Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Gen Digital (NASDAQ:GEN) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.01, FiscalAI reports. Gen Digital had a net margin of 12.76% and a return on equity of 56.57%. The business had revenue of $1.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.8% on a year-over-year basis. Gen Digital updated its Q4 2026 guidance to 0.640-0.660 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance to 2.540-2.560 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Gen Digital’s conference call:

• Gen beat guidance in Q3 with bookings of $1.3B (+27% YoY), revenue of $1.2B (+26% YoY), non‑GAAP EPS +14% YoY, generated $535M free cash flow and returned ~ $700M to shareholders while raising FY26 revenue and EPS guidance.
• The company is positioning itself as a security leader for the AI era, launching a beta Agent Trust Hub and the Norton Neo safe AI browser and deploying on‑device deepfake and anti‑scam defenses to monetize growing AI‑agent risk.
• MoneyLion showed strong traction (~40% revenue growth) and Engine marketplace scale (≈360M inquiries annually), and Gen announced an expanded partnership with Equifax to enrich offers and drive marketplace monetization.
• Operationally Gen reports >78M paid customers, rising adoption of higher‑tier Norton 360 with LifeLock (conversion near 45%) and improving cross‑sell (Norton >26%), with cyber safety levering ~61% segment margin and 51% overall operating margin.
• Balance sheet shows $619M cash and ~$2.1B liquidity but net leverage of 3.1x EBITDA and $131M interest expense; management is repaying debt, exploring TLA refinancing, and targeting <3x net leverage by FY27.

Gen Digital Trading Up 8.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:GEN opened at $24.25 on Friday. Gen Digital has a 52 week low of $22.14 and a 52 week high of $32.22. The company’s 50 day moving average is $26.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.67. The company has a market cap of $14.96 billion, a PE ratio of 25.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43.

Gen Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 16th will be given a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Gen Digital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.35%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John C. Chrystal bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $27.14 per share, for a total transaction of $135,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 28,419 shares in the company, valued at approximately $771,291.66. This trade represents a 21.35% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ondrej Vlcek sold 113,674 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.12, for a total value of $3,082,838.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,932,980 shares in the company, valued at $106,662,417.60. This trade represents a 2.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 9.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gen Digital

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GEN. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Gen Digital by 1.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,703,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,757,000 after purchasing an additional 28,522 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Gen Digital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $205,000. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in Gen Digital by 37.8% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 27,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $732,000 after buying an additional 7,562 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth increased its position in Gen Digital by 9.7% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 22,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $593,000 after buying an additional 1,980 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Gen Digital by 221.5% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 1,183 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.38% of the company’s stock.

Gen Digital News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Gen Digital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 beat and strong growth — Revenue jumped 25.8% Y/Y and EPS beat consensus, signaling accelerating top-line momentum that supports the stock rally. Gen Digital Q3 Earnings Surpass Expectations, Revenues Rise Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: Raised FY‑2026 guidance — Company increased full‑year EPS and Q4 guidance above Street estimates, implying stronger forward earnings visibility. Gen Digital Inc. (GEN) Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Drivers called out — Management cited strong bookings, customer growth, AI product features and the MoneyLion business as contributors to revenue and guidance upgrades. Gen Digital raises 2026 revenue and EPS guidance as AI and MoneyLion drive growth
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction and coverage — Multiple outlets reported the beat and guidance raise, which likely fueled the jump in share price and higher trading volume. Gen Digital shares rise after beating Q3 expectations
• Neutral Sentiment: Supplementary detail & presentation — Earnings call transcript and slide deck are available for investors who want line-item detail on bookings, churn and product metrics. Gen Digital Q3 Slide Deck
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend declared — Board announced a $0.125 quarterly dividend (ex‑dividend Feb 13, pay Mar 11), adding modest income appeal. (Company release Feb 5).
• Negative Sentiment: Minor adverse note on related security — An Equity Right (GENVR) price target was sharply lowered by one outlet, which could concern holders of that instrument but is unlikely to affect GEN’s core share performance materially. Gen Digital Inc. – Equity Right (GENVR) price target decreased

Analyst Ratings Changes

GEN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Gen Digital in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research cut Gen Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Evercore boosted their price target on shares of Gen Digital from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Gen Digital from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Gen Digital from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.29.

Gen Digital Company Profile

Gen Digital (NASDAQ: GEN) is a global cybersecurity company specializing in consumer- and small-business-focused security, privacy, and identity protection solutions. The company offers a suite of products designed to safeguard devices, networks, and personal information against malware, ransomware, phishing attacks and other digital threats. With a focus on user-friendly interfaces and cross-platform compatibility, Gen Digital develops antivirus software, VPN services, parental controls, password management tools, and comprehensive identity-theft monitoring services.

Gen Digital traces its origins to the consumer software division of Symantec Corporation, which was spun off in late 2019 under the NortonLifeLock name.