Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ:CHKP) Releases Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ:CHKP) issued an update on its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 2.350-2.450 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 2.450. The company issued revenue guidance of $655.0 million-$685.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $746.3 million. Check Point Software Technologies also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 10.050-10.850 EPS.

Check Point Software Technologies Stock Down 6.8%

Check Point Software Technologies stock traded down $12.00 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $164.47. 4,146,677 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,385,330. Check Point Software Technologies has a fifty-two week low of $161.00 and a fifty-two week high of $234.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.01, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $185.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $191.15.

Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ:CHKP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The technology company reported $3.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.63. Check Point Software Technologies had a return on equity of 37.91% and a net margin of 37.62%.The company had revenue of $744.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $746.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.70 earnings per share. Check Point Software Technologies’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Check Point Software Technologies has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.350-2.450 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 10.050-10.850 EPS. Research analysts expect that Check Point Software Technologies will post 8.61 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on CHKP. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Check Point Software Technologies from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $195.00 target price on shares of Check Point Software Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Check Point Software Technologies from $215.00 to $195.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 5th. Truist Financial set a $225.00 price target on Check Point Software Technologies in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Check Point Software Technologies to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Check Point Software Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.62.

Check Point Software Technologies News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Check Point Software Technologies this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS materially beat estimates ($3.40 non?GAAP vs. ~$2.77 consensus), with strong margins and security?subscription growth—evidence of durable profitability. Cyber security firm Check Point Software Q4 profit tops estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management announced three acquisitions (Cyata, Cyclops, Rotate) aimed at expanding AI security, CTEM/asset?discovery and MSP Workspace capabilities—moves that support the company’s AI security strategy. Check Point buys 3 Israeli startups for over $150m
• Positive Sentiment: Balance sheet actions: cash and marketable securities rose ~ to $4.34B after convertible notes proceeds, and the company repurchased ~$1.4B of shares in 2025—supportive for shareholder returns. Check Point Software Reports Fourth Quarter and 2025 Full Year Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Calculated billings, RPO and security?subscription revenue all grew (~8%, RPO +8%, subscriptions +11%), signaling steady demand but not a dramatic acceleration.
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors can review the full earnings call transcript and slide deck for management commentary on AI product roadmaps and 2026 priorities. Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Short?interest data in feeds shows anomalous 0 share figures (NaN changes) and is not meaningful—no clear short?squeeze signal.
• Negative Sentiment: Total revenue ($744.9M) was effectively flat to estimates (slightly under some analyst forecasts), producing a “mixed” quarter: EPS beat but revenue didn’t clearly outpace expectations. Check Point Reports Q4 Earnings: What Key Metrics Have to Say
• Negative Sentiment: Reported EPS benefited from a one?time tax benefit/tax settlement (company disclosed ~ $0.52 per share benefit in Q4 and larger full?year tax adjustments), raising questions about sustainability of the EPS uplift. Check Point Software Reports Fourth Quarter and 2025 Full Year Results
• Negative Sentiment: Operating expenses (R&D, S&M) rose and GAAP operating income declined sequentially, which alongside multiple small acquisitions could pressure near?term margins if integration costs persist. Quiver Quant summary of results

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Check Point Software Technologies

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Modern Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Check Point Software Technologies by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,460 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Check Point Software Technologies during the second quarter worth about $531,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Check Point Software Technologies by 17.3% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,153 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Check Point Software Technologies in the 1st quarter worth about $262,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Check Point Software Technologies by 24.3% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 598 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. 98.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Check Point Software Technologies Company Profile

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. is an Israeli-founded cybersecurity company that develops, markets and supports a broad portfolio of network, cloud and endpoint security products. Founded in 1993, the company was an early pioneer of stateful inspection firewall technology and later developed a modular “software blade” approach that allowed customers to combine protection capabilities. Check Point’s product set spans physical and virtual security appliances, software and cloud-native services designed to prevent cyberattacks, protect data and simplify security management for enterprises and service providers.

Key product families include Quantum Security Gateways (on-premises and hybrid appliances), CloudGuard (cloud security posture and workload protection), Harmony (endpoint, remote access and unified endpoint security), and SandBlast (advanced threat prevention and sandboxing).