Connect with us

Technology

Palo Alto Networks Reports Fiscal Second Quarter 2025 Financial Results

Published

on

Fiscal second quarter revenue grew 14% year over year to $2.3 billion.Next-Generation Security ARR grew 37% year over year to $4.8 billion.Remaining performance obligation grew 21% year over year to $13.0 billion.

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW), the global cybersecurity leader, announced today financial results for its fiscal second quarter 2025, ended January 31, 2025.

Total revenue for the fiscal second quarter 2025 grew 14% year over year to $2.3 billion, compared with total revenue of $2.0 billion for the fiscal second quarter 2024. GAAP net income for the fiscal second quarter 2025 was $0.3 billion, or $0.38 per diluted share, compared with GAAP net income of $1.7 billion, or $2.44 per diluted share, for the fiscal second quarter 2024. GAAP net income for the fiscal second quarter 2024 included a $1.5 billion net tax benefit from a release of the company’s valuation allowance.

Non-GAAP net income for the fiscal second quarter 2025 was $0.6 billion, or $0.81 per diluted share, compared with non-GAAP net income of $0.5 billion, or $0.73 per diluted share, for the fiscal second quarter 2024. A reconciliation between GAAP and non-GAAP information is contained in the tables below.

“In Q2, our strong business performance was fueled by customers adopting technology driven by the imperative of AI, including cloud investment and infrastructure modernization,” said Nikesh Arora, chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks. “Our growth across regions and demand for our platforms demonstrate our customers’ confidence in our approach. It reaffirms our faith in our 2030 plans and our $15 billion NGS ARR goal.”

“Platformization drove our Q2 results, including strength in NGS ARR and RPO,” said Dipak Golechha, chief financial officer of Palo Alto Networks. “As we drive leverage from our scale and see early benefits from AI-related efficiency initiatives, we again delivered profitable growth.  We expect this will continue and, as a result, we are raising operating margins and EPS for the year.”

Today, Palo Alto Networks also announced the appointment of Helle Thorning-Schmidt, former prime minister of Denmark, and Ralph Hamers, former chief executive officer of UBS Group AG and ING Group, to the company’s board of directors. More information can be found here.

Financial Outlook
Palo Alto Networks provides guidance based on current market conditions and expectations.

For the fiscal third quarter 2025, we expect:

Next-Generation Security ARR of $5.03 billion to $5.08 billion, representing year-over-year growth of between 33% and 34%.Remaining performance obligation of $13.5 billion to $13.6 billion, representing year-over-year growth of between 19% and 20%.Total revenue in the range of $2.26 billion to $2.29 billion, representing year-over-year growth of between 14% and 15%.Diluted non-GAAP net income per share in the range of $0.76 to $0.77, using 703 million to 706 million shares outstanding.

For the fiscal year 2025, we expect:

Next-Generation Security ARR of $5.52 billion to $5.57 billion, representing year-over-year growth of between 31% and 32%.Remaining performance obligation of $15.2 billion to $15.3 billion, representing year-over-year growth of between 19% and 20%.Total revenue in the range of $9.14 billion to $9.19 billion, representing year-over-year growth of 14%.Non-GAAP operating margin in the range of 28.0% to 28.5%.Diluted non-GAAP net income per share in the range of $3.18 to $3.24, using 700 million to 708 million shares outstanding.Adjusted free cash flow margin in the range of 37% to 38%.

After the close of trading on December 12, 2024, Palo Alto Networks effected a two-for-one stock split. All share and per-share amounts presented have been retroactively adjusted to reflect the stock split.

Guidance for non-GAAP financial measures excludes share-based compensation-related charges, including share-based payroll tax expense, acquisition-related costs, including change in fair value of contingent consideration liability, amortization expense of acquired intangible assets, litigation-related charges, including legal settlements, non-cash charges related to convertible notes, and income tax and other tax adjustments related to our long-term non-GAAP effective tax rate, along with certain non-recurring expenses and certain non-recurring cash flows. We have not reconciled non-GAAP operating margin guidance to GAAP operating margin, diluted non-GAAP net income per share guidance to GAAP net income per diluted share or adjusted free cash flow margin guidance to GAAP net cash from operating activities because we do not provide guidance on GAAP operating margin, GAAP net income or net cash from operating activities and would not be able to present the various reconciling cash and non-cash items between GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures because certain items that impact these measures are uncertain or out of our control, or cannot be reasonably predicted, including share-based compensation expense, without unreasonable effort. The actual amounts of such reconciling items will have a significant impact on the company’s GAAP net income per diluted share and GAAP net cash from operating activities.

