AXON vs PANW vs FFIV Stock Comparison

Axon Enterprise, Palo Alto Networks and F5 Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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AXON Axon Enterprise, Inc.
$425.43 +2.9% 1M -41.9% 1Y
Market cap
$34.09B
P/E
171.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.22B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
1 win
PANW Palo Alto Networks Inc
$351.72 -12.8% 1M +59.7% 1Y
Market cap
$264.99B
P/E
863.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.48B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
3 wins
FFIV F5, Inc.
$324.55 -28.5% 1M +28.3% 1Y
Market cap
$19.02B
P/E
26.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.31B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
5 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

F5 leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (F5 5, Palo Alto Networks 3, Axon Enterprise 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAXONPANWFFIVLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $34.09B $264.99B $19.02B PANW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 171.0x 863.2x 26.2x FFIV
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 52.4x 80.1x 19.4x FFIV
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +34.6% +24.5% +9.4% AXON
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.2% 2.7% 22.0% FFIV
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 0.4% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 7.9x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -41.9% +59.7% +28.3% PANW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +18.1%/yr +33.5%/yr +7.9%/yr PANW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 61.7% 50.2% 41.9% FFIV
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 47/100 49/100 65/100 FFIV

Percentile Scorecard

AXONPANWFFIV

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisAXONPANWFFIV
Valuation 38 #77 of 124 42 #72 of 124 81 #25 of 124
Growth 55 #51 of 113 37 #72 of 113 40 #68 of 113
Profitability 60 #45 of 110 74 #29 of 110 94 #8 of 110
Financial Health 34 #85 of 129 38 #81 of 129 49 #66 of 129
Shareholder Returns – 53 #32 of 67 64 #25 of 67
Overall 47 49 65
  • AXON ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • PANW ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • FFIV ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodAXONPANWFFIVSPY
1 month +2.9%-12.8%-28.5% -2.3%
3 months -26.1%+1.3%-20.1% -0.7%
6 months +8.0%+90.6%-1.6% +4.8%
Year to date -25.1%+90.9%+27.1% +10.3%
1 year -41.9%+59.7%+28.3% +10.3%
3 years +95.8%+188.9%+110.6% +73.0%
3 years, per year +25.1%+42.5%+28.2% +20.1%
5 years +130.1%+322.9%+46.2% +61.9%
5 years, per year +18.1%+33.5%+7.9% +10.1%
10 years +1,806.0%+1,337.4%+139.8% +258.6%
10 years, per year +34.3%+30.5%+9.1% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureAXONPANWFFIVSPY
Volatility, 1Y 61.7%50.2%41.9% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 61.8%47.5%48.4% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.531.301.13 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.681.190.67 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -60.3%-36.0%-47.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -41.2%-16.2%-32.4% -3.5%
52-week high $724.10$419.91$479.83 $779.14
52-week low $345.94$141.67$223.99 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleAXONPANWFFIV
P/E now vs peer median 172.0xmedian 35.6x 858.1xmedian 35.6x 25.3xmedian 35.6x
P/S now vs peer median 10.7xmedian 4.2x 25.0xmedian 4.2x 5.6xmedian 4.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 267.5xmedian 30.0x 132.5xmedian 30.0x 18.5xmedian 30.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 259.5xmedian 25.2x 69.7xmedian 25.2x 19.0xmedian 25.2x
P/B now vs peer median 9.4xmedian 3.2x 10.4xmedian 3.2x 4.8xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median 7.50median 1.21 -59.29median 1.21 0.80median 1.21

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsAXONPANWFFIV
Revenue $3.22B $11.48B $3.31B
Gross profit $1.91B $8.08B $2.71B
Operating income $23.77M $695.00M $812.13M
Net income $199.30M $307.00M $726.51M
Free cash flow $133.19M $4.11B $969.60M
R&D $768.36M $2.55B $593.25M
EPS (diluted) $2.41 $0.40 $12.62
Cash & equivalents $597.70M $2.51B $1.61B
Total debt $1.73B – –
Shares (diluted) 82.54M 764.00M 57.55M
Enterprise value $28.61B $250.06B $13.42B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricAXONPANWFFIV
P/E 172.0x 858.1x 25.3x
P/FCF 259.5x 69.7x 19.0x
P/Operating cash flow 130.0x 63.0x 17.6x
P/S 10.7x 25.0x 5.6x
P/B 9.4x 10.4x 4.8x
P/Tangible book 10.2x 14.0x 4.8x
EV/EBITDA 267.5x 132.5x 18.5x
EV/EBIT 1,498x 408.0x 20.7x
EV/Revenue 11.1x 24.7x 5.1x
EV/FCF 267.4x 68.9x 17.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 134.0x 62.3x 16.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 7.50 -59.29 0.80

