Juniper Networks Reports Preliminary First Quarter 2024 Financial Results

Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR), a leader in secure, AI-Native Networks, today reported preliminary financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2024.

Proposed Merger with Hewlett Packard Enterprise

As announced on January 9, 2024, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (“HPE”) plans to acquire Juniper Networks in an all-cash transaction for $40.00 per share, representing an equity value of approximately $14 billion. The transaction is currently expected to close in late calendar year 2024 or early calendar year 2025, subject to receipt of regulatory approvals, and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

First Quarter 2024 Financial Performance

Net revenues were $1,148.9 million, a decrease of 16% year-over-year, and a decrease of 16% sequentially.

GAAP operating margin was (1.2)%, a decrease from 8.4% in the first quarter of 2023, and a decrease from 9.2% in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Non-GAAP operating margin was 10.6%, a decrease from 14.8% in the first quarter of 2023, and a decrease from 18.3% in the fourth quarter of 2023.

GAAP net loss was $0.8 million, a decrease of 101% year-over-year and sequentially, resulting in diluted net loss per share of $(0.00).

Non-GAAP net income was $96.6 million, a decrease of 38% year-over-year, and a decrease of 51% sequentially, resulting in non-GAAP diluted net income per share of $0.29.

The reconciliation between GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures is provided in a table immediately following the Preliminary Net Revenues by Geographic Region table below.

“While many of our customers continue to be impacted by macro headwinds and the digestion of previously placed orders, we are starting to see a recovery in demand from our cloud customers and saw another quarter of double-digit order growth in our Mist-led business,” said Juniper CEO, Rami Rahim. “I remain optimistic regarding our long-term growth prospects, particularly as customers adopt our AI offerings, both for network operations and data center use cases.”

“We delivered strong non-GAAP gross margin and better than seasonal expense trends during the March quarter,” said Juniper’s CFO, Ken Miller. “We remain focused on profitability, while making the necessary investments to drive long-term growth.”

Balance Sheet and Other Financial Results

Total cash, cash equivalents, and investments as of March 31, 2024 were $1,534.9 million, compared to $1,191.0 million as of March 31, 2023, and $1,324.3 million as of December 31, 2023.

Net cash flows provided by operations for the first quarter of 2024 were $325.0 million, compared to $191.5 million in the first quarter of 2023, and $9.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Days sales outstanding in accounts receivable was 64 days in the first quarter of 2024, compared to 70 days in the first quarter of 2023, and 69 days in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Capital expenditures were $34.8 million, and depreciation and amortization expense was $45.1 million during the first quarter of 2024.

Capital Return

Our Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.22 per share to be paid on June 24, 2024 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on June 3, 2024. We remain committed to paying our dividend; we have suspended our stock repurchase program in accordance with the terms of the merger agreement with HPE.

First Quarter 2024 Financial Commentary Available Online

A CFO Commentary reviewing Juniper Networks’ preliminary first quarter 2024 financial results will be published on Juniper Networks’ website at http://investor.juniper.net.

In light of the proposed transaction with HPE, and as is customary during the pendency of an acquisition, Juniper Networks will not be providing financial guidance for 2024.

About Juniper Networks

Juniper Networks believes that connectivity is not the same as experiencing a great connection. Juniper's AI-Native Networking Platform is built from the ground up to leverage AI to deliver the best and most secure user experiences from the edge to the data center and cloud. Additional information can be found at Juniper Networks (www.juniper.net) or connect with Juniper on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Facebook.

Investors and others should note that Juniper Networks announces material financial and operational information to its investors using its Investor Relations website, press releases, SEC filings and public conference calls and webcasts. Juniper Networks also intends to use the X (formerly Twitter) account @JuniperNetworks and Juniper Networks’ blogs as a means of disclosing information about Juniper Networks and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. The social media channels that Juniper Networks intends to use as a means of disclosing information described above may be updated from time to time as listed on Juniper Networks’ Investor Relations website.