Earnings Call Information
Palo Alto Networks will host a video webcast for analysts and investors to discuss the company’s fiscal second quarter 2025 results as well as the outlook for its fiscal third quarter and fiscal year 2025 today at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time/1:30 p.m. Pacific time. Open to the public, investors may access the webcast, supplemental financial information and earnings slides from the “Investors” section of the company’s website at investors.paloaltonetworks.com. A replay will be available three hours after the conclusion of the webcast and archived for one year.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions including statements regarding our platformization strategy and financial outlook for the fiscal third quarter 2025 and fiscal year 2025. There are a significant number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements made or implied in this press release, including: developments and changes in general market, political, economic, and business conditions; failure of our platformization product offerings; failure to achieve the expected benefits of our strategic partnerships and acquisitions; changes in the fair value of our contingent consideration liability associated with acquisitions; risks associated with managing our growth; risks associated with new product, subscription and support offerings, including our product offerings that leverage AI; shifts in priorities or delays in the development or release of new product or subscription or other offerings, or the failure to timely develop and achieve market acceptance of new products and subscriptions as well as existing products, subscriptions and support offerings; failure of our business strategies; rapidly evolving technological developments in the market for security products, subscriptions and support offerings; defects, errors, or vulnerabilities in our products, subscriptions or support offerings; our customers’ purchasing decisions and the length of sales cycles; our competition; our ability to attract and retain new customers; our ability to acquire and integrate other companies, products, or technologies in a successful manner; our debt repayment obligations; and our share repurchase program, which may not be fully consummated or enhance shareholder value, and any share repurchases which could affect the price of our common stock.

Additional risks and uncertainties on these and other factors that could affect our financial results and the forward-looking statements we make in this press release are included under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and elsewhere in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on November 21, 2024, which is available on our website at investors.paloaltonetworks.com and on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Additional information will also be set forth in other documents that we file with or furnish to the SEC from time to time. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on our beliefs and information available to management as of the date hereof, and we do not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements provided to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Other Key Metrics
Palo Alto Networks has provided in this press release financial information that has not been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (GAAP). The company uses these non-GAAP financial measures and other key metrics internally in analyzing its financial results and believes that the use of these non-GAAP financial measures and key metrics are helpful to investors as an additional tool to evaluate ongoing operating results and trends, and in comparing the company’s financial results with other companies in its industry, many of which present similar non-GAAP financial measures or key metrics.

The presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures and key metrics are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for comparable GAAP financial measures and should be read only in conjunction with the company’s consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of the company’s historical non-GAAP financial measures to their most directly comparable GAAP measures has been provided in the financial statement tables included in this press release, and investors are encouraged to review these reconciliations.

Non-GAAP operating margin. Palo Alto Networks defines non-GAAP operating margin as non-GAAP operating income divided by total revenue. The company defines non-GAAP operating income as operating income plus share-based compensation-related charges, including share-based payroll tax expense, acquisition-related costs, including change in fair value of contingent consideration liability, amortization expense of acquired intangible assets, and litigation-related charges, including legal settlements. The company believes that non-GAAP operating margin provides management and investors with greater visibility into the underlying performance of the company’s core business operating results.

Non-GAAP net income and net income per share, diluted. Palo Alto Networks defines non-GAAP net income as net income plus share-based compensation-related charges, including share-based payroll tax expense, acquisition-related costs, including change in fair value of contingent consideration liability, amortization expense of acquired intangible assets, litigation-related charges, including legal settlements, and non-cash charges related to convertible notes. The company also excludes from non-GAAP net income tax adjustments related to our long-term non-GAAP effective tax rate in order to provide a complete picture of the company’s recurring core business operating results. The company defines non-GAAP net income per share, diluted, as non-GAAP net income divided by the weighted-average diluted shares outstanding, which includes the potentially dilutive effect of the company’s employee equity incentive plan awards and the company’s convertible senior notes outstanding and related warrants, after giving effect to the anti-dilutive impact of the company’s note hedge agreements, which reduces the potential economic dilution that otherwise would occur upon conversion of the company’s convertible senior notes. Under GAAP, the anti-dilutive impact of the note hedge is not reflected in diluted shares outstanding. The company considers these non-GAAP financial measures to be useful metrics for management and investors for the same reasons that it uses non-GAAP operating margin.

Next-Generation Security ARR. Palo Alto Networks defines Next-Generation Security ARR as the annualized allocated revenue of all active contracts as of the final day of the reporting period for Prisma and Cortex offerings inclusive of the VM-Series and related services, and certain cloud-delivered security services. Beginning the fiscal first quarter 2025, Next-Generation Security ARR includes revenue attributable to QRadar software as a service contracts. The company considers Next-Generation Security ARR to be a useful metric for management and investors to evaluate the performance of the company because Next-Generation Security is where the company has focused its innovation and the company expects its overall revenue to be disproportionately driven by this Next-Generation Security portfolio. Because Next-Generation Security ARR does not have the effect of providing a numerical measure that is different from any comparable GAAP measure, the company does not consider it a non-GAAP measure.

