Palo Alto Networks PANW reported fourth-quarter fiscal 2020 non-GAAP earnings of $1.48 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate $1.39. Moreover, the bottom line compares favorably with the year-ago quarter’s earnings of $1.47 per share.The company’s revenues of $950.4 million improved 18% year over year. The figure also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $920.9 million.The top line was primarily aided by several deal wins and increasing adoption of the company’s next-generation security platforms on the rising remote-working trend and heightening need for stronger security. Growing traction in the Prisma and Cortex offerings also acted as a tailwind.Palo Alto Networks, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Palo Alto Networks, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Palo Alto Networks, Inc. QuoteQuarterly DetailsProduct revenues remained flat year over year at $305.6 million and contributed to 32% of the total revenues. The company’s subscription and support revenues, which accounted for 68% of the total revenues, improved 28.9% to $644.8 million.Further, billings improved 32% year over year to $1.4 billion. Deferred revenues also jumped 32% to $4.3 billion.Additionally, Palo Alto’s non-GAAP gross margin contracted 320 basis points (bps) on a year-over-year basis to 74.3%. In addition, non-GAAP operating margin shrunk 180 bps to 19.8%.Palo Alto exited the fiscal fourth quarter with cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $3.75 billion compared with the $2.2 billion recorded at the end of the previous quarter. The company’s balance sheet does not carry any long-term debt.During the quarter, it generated cash flow from operations of $333.7 million and free cash flow of $301.9 million. In fiscal 2020, the company generated operating and free cash flows of $1.04 billion and $821.3 million, respectively.GuidanceFor first-quarter fiscal 2021, Palo Alto anticipates year-over-year revenue growth of 19-20%, which comes in between $915 million and $925 million. Billing growth is anticipated between 15% and 17%, ($1.03 billion-$1.05 billion).Non-GAAP earnings per share are estimated in the range of $1.32-$1.35.Zacks Rank and Key PicksCurrently, Palo Alto Networks carries a Zacks Rank of 3 (Hold).Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector include Apple AAPL, Lam Research Corporation LRCX and Synaptics SYNA, all sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.The long-term earnings growth rate for Apple, Lam Research and Synaptics is currently pegged at 10.7%, 15.4%, and 10%, respectively.The Hottest Tech Mega-Trend of AllLast year, it generated $24 billion in global revenues. By 2020, it's predicted to blast through the roof to $77.6 billion. Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce ""the world's first trillionaires,"" but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early.See Zacks' 3 Best Stocks to Play This Trend >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Apple Inc. (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report Lam Research Corporation (LRCX): Free Stock Analysis Report Synaptics Incorporated (SYNA): Free Stock Analysis Report Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research