New York, Jan 28, 2026, 13:42 EST — Regular session
- FFIV shares climbed roughly 8.5% in afternoon trading, edging the price close to $293
- F5 posted a 7% revenue increase in its December quarter, driven by a strong surge in systems sales
- The company boosted its fiscal 2026 forecast and projected second-quarter revenue between $770 million and $790 million
Shares of F5, Inc jumped 8.5% to $293.37 in early afternoon trading on Wednesday, fueled by the company’s recent quarterly report.
This matters because F5 operates in a slice of enterprise tech that typically shifts ahead of overall software budgets. Its hardware and software manage application traffic and security—the essential plumbing that keeps apps and APIs, the software connectors enabling programs to communicate, up and running.
This positions the company as a key indicator of whether clients are upgrading infrastructure, expanding capacity, and investing in security, despite uneven IT spending elsewhere. An upgraded outlook—even a cautious one—usually draws more focus than a single-quarter beat.
F5 reported first-quarter revenue of $822 million, up 7%, driven by an 11% rise in product sales, including a notable 37% surge in systems revenue. Software revenue, however, dropped 8%. Adjusted earnings per share, excluding stock-based compensation and amortization, came in at $4.45, compared to $3.84 a year ago. The company also raised its fiscal 2026 revenue growth forecast to 5%-6%, up from 0%-4%, and bumped its non-GAAP EPS guidance to $15.65-$16.05. CEO François Locoh-Donou highlighted the “7% growth year over year” in Q1 revenue and projected second-quarter revenue between $770 million and $790 million. 1
During the earnings call, management highlighted a hardware refresh cycle and AI-related buildouts as key drivers for systems demand. Locoh-Donou noted, “We won as many new customers in AI just in the last ninety days as we had for all of FY ’25.” CFO Cooper Werner also mentioned rising memory costs are squeezing margins, even as the company keeps up its buyback program. 2
F5 offers application delivery and security products like BIG-IP and NGINX, designed to balance traffic, accelerate applications, and block attacks across data centers and public clouds. Its competitors range from established networking giants such as Cisco to edge-focused delivery and security firms like Cloudflare and Akamai.
Investors are zeroing in on whether software growth stabilizes after the year-on-year drop this quarter. This metric is meant to offer a steadier read over time, but factors like renewals, contract timing, and customer shifts keep it unpredictable.
The company’s guidance for the second quarter suggests a dip from the December quarter, a typical seasonal pattern. But the stock’s reaction narrows the margin for error. Traders keep a close eye on whether hardware sales drop off sharply after refresh cycles and if services revenue holds steady amid tighter budgets.
There’s a downside risk too. Should enterprise spending falter once more, major systems deals could stall. Software demand might stay weak if clients hold off on upgrades or move workloads to options requiring less on-prem equipment.
F5’s next key date is its annual shareholder meeting set for March 12, as detailed in an SEC filing. Afterward, focus returns to how well the company delivers on its March-quarter guidance and if product growth continues driving momentum. 3