Investors are cautioned that there are a number of limitations associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures and key metrics as analytical tools. Many of the adjustments to the company’s GAAP financial measures reflect the exclusion of items that are recurring and will be reflected in the company’s financial results for the foreseeable future, such as share-based compensation, which is an important part of Palo Alto Networks’ employees’ compensation and impacts their performance. Furthermore, these non-GAAP financial measures are not based on any standardized methodology prescribed by GAAP, and the components that Palo Alto Networks excludes in its calculation of non-GAAP financial measures may differ from the components that its peer companies exclude when they report their non-GAAP results of operations. Palo Alto Networks compensates for these limitations by providing specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from these non-GAAP financial measures. In the future, the company may also exclude non-recurring expenses and other expenses that do not reflect the company’s core business operating results.

About Palo Alto Networks
Palo Alto Networks is the global cybersecurity leader, committed to making each day safer than the one before with industry-leading, AI-powered solutions in network security, cloud security and security operations. Powered by Precision AI, our technologies deliver precise threat detection and swift response, minimizing false positives and enhancing security effectiveness. Our platformization approach integrates diverse security solutions into a unified, scalable platform, streamlining management and providing operational efficiencies with comprehensive protection. From defending network perimeters to safeguarding cloud environments and ensuring rapid incident response, Palo Alto Networks empowers businesses to achieve Zero Trust security and confidently embrace digital transformation in an ever-evolving threat landscape. This unwavering commitment to security and innovation makes us the cybersecurity partner of choice.

At Palo Alto Networks, we’re committed to bringing together the very best people in service of our mission, so we’re also proud to be the cybersecurity workplace of choice, recognized among Newsweek’s Most Loved Workplaces (2021-2024), with a score of 100 on the Disability Equality Index (2024, 2023, 2022), and HRC Best Places for LGBTQ+ Equality (2022). For more information, visit www.paloaltonetworks.com.

Palo Alto Networks, the Palo Alto Networks logo, Cortex, Precision AI, and Prisma are trademarks of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. in the United States or in jurisdictions throughout the world. All other trademarks, trade names, or service marks used or mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. Any unreleased services or features (and any services or features not generally available to customers) referenced in this or other press releases or public statements are not currently available (or are not yet generally available to customers) and may not be delivered when expected or at all. Customers who purchase Palo Alto Networks applications should make their purchase decisions based on services and features currently generally available.

 

Palo Alto Networks, Inc.

Preliminary Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations

(In millions, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended

January 31,

January 31,

2025

2024

2025

2024

Revenue:

Product

$             421.5

$             390.7

$             775.3

$             731.8

Subscription and support

1,835.9

1,584.4

3,620.9

3,121.4

Total revenue

2,257.4

1,975.1

4,396.2

3,853.2

Cost of revenue:

Product

101.3

88.2

176.3

165.6

Subscription and support

497.9

410.9

977.0

806.3

Total cost of revenue

599.2

499.1

1,153.3

971.9

Total gross profit

1,658.2

1,476.0

3,242.9

2,881.3

Operating expenses:

Research and development

505.7

447.9

986.1

857.4

Sales and marketing

758.3

673.0

1,478.4

1,333.5

General and administrative

153.8

301.5

251.5

421.6

Total operating expenses

1,417.8

1,422.4

2,716.0

2,612.5

Operating income

240.4

53.6

526.9

268.8

Interest expense

(0.9)

(2.8)

(2.1)

(5.7)

Other income, net

85.3

84.7

168.6

155.0

Income before income taxes

324.8

135.5

693.4

418.1

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes

57.5

(1,611.4)

75.4

(1,523.0)

Net income

$             267.3

$          1,746.9

$             618.0

$          1,941.1

Net income per share, basic

$               0.41

$               2.73

$               0.94

$               3.08

Net income per share, diluted

$               0.38

$               2.44

$               0.87

$               2.74

Weighted-average shares used to compute net income per share, basic

659.3

639.3

656.5

629.7

Weighted-average shares used to compute net income per share, diluted

709.0

715.0

709.1

707.3

 

Palo Alto Networks, Inc.

Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures

(In millions, except per share amounts)

(Unaudited)

Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended

January 31,

January 31,

2025

2024

2025

2024

GAAP operating income

$          240.4

$            53.6

$          526.9

$          268.8

Share-based compensation-related charges

343.3

296.8

658.4

584.6

Acquisition-related costs(1)

9.7

7.3

24.8

7.3

Amortization expense of acquired intangible assets

43.8

27.9

84.5

52.4

Litigation-related charges(2)

3.2

178.6

(38.0)

180.4

Non-GAAP operating income

$          640.4

$          564.2

$      1,256.6

$      1,093.5

Non-GAAP operating margin

28.4 %

28.6 %

28.6 %

28.4 %

GAAP net income

$          267.3

$      1,746.9

$          618.0

$      1,941.1

Share-based compensation-related charges

343.3

296.8

658.4

584.6

Acquisition-related costs(1)