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAXONPANWFFIV
Revenue growth (1Y) 34.6% 24.5% 9.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 33.2% 18.5% 5.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 32.2% 19.3% 10.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 32.0% 17.5% 7.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 1,682% -44.1% 8.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -40.2% 21.5% 25.8%
Net income growth (1Y) -38.9% -72.9% 8.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 26.5% -11.3% 29.8%
EPS growth (1Y) -39.3% -74.9% 10.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 22.9% -14.5% 31.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -3.5% 22.5% 6.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 18.8% 17.9% 19.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -24.5% 18.6% 1.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.3% 16.1% 19.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAXONPANWFFIV
Gross margin 59.4% 70.4% 81.9%
EBITDA margin 4.1% 18.6% 27.5%
Operating margin 0.7% 6.1% 24.5%
Pretax margin 5.7% 4.7% 25.8%
Net margin 6.2% 2.7% 22.0%
FCF margin 4.1% 35.8% 29.3%
Operating cash flow margin 8.3% 39.7% 31.7%
Return on equity 5.5% 1.1% 19.4%
Return on assets 2.7% 0.6% 10.9%
Return on invested capital 0.4% – –
Return on capital employed 0.4% 1.9% 16.6%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.2x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 14.8x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 19.7% 15.5% 7.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAXONPANWFFIV
Debt / assets 23.1% – –
Debt / equity 0.5x – –
Net debt / EBITDA 7.9x – –
Debt / FCF 13.0x – –
Liabilities / assets 50.9% 43.3% 43.5%
Equity / assets 49.1% 56.7% 56.5%
Interest coverage 0.2x – –
Current ratio 2.1x 0.9x 1.7x
Quick ratio 1.6x 0.7x 1.5x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.3x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 6.36 8.54 5.59

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAXONPANWFFIV
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield – -0.1% 0.9%
Shareholder yield – -0.1% 0.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusAXONPANWFFIV
Forward P/E 52.4xFY2026 80.1xFY2027 19.4xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $7.95FY2026 $4.37FY2027 $17.06FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +16.1%FY2026 +13.8%FY2027 +34.0%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +29.2% +16.5% +14.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.57BFY2026 $13.37BFY2027 $3.52BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +28.3%FY2026 +16.5%FY2027 +13.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +41.4% +12.7% +6.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAXONPANWFFIV
Held by institutions 88.7% 82.1% 96.6%
Institutions holding 1,120 2,917 832
Change in shares held, QoQ +8.0% +6.6% -2.6%
Institutions buying 669 1,548 484
Institutions selling 324 1,127 240
Buyers to sellers 2.06 1.37 2.02

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

AXONPANWFFIV
AXON 1.00 0.33 0.12
PANW 0.33 1.00 0.34
FFIV 0.12 0.34 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AXON, PANW and FFIV?

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Axon Enterprise (AXON) $34.09B, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) $264.99B, F5 (FFIV) $19.02B.

Which stock is cheaper, AXON, PANW and FFIV?

F5 (FFIV) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Axon Enterprise (AXON) 171.0x, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 863.2x, F5 (FFIV) 26.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, F5 (FFIV) is cheapest (Axon Enterprise (AXON) 52.4x, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 80.1x, F5 (FFIV) 19.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Axon Enterprise (AXON) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Axon Enterprise (AXON) +34.6%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +24.5%, F5 (FFIV) +9.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

F5 (FFIV) has the highest net margin (Axon Enterprise (AXON) 6.2%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 2.7%, F5 (FFIV) 22.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Palo Alto Networks (PANW) returned the most: Axon Enterprise (AXON) -41.9%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +59.7%, F5 (FFIV) +28.3%. Over five years, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) compounded fastest (Axon Enterprise (AXON) +18.1%/yr, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +33.5%/yr, F5 (FFIV) +7.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, F5 (FFIV) has been the steadiest (Axon Enterprise (AXON) 61.7%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 50.2%, F5 (FFIV) 41.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AXON, PANW and FFIV?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, F5 (FFIV) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.