F5 Inc

Q3 performance beat + momentum in demand (good/surprising): - Revenue $865M (+11% YoY), above top-end guidance; product revenue $463M (+19% YoY) drove results. - 11% total growth and 8 consecutive quarters of double-digit product growth. - Recurring revenue was 69% of Q3 revenue; software subscription revenue $201M (+9% YoY) and represented 90% of software. - Earnings: GAAP EPS $3.62 (+?; Non-GAAP EPS $4.73, +14%) with 14% non-GAAP earnings growth.

Full-year outlook raised (good): - FY26 revenue growth now ~9% to 10%, up from 7% to 8% (company said it expects to finish ahead of prior guidance). - Q4 guidance: revenue $870M–$890M (~just under 9% YoY growth at midpoint). - FY26 non-GAAP EPS now $17.21–$17.33 (raised from $16.25–$16.55). - FY26 non-GAAP gross margin expected 83.5%–84%; non-GAAP operating margin 34.5%–35.5%.

AI and threat-tailwind narrative is translating into commercial traction (opportunity): - Company emphasized 3 secular drivers: hybrid multi-cloud adoption, expanding threat landscape, AI inference inflection. - Direct AI use case momentum: cumulative customer count for direct AI use cases grew 50% in Q3 alone. - Notable AI/security momentum examples: AI-powered WAF adoption accelerating; AI security customers grew 100% in the quarter. - They also highlighted indirect AI tailwind via ADC/hardware expansion: hardware growth ~32% YoY in Q3; >30% earlier in year.