9.7

7.3

24.8

7.3

Amortization expense of acquired intangible assets

43.8

27.9

84.5

52.4

Litigation-related charges(2)

3.2

178.6

(38.0)

180.4

Non-cash charges related to convertible notes(3)

0.3

1.1

0.8

2.1

Income tax and other tax adjustments(4)

(101.9)

(1,753.9)

(237.9)

(1,796.9)

Non-GAAP net income

$          565.7

$          504.7

$      1,110.6

$          971.0

GAAP net income per share, diluted

$            0.38

$            2.44

$            0.87

$            2.74

Share-based compensation-related charges

0.50

0.44

0.96

0.88

Acquisition-related costs(1)

0.01

0.01

0.03

0.01

Amortization expense of acquired intangible assets

0.06

0.04

0.12

0.07

Litigation-related charges(2)

0.00

0.25

(0.05)

0.26

Non-cash charges related to convertible notes(3)

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

Income tax and other tax adjustments(4)

(0.14)

(2.45)

(0.34)

(2.54)

Non-GAAP net income per share, diluted

$            0.81

$            0.73

$            1.59

$            1.42

GAAP weighted-average shares used to compute net income per share, diluted

709.0

715.0

709.1

707.3

Weighted-average anti-dilutive impact of note hedge agreements

(8.7)

(25.9)

(10.3)

(24.6)

Non-GAAP weighted-average shares used to compute net income per share, diluted

700.3

689.1

698.8

682.7

(1)

Consists of acquisition transaction costs, share-based compensation related to the cash settlement of certain equity awards, change in fair value of contingent consideration liability, and costs to terminate certain employment, operating lease, and other contracts of the acquired companies.

(2)

Consists of the amortization of intellectual property licenses and covenant not to sue, and a legal contingency charge (credit).

(3)

Consists of non-cash interest expense for amortization of debt issuance costs related to the company’s convertible senior notes.

(4)

Consists of income tax adjustments related to our long-term non-GAAP effective tax rate. During the three and six months ended January 31, 2024, it included a tax benefit from a release of our valuation allowance on U.S. federal, U.S. states other than California, and United Kingdom deferred tax assets.

 

Palo Alto Networks, Inc.

Preliminary Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(In millions)

January 31, 2025

July 31, 2024

(unaudited)

Assets

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

$          2,226.3

$          1,535.2

Short-term investments

1,006.6

1,043.6

Accounts receivable, net

1,495.5

2,618.6

Short-term financing receivables, net

754.9

725.9

Short-term deferred contract costs

376.1

369.0

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

480.4

557.4

Total current assets

6,339.8

6,849.7

Property and equipment, net

358.2

361.1

Operating lease right-of-use assets

372.9

385.9

Long-term investments

4,559.8

4,173.2

Long-term financing receivables, net

1,163.8

1,182.1

Long-term deferred contract costs

523.4

562.0

Goodwill

4,050.8

3,350.1

Intangible assets, net

771.4

374.9

Deferred tax assets

2,446.9

2,399.0

Other assets

364.7

352.9

Total assets

$        20,951.7

$        19,990.9

Liabilities and stockholders’ equity

Current liabilities:

Accounts payable

$             149.3

$             116.3

Accrued compensation

491.6

554.7

Accrued and other liabilities

777.6

506.7

Deferred revenue

5,599.9

5,541.1

Convertible senior notes, net

533.8

963.9

Total current liabilities

7,552.2

7,682.7

Long-term deferred revenue

5,662.5

5,939.4

Deferred tax liabilities

116.1

387.7

Long-term operating lease liabilities

363.0

380.5

Other long-term liabilities

882.6

430.9

Total liabilities

14,576.4

14,821.2

Stockholders’ equity:

Preferred stock

—

—

Common stock and additional paid-in capital

4,421.0

3,821.1

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

(13.9)

(1.6)

Retained earnings

1,968.2

1,350.2

Total stockholders’ equity

6,375.3

5,169.7

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

$        20,951.7

$        19,990.9

 

 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/palo-alto-networks-reports-fiscal-second-quarter-2025-financial-results-302376515.html

SOURCE Palo Alto Networks, Inc.

Continue Reading

Technology

U.S. News & World Report Reveals the 2027 Best Places to Retire

Published

on

By

Affordability is a top priority for attendees as Midland, Michigan, holds No. 1 spot.

Summary

Midland, Michigan, is the No. 1 Best Place to Retire for the second year in a row.Affordability is the most considered factor when choosing a place to retire in 2027.Florida and Texas dominate the top 250 Best Places to Retire, offering a number of affordable and retiree-tax friendly locations.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in rankings and consumer advice, today revealed the 2027 Best Places to Retire in the United States.

Midland, Michigan, retained the No. 1 rank for the second year in a row. Midland scored high in affordability and retiree taxes, helping it to lock in the top spot.

