“We are prepared to be very aggressive”: Check Point signals appetite for a major cyber acquisition
CEO Nadav Tzafrir says the company is constantly evaluating targets as it attempts to close the gap with faster-growing rivals Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike.
After announcing its results for the second quarter, Check Point also revealed its forecast for the current quarter on Thursday, and it was not encouraging. "We expect the third quarter to be a low point, but we see an improvement toward the fourth quarter, and therefore we are not changing our forecast for 2026," Check Point executives said in a conversation with Israeli media.
Revenue is expected to remain flat or even decline slightly, reaching $655 million-$685 million, while earnings per share are expected to fall to $2.43-$2.53. However, cash flow is expected to improve to $235 million-$265 million. Roei Golan, the company's CFO, explained that the decline in cash flow during the second quarter was mainly due to advance payments made to build up inventory of memory components.
However, the question marks surrounding Check Point extend far beyond the third quarter or even 2026. The company, which helped create the cybersecurity industry in the 1990s, has become the weakest-performing major cybersecurity stock over the past year. While Palo Alto Networks' stock has delivered a positive return of 75%, CrowdStrike has gained 60%, and even SentinelOne has risen 26%, Check Point's stock has declined 23% since the beginning of 2026.
Tzafrir sought to reassure investors that the former cybersecurity giant still has a clear strategic plan and is in the final stages of an internal transformation process that began after he replaced founder Gil Shwed as CEO.
"There is a strategy and there is a vision. We are not resting on our laurels, but we need a little patience, and the news will come," he said. "Acquiring companies is not a difficult thing, and I understand that there is an expectation that we will do big and flashy deals.
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"We can do anything that makes sense for Check Point. Gil and I work in great synergy, and we will make significant moves. We are prepared to be very aggressive financially if we identify the right company that meets all the parameters we have defined. This is not a theoretical discussion - we are constantly looking.
"But an acquisition is not only about technology. It is also about culture. The success of acquisitions, especially large ones, depends on cultural compatibility between teams and not just on the technology itself."
Tzafrir added: "We do not ignore the fact that the first half was not where we wanted it to be, but we are looking at the long term. We have made a significant change in our sales structure in recent months, and we are now stabilizing the system. At the same time, we are expanding the sales organization and recruiting many salespeople around the world. This week, we launched a targeted recruitment campaign."
Tzafrir also addressed Check Point's progress in artificial intelligence and argued that despite the company's stagnant growth, its products remain relevant in the cybersecurity market.
"The market is not moving away from us. In AI, we are among the leading companies in the market. We launched the AI Network Firewall, which secures user prompts and monitors the activity of AI agents. This launch is the result of recruiting 500 new employees with AI expertise, and we are now beginning to see the results of that investment.
"As someone who has been in the cyber business for 30 years, I believe it is not too late. We are currently between two paradigms in cybersecurity. The first paradigm is becoming less relevant, while the second has not yet been fully defined. That gives us an opportunity to make decisions about the technologies that will form the foundation of the future."
