picture: REUTERS/Baz Ratner
The logo of network security provider Check Point Software Technologies Ltd is seen at their headquarters in Tel Aviv on August 14 2016. File Picture: REUTERS/Baz Ratner

Jerusalem — Check Point Software Technologies beat fourth-quarter profit expectations on Thursday, with revenue exceeding $2.5bn in 2024, and said the continued adoption of AI would fuel its growth further in 2025.

The Israeli-based network security company reported earnings of $2.70 per diluted share excluding one-off items for the October-December quarter, up 5% from $2.57 a year earlier. Revenue rose 6% to $704m.

That beat the $2.65 per share on revenue of $699m expected by analysts, LSEG data showed.

Product, licence and subscription revenues rose 9% in the quarter to $463m.

Check Point said it bought back 1.7-million shares in the quarter, worth $325m, as part of an ongoing $2bn share buyback programme. In all of 2024, it bought back 7.7-million shares at a cost of $1.3bn.

Industry veteran Nadav Zafrir took over as CEO in December.

For all of 2024, revenue rose 6% to $2.57bn, with adjusted earnings per share up 5% to $7.46.

Zafrir said a combination of geopolitical tensions and the rise in AI capabilities would continue to drive the company’s growth, especially its consolidated cyber security platform that prevents attacks across networks, mobile and the cloud.

“The way attackers take advantage of AI and the way they look at the attack surface is definitely going to change and we need to be ready for what is very hard for us to imagine about the future,” he told reporters.

Zafrir said that while China would not necessarily “change the game”, AI options will keep increasing.

“The fact that the price is going down is going to make it more available, which means that the security needs are just going to rise,” he said.

Check Point’s Nasdaq-listed shares have risen 9.2% so far in 2025 after a 22% gain last year.

Reuters

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