“Retirees are seeking a place that gives them a sense of security and comfort as they live out their golden years,” said Megan Wood, assistant managing editor, home services and real estate. “Whether that comfort prioritizes scenic nature spots, access to multi-cultural experiences, or everyday affordability, places like Midland, Michigan, offer financial safety while still providing a good quality of life.”

Homosassa Springs, Florida, came in at No. 2 due to strong scores in affordability, 55+ population growth and retiree taxes. High performance for, quality of life, retiree taxes, affordability and quality of life resulted in Weirton, West Virginia, placing No. 3 on the list.

U.S. News adjusted its scoring weights for the 2027 rankings to mirror a growing concern for affordability in America. This resulted in multiple double-digit jumps in the top 25, including Paducah, Kentucky (No. 8), ascending into the top 10 for the first time.

“It’s no secret that affordability is top of mind for Americans this year, which is why U.S. News updated its weighting criteria to better align with what retirees prioritize,” Wood said. “The 2027 rankings reflect key metrics used to highlight the places that best suit retiree needs.”

U.S. News evaluated more than 850 U.S. cities – publishing the top 250 places – based on how well they meet American retirees’ expectations against measures including quality of life, affordability, healthcare, retiree taxes, job market, and population and migration for retirees aged 55 and older.

The six measures factored into this year’s rankings were weighted based on a public survey of individuals across the U.S. who are at or approaching retirement age (45 and older) to find out what matters most to people when they’re considering where to retire. Resources include federal, state and local data provided by Applied Geographic Solutions, which includes data sourced from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting program, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis and U.S. News’ Best Hospitals rankings. To learn more about how the rankings are determined, read the Best Places to Retire methodology.

Best Places to Retire is part of U.S. News’ Real Estate section, which provides rankings and tools to help individuals navigate the housing market, including home value estimates to working with an agent.

2027 U.S. News Best Places to Retire – Top 10 
*See the full rankings here.

Midland, Michigan Homosassa Springs, Florida Weirton, West VirginiaThe Woodlands, TexasSpring, TexasRancho Rio, New Mexico Altoona, PennsylvaniaPaducah, KentuckyLynchburg, Virginia Palm Coast, Florida 

For more information on Best Places to Retire, explore Facebook, LinkedIn, Tik Tok, Instagram and X using #BestPlacesToRetire.

About U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is the global leader for journalism that empowers consumers, citizens, business leaders and policy officials to make confident decisions in all aspects of their lives and communities. A multifaceted media company, U.S. News provides unbiased rankings, independent reporting and analysis, and consumer advice to millions of people on USNews.com each month. A pillar in Washington for more than 90 years, U.S. News is the trusted home for in-depth and exclusive insights on education, health, politics, the economy, insurance, personal finance, travel, automobiles, real estate, careers and consumer products and services.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/us-news–world-report-reveals-the-2027-best-places-to-retire-302920068.html

SOURCE U.S. News & World Report, L.P.

Continue Reading

Technology

IBM Introduces Identity and Control for AI Agents, Securing Frontier Intelligence for the Enterprise

Published

on

By

Enterprises are deploying agents faster than they can verify them. HashiCorp Vault uses Agent Identity to give each agent a governed identity Verified agents still need limits on access. Vault extends its established secrets management to AI agents, built to enforce least-privilege access and enable real-time revocation when an agent attempts an unauthorized action Enterprises can’t scale agents they can’t see, test or account for. IBM watsonx Orchestrate is designed to unify discovery, containment, and evaluation across Amazon Bedrock, Microsoft Foundry and Google Gemini 

ATLANTA, Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — At TechXchange 2026, IBM (NYSE: IBM) is announcing new capabilities to help developers, IT and security teams put AI agents to work across business systems with clear authority and accountability. IBM brings together agent discovery, verified identities, access controls and performance evaluation to help organizations understand who owns each agent, control what it can access, and trace its actions across existing applications and infrastructure.  

According to Gartner, by 2028 the average Fortune 500 enterprise will use over 150,000 AI agents. But only 13% of organizations believe that they have the right AI agent governance in place [1]. Persistent credentials, unclear ownership and disconnected controls make it harder to govern agents as they interact with other agents, invoke tools and act across teams, platforms and clouds. 

“The winners in enterprise AI are changing how their business runs, not simply adding more AI to it,” said Dinesh Nirmal, Senior Vice President, IBM Software. “For agents to take on real work across the systems a company depends on, it requires an AI operating model – one that connects agents to the business’s data, applications and infrastructure and runs them with the same discipline as its most critical systems. Build trust and control into that model, and agents stop being a technology and become a way of doing business.”  

Today’s announcements extend IBM’s portfolio to deliver an AI operating model of four essential systems working together: agents, data, automation and hybrid infrastructure. This starts with the trust and control every agent needs – a verified identity, only the access it needs, and one place to discover, secure and evaluate agents regardless of where they were built. 

