Stay-at-Home Drove McAfee to 23% Q4 Consumer Revenue Growth

Consumers are becoming “increasingly digitized” during COVID-19 stay-at-home protocols, and consumer awareness about the need for online security “continues to increase,” said McAfee CEO Peter Leav on a quarterly call Tuesday. “These trends will continue to fuel the growth of an already large addressable market.” A McAfee-commissioned survey of 11,000 internet-connected adults globally found “high levels of concern around cyber risks and online crime,” said Leav. “Proliferation of devices within the household, increased internet connectivity, the explosive growth in online transactions, the use of personal information in those transactions and more work-from-home policies” drove higher security software purchases among consumers, he said. “The study also showed a broad increase in the usage of online banking, online financial planning, online doctor visits and personal shopping, with the expectations that post-pandemic, these activities will remain at high levels.” McAfee's consumer revenue grew 23% in fiscal Q4, ended Dec. 26, and it added 668,000 “net new core direct-to-consumer subscribers,” similar to its net adds in Q3, said Leav.