From $PANW Palo Alto Networks Q3 2026 Earnings Conference Call · · EARNMOAR
“Cyber arc is our chance at follow to prove that we are capable of doing amazing large acquisitions. We're capable of integrating large teams and if I can prove that the market will give me the license to go win again. So this is existential for me existential for my team and they know it.”
On , Nikesh Arora, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at Palo Alto Networks Inc, spoke about M&A strategy during $PANW Palo Alto Networks Q3 2026 Earnings Conference Call on EARNMOAR.
During Palo Alto Networks' fiscal third quarter 2026 earnings call on June 2, 2026, Nikesh Arora reported that next-generation security annual recurring revenue surged 60%, and the company raised its full-year guidance across all metrics. Arora stated that the company "officially declares SAS Eclipse for cyber security dead," a phrase he repeated in subsequent media appearances. He attributed the strong demand to enterprise AI needs, saying that "you need AI to basically go and defend against AI" and that "mythos has increased the terminal value of the entire cyber security industry." Arora noted that the company had conducted 800 customer interactions in the prior six weeks, compared to 1,200 in all of the previous year. Arora described the acquisition of CyberArk as "existential" for him and his team, stating that "if I can prove that the market will give me the license to go win again." He also announced the planned acquisition of Portkey.AI, describing it as a "pioneer in AI gateways" that will help manage LLM and agent communication. At the company's Impact 2026 conference in May, Arora introduced the Idira identity security platform, saying the company is "ending the era of identity chaos" and that "identity is the number one attack vector today." He argued that the cybersecurity industry is moving toward platform consolidation, stating that "there is only one long term solution is to consolidate platforms, bring all your cyber data in one place, and fight AI with AI."