Extending HashiCorp Vault to AI agents
HashiCorp Vault manages the secrets and credentials that applications and services use to access business systems. It provides that control through centrally managed secrets, automated rotation for supported credentials, and dynamically generated credentials that expire or can be revoked. These capabilities help reduce the time exposed credentials remain usable and limit access to the permissions configured for each role. 

HashiCorp Vault already secures non-human identities for organizations including ABN AMRO, Adobe, athenahealth, BBVA, BlackRock, Canva, Duke Energy, Expedia, London Stock Exchange, Starbucks, Swiss Federal Railways and Target, across systems that process billions of dollars in transactions [2]. HashiCorp will now extend those capabilities to AI agents, issuing secured, short-lived credentials that limit each agent to what it needs. 

Establishing agent identity and accountability
AI agents are a growing class of non-human identity, alongside applications and services. As they begin acting across business systems, enterprises need a clear record of who owns each agent and what authority it has been granted. HashiCorp is combining governed agent identity with credential controls to help organizations delegate work with defined authority and accountability. 

When used with HashiCorp Vault, Agent Identity establishes the authoritative record for each agent, such as who owns it, its lifecycle status and the authority it has been granted. Built to extend existing identity and security investments, it shares relevant identity and authorization context with Vault’s credential controls – ultimately enforcing least-privilege access and enabling real-time revocation when an agent attempts an unauthorized action. 

Controlling agent credentials and access
Identifying an agent is only the start. Enterprises also need to control the credentials it uses to reach databases, applications and cloud services – and how long those credentials remain valid. As agents invoke tools and act across business systems, their credentials become a critical security boundary. An agent with a long-lived, overprivileged credential can put systems and data at risk if it’s compromised or acts outside its intended task. Enterprises need to establish what each agent’s job is, limit the access it receives and revoke that access when circumstances change. 

These controls extend beyond initial authentication. If an agent attempts to retrieve information or perform actions outside its approved permissions, the access can be denied and session revoked in real time to prevent unauthorized activity. Vault’s short-lived credentials and least-privilege controls can further restrict what an agent accesses and the duration of those permissions.  

Additional capabilities include: 

Vault 2.2 gives agents their own secured accounts, automatically renews their credentials and incorporates post-quantum encryption for quantum-era threats. Secure Hub (public preview) gives companies centralized visibility across their Vault environments to make it easier to understand operational health, usage and security resources. 

At TechXchange, client speakers will share how they use Vault to secure enterprise applications, workloads and AI agents 

athenahealth: Automating certificate management with Vault’s PKI engine. Albert Einstein College of Medicine: Applying IBM Verify and Vault to AI agent identity, just-in-time access, dynamic secrets and auditability. Optum: Using Vault Radar to detect exposed secrets and Boundary for just-in-time, identity-based access. Seven-Eleven Japan: Centralizing and encrypting secrets with Vault Enterprise and detecting hardcoded secrets with Vault Radar. Yum! Brands: Building an identity security platform with IBM Verify, with a look ahead to machine identities and secrets management. 

“AI presents extraordinary opportunities to accelerate biomedical research and discovery, but realizing its potential requires a foundation of security, trust, and responsible governance,” said Shailesh M. Shenoy, Assistant Dean for Information Technology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. “In my experience, technologies such as IBM Verify and HashiCorp Vault can play an important role in helping organizations establish the identity, access, and security controls needed to innovate with confidence.”  

Managing agents across platforms
Identity tells organizations what an agent is. But they also need to see every agent they have, wherever it was built. IBM watsonx Orchestrate works across the AI ecosystem, not inside a single vendor’s platform, to give organizations one place to discover, secure and evaluate their agents. Capabilities include: 

Discover (tech preview): Organizations can’t govern agents they don’t know exist. Orchestrate connects to platforms such as Amazon Bedrock, Microsoft Foundry and Google Gemini to find agents built in third-party environments, so teams can see and manage agents instead of adding them manually. This capability also extends to models and MCP servers. Contain (tech preview): One rogue agent can disrupt others and spread mistakes across the business. Orchestrate now runs agents in isolated sandboxes so a rogue agent can’t interfere with others. Teams also now have access to a kill switch to shut down any agent. Evaluate: Agents that aren’t tested and tracked can quietly drift off course and increase costs. Teams using Orchestrate can now test the quality, accuracy and compliance of agents, models and MCP servers before deployment, then monitor them in production. Built-in cost tracking shows each agent’s model and token use, so teams can spot what’s driving spend and fix it. 

Orchestrate also works with Vault’s credential controls and Agent Identity to establish what each agent’s job is, govern its authority and enforce least-privilege credential access. Together, these controls help organizations authorize and audit agent actions and rapidly revoke trust and credentials when risk changes. 

Connecting agents to the business
Once agents are authorized to use a company’s APIs and tools, they need to know what already exists, how systems connect, what can be reused safely and what their actions could affect. IBM Integration Intelligence Hub is built to provide that knowledge through its Unified Context Engine, so agents can fix problems like stuck messages or deploy an API using what’s already in place. Skills, approval policies and audit controls keep those actions in check. Instead of rebuilding for AI, organizations can put agents to work on the systems they already depend on. 

