NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.14 EPS

NetScout Systems (NASDAQ:NTCT) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The technology company reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.14, FiscalAI reports. NetScout Systems had a return on equity of 8.49% and a net margin of 11.13%.The firm had revenue of $250.68 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $233.69 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. NetScout Systems updated its FY 2026 guidance to 2.370-2.450 EPS.

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

• Q3 results beat expectations — revenue of $250.7M and diluted EPS of $1 (up ~6% YoY), with nine-month revenue of ~$656M (up ~6%) and management raising the midpoint of FY26 top- and bottom-line guidance.
• Product and customer momentum in cybersecurity and service assurance — cybersecurity revenue grew ~9% YTD and service assurance ~4.8%, with major wins (mid/low seven‑figure to mid/high seven‑figure deals) and new AI-enabled offerings like Omnis AI Sensor/Streamer and the nGenius Edge Sensor 795.
• Healthy balance sheet and cash flow — $586.2M in cash, equivalents and investments, $59.4M free cash flow in the quarter, no borrowings on the $600M revolver, and continued share repurchase capacity.
• Revenue timing variability and order pull‑ins — management said roughly $15M of orders were pulled into Q3 from future quarters, creating potential unevenness in future quarter comparisons despite the raised midpoint guidance.
• Supply‑chain, collections and customer concentration risks — server/component lead times and modest tariff effects could delay customer deployments, days sales outstanding rose to 82 days (from 75), and one customer and one channel partner each accounted for ~10% of Q3 revenue.

NetScout Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ NTCT opened at $27.67 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.28 and a beta of 0.64. NetScout Systems has a 12 month low of $18.12 and a 12 month high of $30.67. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $27.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.98.

Key Stories Impacting NetScout Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 results beat consensus — NetScout reported GAAP EPS of $1.00 vs. consensus $0.86 and revenue of $250.68M vs. $233.69M, driven by stronger product and service performance; management called results “ahead of expectations.” NETSCOUT Reports Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: FY‑2026 guidance raised — Company set EPS guidance of $2.370–$2.450 (above consensus ~2.14) and revenue guidance $835M–$870M (around/above Street midpoint), suggesting management expects continued margin/earnings leverage. NETSCOUT Reports Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call and materials available — Full Q3 earnings call transcript and slide presentation provide color on product cadence, backlog, and DDoS/cybersecurity demand; useful for assessing sustainability of beat. NetScout (NTCT) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript NetScout Systems, Inc. 2026 Q3 – Results – Earnings Call Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Third‑party coverage and summaries reflect the beats — Zacks and MarketBeat note the EPS/revenue beats and provide quick access to call audio/slides for deeper review. NetScout Systems (NTCT) Q3 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates View Slide Deck
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue slightly down year‑over‑year — Q3 revenue was down ~0.5% YoY, indicating mixed top‑line trends despite margin/earnings improvements; monitor whether guidance depends on margin gains rather than strong topline growth. NETSCOUT Q3 Summary and Materials

Analyst Ratings Changes

NTCT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NetScout Systems in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NetScout Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of NetScout Systems from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.00.

Insider Transactions at NetScout Systems

In other news, COO Sanjay Munshi sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.23, for a total transaction of $54,460.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 6,254 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $170,296.42. This trade represents a 24.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher Perretta sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.01, for a total value of $280,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 40,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,144,656.66. This represents a 19.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 3.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NetScout Systems

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in NetScout Systems during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of NetScout Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NetScout Systems by 1,936.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,016 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,917 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc bought a new stake in shares of NetScout Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in NetScout Systems during the second quarter worth about $76,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.