Why F5 Networks Plummeted 13% Today
Shares of F5 Network (NASDAQ: FFIV) were plummeting today, down 13% as of 12:35 p.m. ET. The company, which makes both hardware and software that houses, governs, protects and deploys business software applications, issued light guidance for the rest of the year, even as last quarter's revenue met and earnings per share beat expectations.
Once again, investors can blame ongoing semiconductor shortages for F5's woes.
In the fiscal second quarter of 2022, which ended March 31, F5's total revenue was down 2%, but there was a big difference between its segments. While the smaller software segment grew 40%, hardware was down 27%, which management blamed entirely on semiconductor shortages. Given the ongoing supply chain woes due to China shutting down major cities to combat the omicron variant of the coronavirus, management also lowered its full-year guidance from between 4.5% and 8% growth to between just 1.5% and 4% growth. Software growth of 35% to 40% is unchanged, but obviously the hardware component of revenue, which remains a majority of F5's business, remains a wild card.
Source Fool.com