Scaling agents with NVIDIA
Agent Identity and HashiCorp Vault integrate with NVIDIA OpenShell secure runtime software, the foundation of the NVIDIA OpenShell Architecture. Together, they pair a protected environment for agents to run in with a verified identity and short-lived credentials for every agent, so each action can be traced, limited and reviewed. 

“Businesses need enforceable control over how agents operate and what they can access,” said John Fanelli, vice president, enterprise software, NVIDIA. “Our work with IBM combines NVIDIA OpenShell’s policy-governed runtime with Agent Identity and HashiCorp Vault to help enterprises scale AI agents with secure execution, verified identities and tightly scoped access to business systems.” 

Responding to Emerging Security Threats
When new vulnerabilities are discovered, enterprises must quickly identify affected systems, determine required changes and deploy fixes without disrupting critical operations. In complex environments, this process often involves multiple teams, tools and processes. 

IBM Concert integrates observability, optimization, incident management and security across applications, infrastructure and networks. With AI-powered insights and proof of exploitability, Concert helps teams to identify high-risk vulnerabilities, assess operational impact, and coordinate responses. These capabilities also help organizations address performance, manage costs and maintain resilience in hybrid environments. 

HashiCorp Terraform provides an infrastructure context and governed workflows for change implementation. New features now generally available and in public preview, including Terraform policy, Terraform Developer Portal and Terraform remote MCP server, enable developers and AI agents to access approved configurations and implement infrastructure changes through established controls. Terraform powered by Infragraph also helps teams understand infrastructure relationships and dependencies for more informed decisions. 

Together, these capabilities enable organizations to progress from identifying vulnerabilities to implementing and verifying remediation, while optimizing the visibility and governance essential for enterprise operations. 

A comprehensive system intelligence and change orchestration layer for IBM Z 
IBM Z Atlas maps a client’s entire z/OS stack across infrastructure, middleware, and applications, and then uses that intelligence to address the manual effort of tasks like patch management, regulatory response, and sharing system knowledge across teams, from systems programmers to application developers. Atlas addresses the leading cause of unplanned z/OS outages – changes that aren’t proven to be safe – by mapping how a change impacts the z/OS stack and testing and validating it. This design (in tech preview) accelerates clients’ modernization efforts by keeping experts in control and giving practitioners, in operations or development, the same shared Z system visibility to reduce risk. 

Availability
HashiCorp Vault 2.2, Agent Identity, watsonx Orchestrate evaluate capabilities, IBM Concert, and HashiCorp Terraform policy are generally available. Secure Hub, Terraform Developer Portal, Terraform remote MCP server, and IBM Z Atlas are in public preview. IBM Integration Intelligence Hub and watsonx Orchestrate discover and contain capabilities are in tech preview. 

Statements regarding IBM’s future direction and intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice and represent goals and objectives only. 

Learn more
IBM TechXchange is IBM’s annual conference for developers and technology practitioners and brings together nearly 6,500 attendees from 85 countries. This year, the event incorporates HashiConf to bring together the HashiCorp community with practitioners from across IBM, Red Hat and Confluent. Attendees can choose from more than 1,000 sessions and experiences, including 180 hands-on labs, 260 client-led sessions and more than 50 certification exams. Speakers include American Airlines, Bradesco, Citi, CVS Health, Deutsche Bank, DoorDash, Hertz, and US Bancorp who will share how they are making AI enterprise ready. 

Session livestream and replays will be available here: ibm.biz/txc26-livestream.  

Supporting Materials

Strengthen security for agentic AI with new Vault, Verify, Boundary, and Secure Hub capabilities  IBM Agent Identity now generally available: Building Trust for the Agentic Era  Vault Enterprise 2.2 advances identity security, PKI, and cryptoagility  Announcing the public preview of Secure Hub: govern Vault at scale  IBM watsonx Orchestrate advances AI agent management with new capabilities  IBM Integration Intelligence Hub gives AI the context to act, not just access IBM Concert platform advances the path to cross-domain agentic IT operations  Terraform advances infrastructure lifecycle management for the agentic era Introducing IBM Z Atlas: Change Intelligence for IBM Z 

[1]: Gartner Identifies Six Steps to Manage AI Agent Sprawl
[2]: HashiCorp Vault client stories  

About IBM  
IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Thousands of governments and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service. Visit www.ibm.com for more information. 

