Aug 18 (Reuters) - Palo Alto Networks PANW.O forecast fiscal 2026 revenue and profit above Wall Street estimates on Monday, betting on growing demand for its artificial intelligence-powered cybersecurity solutions, sending its shares up nearly 5% in extended trading.

The company has been benefiting from an AI-driven upgrade cycle as enterprises accelerate their cloud adoption and modernize security operations amid rising data breach incidents.

A wave of high-profile cyberattacks has hit global companies including Microsoft MSFT.O, UnitedHealth Group UNH.N, Walt Disney DIS.N and Oracle ORCL.N, prompting the need for robust security solutions.

Palo Alto's new launches such as cloud security platform 'Cortex Cloud' and security platform to protect AI apps 'Prisma AIRS', together with its planned $25 billion CyberArk acquisition, deepen its cybersecurity offerings.

The company also announced that founder and Chief Technology Officer Nir Zuk will be retiring after being with Palo Alto for over 20 years. Long-time product leader Lee Klarich has been named as its CTO and board member.

Klarich will also chair the board's security committee in a bid to bolster the company's AI-driven platform strategy.

Palo Alto competes with CrowdStrike CRWD.O, Fortinet FTNT.O and Zscaler ZS.O. Its customers include Salesforce CRM.N, Dell Technologies DELL.N and NetApp NTAP.O.

The company projected annual revenue between $10.48 billion and $10.53 billion, above analysts' average estimate of $10.43 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

It expects adjusted profit per share of $3.75 to $3.85, above estimates of $3.67 for the fiscal year.

The company's first-quarter revenue forecast of $2.45 billion to $2.47 billion came in above expectations of $2.43 billion. Its adjusted quarterly earnings per share of 88 cents to 90 cents was also above estimates of 85 cents.

Palo Alto reported upbeat fourth-quarter results. Its revenue grew 16% to $2.54 billion from a year ago. It reported adjusted EPS of 95 cents for the quarter ended July 31, beating estimates of 88 cents.

(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)

((Jaspreet.Singh@thomsonreuters.com; on X @i_jass;))