Nov 6 (Reuters) - Gen Digital ( GEN ) raised its annual

revenue forecast for a second consecutive quarter on Thursday,

helped by robust demand for its cybersecurity products and the

acquisition of fintech firm MoneyLion.

A steady stream of high-profile data breaches and online

threats has resulted in sustained demand for consumer

cybersecurity and digital identity protection services.

"The momentum through the first half was the broad based,

and then financial services accelerating is what gave us the

confidence to raise the forecast," CEO Vincent Pilette told

Reuters.

The company operates on a subscription model, providing a

portfolio of services that protect against viruses, malware and

identity theft. Its core strategy has shifted from growing its

user count to maximizing the value from its existing customer

base of over 38 million direct subscribers.

The raised forecast indicates that the company's core

subscribers view its products as essential in the face of

growing cybersecurity threats.

Gen Digital ( GEN ), which owns Norton and Avast, not only added new

customers for its core cyber safety products but also saw an

increase in demand from its installed base in the second

quarter.

"MoneyLion outgrew the rest of our portfolio, growing 50%

quarter over quarter," Pilette said.

It bought the fintech firm in December last year in an

all-cash deal valued at about $1 billion to beef up its consumer

finance offerings.

Gen has seen an increasing trend of the use of AI to create

fake websites and fake environments to scam people. Since

January this year the company has blocked more than 140,000

AI-generated scam websites, which is roughly 580 new malicious

sites every day on average.

It now sees fiscal 2026 revenue in the range of $4.92

billion to $4.97 billion, from its earlier projection of $4.8

billion to $4.9 billion.

Gen forecast third-quarter revenue between $1.22 billion and

$1.24 billion, ahead of estimates of $1.19 billion, according

to data compiled by LSEG.

The company posted revenue of $1.22 billion, up 25%, for the

second quarter of fiscal 2026, compared with analysts' average

estimate of $1.20 billion.