Media contacts:

Sarah Benchaita
IBM
sarah.benchaita@ibm.com

Kate Lehman
IBM
Kate.Lehman@ibm.com 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/ibm-introduces-identity-and-control-for-ai-agents-securing-frontier-intelligence-for-the-enterprise-302920162.html

Continue Reading

Technology

Three Blind Spots Leave Industrial Companies Exposed to Critical Mineral Shortages

Published

on

By

Boston Consulting Group Finds Industrial Companies Underestimate Their Critical Mineral Exposure, Which Also Limits Their Access to Public CapitalDemand for Key Minerals Is Projected at 120% to 250% of Forecast Supply Through 2040An Estimated $3.5 Trillion of Products Depend on Gallium, a “Mosquito Mineral” Traded in a Market Under $350 Million a YearSome Governments Have Deployed Less Than 10% of Their Critical Minerals Funds

BOSTON, Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Industrial companies are underestimating their exposure to critical mineral shortages and missing a strategic opportunity as a result, according to new analysis from Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Three blind spots in the metrics that companies rely on hide where the risk sits, including what BCG calls “mosquito minerals,” so small by traded value that they never reach a risk register.

These are among the findings of Why Critical Mineral Shortages Are a CEO Issue, a BCG report released today. BCG’s proprietary model projects demand for key inputs, including rare earths, graphite, copper and lithium, at roughly 120% to 250% of forecast supply through 2040.

“Most industrials track exposure through spend and direct supplier data, and the minerals that can stop a production line are often the ones they spend almost nothing on,” said Tycho Möncks, a BCG managing director and partner and a coauthor of the report. “The question for CEOs and boards is not whether their company is exposed. It is. The question is whether they intend to live with that exposure or turn it into an advantage.”

Small Markets Can Stall Large Industries

Companies often start their risk assessment with the bill of materials, which points them toward high-volume metals such as copper and lithium. Mosquito minerals fall outside that view. Their traded value is tiny, but the value chains that depend on them are not.

Rare earths. The rare earths used in a fighter jet are worth less than the paint that coats the plane.Gallium. The global market is worth under $350 million a year, with production of only about 900 tons, yet BCG estimates about $3.5 trillion of final products depend on it.Arsenic. The upstream market is about $50 million worldwide, yet a single producer supplies roughly 60% of the ultra-high-purity grade used in 5G and 6G infrastructure, data center optics, radar systems, and defense electronics.Byproduct supply. Gallium, germanium and arsenic are recovered as byproducts of other mining and industrial processes, so the host metal’s market sets their supply. Even a sharp price spike may not bring new production.

Exposure Hides Below Tier One Suppliers

A company that buys almost no critical minerals directly can still be acutely exposed because minerals arrive embedded in motors, magnets, power modules, lasers and sensors. They also sit in the tools and processes used to make those components, from crucibles and catalysts to dies and the capital equipment itself.

Turbine blades, engine blocks and structural aerospace components, for example, are machined with cutting tools made of tungsten carbide bonded with cobalt. A manufacturer that has never bought either metal directly can still see production stop if those tools run short, a dependency that appears on no bill of materials.

Companies also tend to map where critical minerals are mined, but for some minerals the bottleneck is processing, not production. A map of where assets sit and a map of who owns them can look very different, so a change of supplier that looks like diversification may leave a company’s exposure unchanged.

Public Capital Is Committed but Largely Unspent

The three blind spots also lead to a strategic miss. The International Energy Agency reports that public finance commitments to critical minerals in advanced economies reached around $65 billion in 2025, more than four times the 2023 level. BCG’s review of government-backed vehicles found the flagship instruments barely deployed, with some countries having spent less than 10% of their allocated capital and others nothing.

These vehicles are designed to draw in private capital, and offtake requirements are typically the main eligibility gate. BCG argues that companies without a clear view of their own exposure cannot make a credible commitment, and so cannot qualify. The funds are not free money: they carry conditions such as reporting obligations and localization requirements, and they represent only about one tenth of the capital needed through 2040. But for industrial companies, BCG says, they are a way to build a competitive advantage.

Several of the companies that have reframed their approach and tapped public capital are industrial companies and trading firms, not miners, and BCG found that in each case the CEO and executive team led the process of identifying and correcting their blind spots.

“These blind spots have a cost beyond risk. The money is there, but it comes with offtake requirements, and a company cannot make a credible commitment without knowing its own exposure,” said Karthik Valluru, a BCG managing director and senior partner who coauthored the report. “Mapping that exposure properly is where the opportunity starts.”

Download the publication here:

https://www.bcg.com/publications/2026/critical-minerals-risk-blind-spots

Media Contact: 
Bruce Wraight
wraight.bruce@bcg.com 

About Boston Consulting Group
Boston Consulting Group bridges the gap between ambition and outcomes for the world’s leading companies and organizations. We are built for this era of unprecedented change — bringing strategic clarity rooted in over 60 years of deep domain knowledge, combined with applied AI shaped by our practitioners. BCG works shoulder-to-shoulder with CEOs across industries and geographies to deliver transformative impact at scale: stronger returns, transferred capabilities, and change that sticks. For more information, visit bcg.com.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/three-blind-spots-leave-industrial-companies-exposed-to-critical-mineral-shortages-302920029.html

SOURCE Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

Continue Reading

Trending