Overall, net revenues for the period were up 5% year-on-year (YoY) at $1,138.2 million.
Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) operating margin was down to 11%, a decrease from 12.2% in the third quarter of 2019, but an increase up from 8.3% in the second quarter of 2020.
“We experienced better than expected demand during the September quarter, as our teams continued to execute extremely well, despite the various challenges created by the pandemic,” said Juniper’s CEO, Rami Rahim (pictured).
“I am encouraged by the business momentum we are seeing, particularly in our enterprise and service provider verticals. Given the strength of our current portfolio and the investments we have made in our go-to-market organisation, I am confident not only in our Q4 outlook, but our ability to deliver organic growth in 2021.”
Conversely, Non-GAAP operating margin fell to 17.1%, a decrease from 18.3% in the third quarter of 2019, and an increase from 14.3% in the second quarter of 2020.
Additionally, GAAP net income came in at $145.4 million, an increase of 46% YoY, and an increase of 138% from the same period in 2019, resulting in diluted earnings per share of $0.43.
The non-GAAP net income was $144.4 million, a decrease of 13% YoY, and an increase of 24% from the same period, resulting in non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.43.
“We delivered better than expected Q3 sales and achieved our non-GAAP EPS forecast. We are entering Q4 with healthy backlog and making progress against COVID-19 related supply chain challenges,” said Ken Miller, CFO at Juniper Networks.
“While we will continue to effectively manage costs and remain committed to improving profitability, we are making the needed investments to capitalise on the opportunities ahead and expect to deliver sustained growth and margin expansion over time.”
Looking ahead, the company predicts the following results for the quarter ending 31 December 2020.
Revenue is set for approximately $1,190 million (plus or minus $50 million), gross margin is predicted at 60% (plus or minus 1.0%), operating expenses will be approximately $482 million (plus or minus $5 million), operating margin will be approximately 19.5%, OI&E will be approximately negative $15 million, and net income per share will be approximately $0.53 (plus or minus $0.05).
This Q4 guidance takes into account Juniper’s acquisition of Netrounds but excludes any impact from its upcoming 128 Technology. For the overall period, the company says that it expects to see “sequential revenue and earnings growth” driven by a “strong backlog and healthy momentum”.
Specifically, the company also “assumes sequential growth in our Enterprise and Cloud verticals and a slight sequential decline in Service Provider”.
Additionally, Juniper expects to see “logistics and other supply chain-related costs due to the effects of the ongoing pandemic to remain elevated but slightly lower than Q3 levels”.
