Check Point's Shwed to step down as CEO to become executive chair (updated)

Check Point Software Technologies

06/02/2024 12:51

(Adds details, CEO comments from paragraph 3)
    By Steven Scheer
       JERUSALEM, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Gil Shwed plans to step
down as CEO of Check Point Software Technologies  CHKP.O  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.  

 (Reporting by Steven Scheer; Editing by Jason Neely and
Alexander Smith)
 ((steven.scheer@thomsonreuters.com; +972 2 632 2210; Reuters
Messaging: Twitter: @StevenMScheer))