Juniper Networks, the Juniper Networks logo, Juniper, Junos, and other trademarks are registered trademarks of Juniper Networks, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Safe Harbor; Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this release concerning Juniper Networks’ business, economic and market outlook, our expectations regarding our liquidity and capital return program; and our overall future prospects are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act that involve a number of uncertainties and risks. Actual results or events could differ materially from those anticipated in those forward-looking statements as a result of several factors, including: the completion of the proposed transaction with HPE on anticipated terms and timing or at all, including obtaining regulatory approvals and other conditions to the completion of the transaction; the fact that if the proposed transaction is completed, Juniper stockholders will forego the opportunity to realize the potential long-term value of the successful execution of Juniper’s current strategy as an independent company, which will also be affected by the ability of HPE to integrate and implement its plans, forecasts and other expectations with respect to Juniper’s business after the completion of the proposed transaction and realize additional opportunities for growth and innovation; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance or condition that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement; Juniper’s ability to implement its business strategies; potential significant transaction costs associated with the proposed transaction; the risks related to HPE’s financing of the proposed transaction; potential litigation or regulatory actions relating to the proposed transaction; the risk that disruptions from the proposed transaction will harm Juniper’s business, including current plans and operations, and risks related to diverting management’s attention from Juniper’s ongoing business operations and relationships; the ability of Juniper to retain and hire key personnel; potential adverse business uncertainty resulting from the announcement, pendency or completion of the proposed transaction, including restrictions during the pendency of the proposed transaction that may impact Juniper’s ability to pursue certain business opportunities or strategic transactions; legal, regulatory, tax and economic developments affecting Juniper’s business; the unpredictability and severity of catastrophic events, including, but not limited to, acts of terrorism, outbreak of war or hostilities or current or future pandemics or epidemics, as well as Juniper’s response to any of the aforementioned factors; general economic and political conditions globally or regionally, including the impact of a U.S. federal government shutdown or sovereign debt default and adverse changes in China-Taiwan relations and any impact due to armed conflicts (such as the continuing conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the Middle East conflicts, as well as governmental sanctions imposed in response); rising interest rates; inflationary pressures; monetary policy shifts; recession risks; business and economic conditions in the networking industry; changes in overall technology spending by our customers; the network capacity and security requirements of our customers; contractual terms that may result in the deferral of revenue; the timing of orders and their fulfillment; continuing manufacturing and supply chain challenges and logistics costs, constraints, changes or disruptions; availability and pricing of key product components, such as semiconductors; delays in scheduled product availability; order cancellations; adoption of or changes to laws, regulations, standards or policies affecting our operations, products, services or the networking industry; product defects, returns or vulnerabilities; significant effects of tax legislation and judicial or administrative interpretation of new tax regulations, including the potential for corporate tax increases and changes to global tax laws; legal settlements and resolutions, including with respect to enforcing our proprietary rights; the potential impact of activities related to the execution of capital return, restructurings and product rationalization; the impact of import tariffs and changes thereto; currency exchange rates; and other factors listed in Juniper Networks’ most recent report on Form 10-Q or 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Note that our estimates as to the tax rate on our business are based on current tax law and regulations, including current interpretations thereof, and could be materially affected by changing interpretations as well as additional legislation and guidance. All statements made in this release are made only as of the date set forth at the beginning of this release. Juniper Networks undertakes no obligation to update the information made in this release in the event facts or circumstances subsequently change after the date of this release. We have not filed our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2024. As a result, all financial results described in this earnings release should be considered preliminary, and are subject to change to reflect any necessary adjustments or changes in accounting estimates, that are identified prior to the time we file our Form 10-Q.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

Juniper Networks believes that the presentation of non-GAAP financial information provides important supplemental information to management and investors regarding financial and business trends relating to Juniper Networks’ financial condition and results of operations. For further information regarding why Juniper Networks believes that these non-GAAP measures provide useful information to investors, the specific manner in which management uses these measures, and some of the limitations associated with the use of these measures, please refer to the "Discussion of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" section of this press release. The following tables and reconciliations can also be found on our Investor Relations website at http://investor.juniper.net.

Discussion of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Juniper Networks believes that the presentation of non-GAAP financial information provides important supplemental information to management and investors regarding financial and business trends relating to the company’s financial condition and results of operations.

This press release, including the tables above, includes the following non-GAAP financial measures derived from our Preliminary Consolidated Statements of Operations: operating income; operating margin; net income; and diluted net income per share. These measures are not presented in accordance with, nor are they a substitute for GAAP. In addition, these measures may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies, limiting their usefulness for comparison purposes. The non-GAAP financial measures used in the table above should not be considered in isolation from measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP. Investors are cautioned that there are material limitations associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures as an analytical tool. Certain of the adjustments to our GAAP financial measures reflect the exclusion of items that are recurring and will be reflected in our financial results for the foreseeable future.

We utilize a number of different financial measures, both GAAP and non-GAAP, in analyzing and assessing the overall performance of our business, in making operating decisions, forecasting and planning for future periods, and determining payments under compensation programs. We consider the use of the non-GAAP measures presented above to be helpful in assessing the performance of the continuing operation of our business. By continuing operation, we mean the ongoing revenue and expenses of the business, excluding certain items that render comparisons with prior periods or analysis of on-going operating trends more difficult, such as expenses not directly related to the actual cash costs of development, sale, delivery or support of our products and services, or expenses that are reflected in periods unrelated to when the actual amounts were incurred or paid. Consistent with this approach, we believe that disclosing non-GAAP financial measures to the readers of our financial statements provides such readers with useful supplemental data that, while not a substitute for financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, allows for greater transparency in the review of our financial and operational performance. In addition, we have historically reported non-GAAP results to the investment community and believe that continuing to provide non-GAAP measures provides investors with a tool for comparing results over time. In assessing the overall health of our business for the periods covered by the table above and, in particular, in evaluating the financial line items presented in the table above, we have excluded items in the following three general categories, each of which are described below: Acquisition Related Charges, Other Items, and Share-Based Compensation Related Items. We also provide additional detail below regarding the shares used to calculate our non-GAAP net income per share. Notes identified for line items in the table above correspond to the appropriate note description below.

