Check Point's Shwed to step down as CEO to become executive chair
Technology
Check Point's Shwed to step down as CEO to become executive chair
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Gil Shwed plans to step down as CEO of Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP.O), opens new tab after 30 years and become executive chairman of the Israeli-based network and cyber security firm.
Shwed's announcement on Tuesday overshadowed solid fourth-quarter financial results from Check Point, whose profit and revenue beat analysts' expectations.
"It's the right timing and the perfect timing - we are in a very positive trend," Shwed told reporters.
Shwed, a product of Israel's military 8200 intelligence unit, co-founded Check Point in 1993 and is widely credited with being the inventor of the modern firewall. The company has since grown to become one of Israel's largest technology firms.
"I am very confident and energetic about our technology pipeline and all the things that we were trying to do and we're still trying to do in Check Point ... Even the stock price is at a peak," the 55-year-old added.
Check Point's Nasdaq-listed shares are up 5.2% so far in 2024 at $160.80 - just shy of a record hit last week - after a 21% rise in 2023. Its market value stands at $19 billion.
Shwed said the company aims to initiate a process for finding a new chief executive, which could take six months to two years, with the post remaining in Israel.
"I am not retiring," he said.
"I expect to stay very much hands-on. Check Point is my life and I want to be here and work every day. I want to stay involved in many aspects of the business."
Check Point reported $2.57 per diluted share excluding one-off items for the October-December quarter, up 5% from $2.45 a year earlier. The rise was driven by 15% sales growth in subscriptions for its platform that prevents attacks across networks, mobile and the cloud. Revenue grew 4% to $664 million.
That beat the $2.48 a share on revenue of $661.5 million expected by analysts, LSEG data from Refinitiv showed.
In all of 2023, Check Point earned $8.42 per share ex-items, up 14% from 2022, with revenue up 4% to $2.4 billion.
Shwed said that four months of war between Israel and Hamas had not negatively impacted the company, which had seen good customer support.
Check Point said it bought back 2.2 million shares in the quarter, worth $313 million, as part of an ongoing $2 billion share buyback programme.
