Keeping Revenue Forecasts From Becoming Legal Liabilities

Why the Fortinet Earnings Case Is a Cautionary Tale for the Cybersecurity Sector Suparna Goswami (gsuparna) • October 30, 2025

Fortinet's stock unexpectedly plunged more than 20% in August. Things looking were looking up for the cybersecurity vendor. In fact, that same month, Gartner named Fortinet an industry leader in its Magic Quadrant for hybrid mesh firewalls. But the thing that sent Fortinet's stock into a nosedive was a revenue forecast that didn't pan out.

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Investors have so far filed two class action lawsuits accusing the company of violating federal securities laws by making misleading statements about a "record" firewall refresh cycle that didn't manifest in earnings reports.

Double-digit revenue growth is a common expectaton for investors in cybersecurity and other tech sectors. Senior leaders are always willing to tout aggressive go-to-market plans, but how ...