The above tables and reconciliations can also be found on our Investor Relations website at http://investor.juniper.net.

Note A: Acquisition Related Charges. We exclude certain expense items resulting from acquisitions including amortization of purchased intangible assets associated with our acquisitions. The amortization of purchased intangible assets associated with acquisitions results in recording expenses in our GAAP financial statements that were already expensed by the acquired company before the acquisition and for which we have not expended cash. Moreover, had we internally developed the products acquired, the amortization of intangible assets, and the expenses of uncompleted research and development would have been expensed in prior periods. Accordingly, we analyze the performance of our operations in each period without regard to such expenses. In addition, acquisitions result in non-continuing operating expenses, which would not otherwise have been incurred by us in the normal course of our business operations. We believe that providing non-GAAP information for acquisition-related expense items in addition to the corresponding GAAP information allows the users of our financial statements to better review and understand the historic and current results of our continuing operations, and also facilitates comparisons to less acquisitive peer companies.

Note B: Other Items. We exclude certain other items that are the result of either unique, infrequent or unplanned events, including the following, when applicable: (i) strategic investment-related gain or loss, including gain or loss from our equity method investment and our privately-held investments; (ii) legal reserve and settlement charges or benefits; (iii) gain or loss on significant isolated events or transactions, including divestitures and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which are directly related to the events, objectively quantifiable, and not expected to occur regularly in the future that are not indicative of our core operating results; (iv) merger-related charges, including professional services and financial advisory fees, in connection with the pending merger with HPE; (v) significant effects of tax legislation and judicial or administrative interpretation of tax regulations, including the impact of income tax reform; (vi) recognition of previously unrecognized tax benefits that are non-recurring in nature; and (vii) the income tax effect on our financial statements of excluding items related to our non-GAAP financial measures. Additionally, the non-GAAP results exclude the effects of NQDC-related investments. It is difficult to estimate the amount or timing of these items in advance. Although these events are reflected in our GAAP financial statements, these transactions may limit the comparability of our on-going operations with prior and future periods.

In addition, we exclude restructuring benefits or charges as these result from events that arise from unforeseen circumstances, which often occur outside of the ordinary course of continuing operations. As such, we believe these expenses do not accurately reflect the underlying performance of our continuing business operations for the period in which they are incurred or comparisons to past operating results. We also exclude gains or losses related to strategic investments as well as significant isolated events as they are directly related to an event that is distinct and does not reflect current ongoing business operations. In the case of legal reserves and settlements, these gains or losses are recorded in the period in which the matter is concluded or resolved even though the subject matter of the underlying dispute may relate to multiple or different periods. As such, we believe that these expenses do not accurately reflect the underlying performance of our continuing operations for the period in which they are incurred. Additionally, we exclude previously unrecognized tax benefits that are non-recurring in nature which are recorded in the period in which applicable statutes of limitation lapse or upon the completion of tax review cycles as the tax matter may relate to multiple or different periods. Further, certain items related to global tax reform may continue to impact the business and are generally unrelated to the current level of business activity. We believe these tax events limit the comparability with prior periods and that these expenses or benefits do not accurately reflect the underlying performance of our continuing business operations for the period in which they are incurred. We also believe providing financial information with and without the income tax effect of excluding items related to our non-GAAP financial measures provide our management and users of the financial statements with better clarity regarding the on-going performance and future liquidity of our business. Because of these factors, we assess our operating performance with these amounts both included and excluded, and by providing this information, we believe the users of our financial statements are better able to understand the financial results of what we consider our continuing operations.

Note C: Share-Based Compensation Related Items. We provide non-GAAP information relative to our expense for share-based compensation and related payroll tax. Due to the varying available valuation methodologies, subjective assumptions and the variety of award types, which affect the calculations of share-based compensation, we believe that the exclusion of share-based compensation and related payroll tax allows for more accurate comparisons of our operating results to our peer companies and is useful to investors to understand the impact of share-based compensation on our results of operations. Further, expense associated with granting share-based awards does not reflect any cash expenditures by the company as no cash is expended.

Note D: Non-GAAP Net Income Per Share Items. We provide diluted non-GAAP net income per share. The diluted non-GAAP net income per share includes additional dilution from potential issuance of common stock, except when such issuances would be anti-dilutive.

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