Pure Storage has reported a solid third quarter for fiscal 2026, recording 16 percent year-on-year revenue growth as enterprises increased their investment in data platforms designed for AI, automation, and advanced analytics. The company posted US$964.5 million in revenue for the quarter ended 2 November, alongside a rise in subscription services and annual recurring revenue.
Chief executive and chairman Charles Giancarlo said the quarter reflected continued demand for the company’s platform as organisations sought to modernise how they store and manage data. “Pure Storage delivered another strong quarter as global customers increasingly choose Pure to solve their toughest data management challenges,” he said. He added that “competitive advantage in the AI era demands data accessibility,” noting that the company’s Enterprise Data Cloud aims to remove barriers created by siloed applications.
Financial performance and updated outlook
Pure Storage’s subscription services brought in US$429.7 million, a 14 percent increase from a year ago, while subscription annual recurring revenue reached US$1.8 billion, up 17 percent. Remaining performance obligations rose to US$2.9 billion, showing a 24 percent increase. The company reported a GAAP gross margin of 72.3 percent and a non-GAAP gross margin of 74.1 percent.
GAAP operating income reached US$53.9 million, while non-GAAP operating income rose to US$196.2 million, producing a non-GAAP operating margin of 20.3 percent. Operating cash flow for the quarter was US$116 million and free cash flow totalled US$52.6 million. The company ended the period with US$1.5 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities. It also returned approximately US$53 million to shareholders through the repurchase of 0.6 million shares.
Chief financial officer Tarek Robbiati said the financial results exceeded expectations. “In the third quarter, we generated strong revenue and record operating profit, exceeding the high end of our guidance,” he said. Robbiati added that increased investment in research and development, as well as sales and marketing, would continue as the company targets long-term growth.
Pure Storage has raised its full-year guidance. For fiscal 2026, the company now expects revenue between US$3.63 billion and US$3.64 billion, up from its previous range of US$3.60 billion to US$3.63 billion. Full-year non-GAAP operating income is projected to be between US$629 million and US$639 million, higher than earlier estimates.
Product updates and industry recognition
During the quarter, Pure Storage expanded the Enterprise Data Cloud into Microsoft Azure with a new fully managed block-volume service. It also introduced updated FlashArray models, including FlashArray//XL190 R5, FlashArray//X R5, and FlashArray//C R5.
The company continued to build its intelligent control plane with the expansion of Pure1 AI Copilot, including a version for Portworx customers and integration with Model Context Protocol servers. Integration between Portworx and Pure Fusion was also announced to help bridge traditional and cloud-native application environments.
Cybersecurity capabilities were strengthened through the introduction of Pure Protect Recovery Zones developed with Veeam, along with expanded detection tools that include CrowdStrike Falcon and Superna.
Pure Storage received several industry accolades in 2025, including recognition as a Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Storage Platforms and for Infrastructure Platform Consumption Services. It was also named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape assessment for worldwide hardware support services and listed among Fortune’s “Best Workplaces in Technology 2025”.
