Key Highlights

  • GEN shares rose about 7% pre-market to $26.00, from $24.35 prior close.
  • Q2 revenue rose 12% to $1.37 billion, above the $1.34 billion estimate.
  • Non-GAAP EPS of $0.74 beat the $0.72 consensus.
  • Paid customers reached a record 83 million.
  • Fiscal 2027 revenue guidance rose to $5.465 billion to $5.515 billion.

Beat and Raise

Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ:GEN) shares rose in pre-market trading after fiscal second-quarter results that topped estimates and lifted full-year guidance. Revenue grew 12% to $1.37 billion, above the high end of guidance, and non-GAAP earnings per share were $0.74 against $0.72 expected. Bookings rose 10% to $1.35 billion, the sixth straight double-digit quarter.

Operating margin was 50% and operating income was $686 million. Paid customers rose to a record 83 million, up 2 million sequentially and 6 million from a year earlier. Second-quarter free cash flow was $323 million.

Gen is a consumer cyber safety and financial wellness company based in Tempe, Arizona and Prague, formerly NortonLifeLock. It serves nearly 500 million users in more than 150 countries through brands including Norton, Avast, LifeLock, Avira and MoneyLion, and generates more than $5 billion in annual revenue, mostly recurring. It has about 3,900 employees.

Segment Performance

Cybersafety revenue grew 5% at a record 62% margin, driven by higher-tier Norton 360 memberships and cross-sell penetration near 30%. Trust-based solutions revenue grew 26%, with bookings up 24%, at a stable 30% margin, led by origination growth at MoneyLion's cash advance product, a doubling of matched inquiries on its Engine marketplace and 18 new partners.

Partner channel revenue rose 40% to $295 million and is now over 20% of revenue, with employee benefits growing fastest. Management said agentic AI is raising consumer security needs, seen in the highest renewal rate in four quarters and scam protection up 30% sequentially, but does not expect agentic products to contribute materially this fiscal year and is not working on a transformative acquisition.

Guidance and Capital Returns

Third-quarter revenue is guided to $1.365 billion to $1.39 billion, up 10% to 12%, with non-GAAP EPS of $0.73 to $0.75. Fiscal 2027 revenue guidance was raised to $5.465 billion to $5.515 billion, up 10% to 11%, from 9% to 11%, and EPS guidance to $2.93 to $2.98, up 16% to 18%, from 14% to 18%.

Net leverage was below 2.9 times. The company repurchased $171 million of shares in the quarter, with $1.8 billion remaining, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share. Before the move, Gen had a market capitalisation of about $14.6 billion, a trailing price-to-earnings ratio of 12.2, a dividend yield of about 2% and a 52-week range of $17.78 to $31.65. Several research firms raised price targets, and the shares rose even though the sector fund was down about 1.3%.

What Investors Will Weigh Next

The results show steady subscriber growth and rising profitability. Growth in the partner channel, the performance of the trust-based business and any shift in guidance for the third quarter are the next markers.