Shares of NortonLifeLock Inc. shot up 9.5% toward an 8-month high in afternoon trading Tuesday, enough to pace the S&P 500’s gainers, after the consumer cyber safety company reported record fourth-quarter profit and revenue that beat expectations, provided an upbeat outlook and boosted its stock repurchase program. The company reported late Monday net income for the quarter to April 2 that slipped to $194 million, or 33 cents a share, from $231 million, or 36 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share of 40 cents beat the FactSet consensus of 38 cents. Revenue rose 9.4% to $672 million, above the FactSet consensus of $660.2 million. For the first quarter, the company expects adjusted EPS of 40 cents to 42 cents, which compares with the FactSet consensus as of the end of April of 39 cents. Separately, the company said it was adding $1.5 billion to its stock repurchase program, which currently has $274 million authorization remaining. “We accelerated growth, expanded our international footprint, and added freemium capability,” said Chief Executive Vincent Pilette. “In the fourth quarter alone, we added 2 million new customers, and achieved record revenue and profit.” The stock has gained 11.1% year to date, while the ETFMG Prime Cyber Security ETF has slipped 2.9% and the S&P 500 has advanced 10.5%.
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