CALX vs FTNT vs CSCO Stock Comparison

Calix, Fortinet and Cisco Systems Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CALX Calix, Inc
$36.19 +4.0% 1M -47.1% 1Y
Market cap
$2.10B
P/E
45.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.15B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
3 wins
FTNT Fortinet, Inc.
$126.21 -30.3% 1M +46.0% 1Y
Market cap
$94.46B
P/E
41.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.88B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
5 wins
CSCO Cisco Systems, Inc.
$101.61 -9.4% 1M +39.0% 1Y
Market cap
$405.38B
P/E
30.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$63.33B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Fortinet leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Fortinet 5, Cisco Systems 3, Calix 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCALXFTNTCSCOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.10B $94.46B $405.38B CSCO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 45.9x 41.4x 30.6x CSCO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.5x 35.8x 21.7x CALX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +27.8% +18.8% +11.8% CALX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.6% 28.2% 21.0% FTNT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 111.7% 15.9% FTNT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -1.2x 0.8x FTNT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -47.1% +46.0% +39.0% FTNT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -13.0%/yr +13.9%/yr +12.0%/yr FTNT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 40.8% 49.5% 35.9% CSCO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 75/100 71/100 53/100 CALX

Percentile Scorecard

CALXFTNTCSCO

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

AxisCALXFTNTCSCO
Valuation 59 #47 of 112 55 #56 of 124 30 #79 of 112
Growth 82 #20 of 108 63 #43 of 113 40 #65 of 108
Profitability 64 #38 of 104 100 #1 of 110 87 #14 of 104
Financial Health 75 #30 of 116 54 #60 of 129 30 #82 of 116
Shareholder Returns 98 #3 of 80 83 #12 of 67 80 #17 of 80
Overall 75 71 53
  • CALX ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • FTNT ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • CSCO ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCALXFTNTCSCOSPY
1 month +4.0%-30.3%-9.4% -2.3%
3 months -3.2%-22.7%-12.3% -0.7%
6 months -16.7%+41.4%+9.7% +4.8%
Year to date -31.6%+58.9%+31.9% +10.3%
1 year -47.1%+46.0%+39.0% +10.3%
3 years +1.7%+150.0%+91.7% +73.0%
3 years, per year +0.6%+35.8%+24.2% +20.1%
5 years -50.0%+91.3%+76.3% +61.9%
5 years, per year -13.0%+13.9%+12.0% +10.1%
10 years +444.2%+1,929.1%+234.4% +258.6%
10 years, per year +18.5%+35.1%+12.8% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCALXFTNTCSCOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 40.8%49.5%35.9% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.0%52.0%37.6% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.981.071.16 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -1.160.931.09 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -65.3%-38.3%-38.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -46.2%-35.2%-21.8% -3.5%
52-week high $67.24$194.75$130.00 $779.14
52-week low $33.15$75.23$71.04 $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.

MultipleCALXFTNTCSCO
P/E now vs peer median 44.9xmedian 29.9x 43.6xmedian 35.6x 30.3xmedian 29.9x
P/S now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 2.8x 12.3xmedian 4.2x 6.3xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 26.3xmedian 18.5x 30.0xmedian 30.0x 23.1xmedian 18.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.7xmedian 28.0x 29.7xmedian 25.2x 31.4xmedian 28.0x
P/B now vs peer median 3.2xmedian 2.8x 59.7xmedian 3.2x 8.0xmedian 2.8x
PEG now vs peer median 6.35median 1.00 1.50median 1.21 11.24median 1.00

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 monthsCALXFTNTCSCO
Revenue $1.15B $7.88B $63.33B
Gross profit $637.49M $6.29B $40.86B
Operating income $60.39M $2.60B $15.37B
Net income $45.75M $2.28B $13.27B
Free cash flow $62.16M $3.43B $12.77B
R&D $215.00M $857.40M $9.56B
EPS (diluted) $0.71 $3.07 $3.33
Cash & equivalents $55.89M $3.75B $7.22B
Total debt – $497.10M $29.53B
Shares (diluted) 64.45M 742.60M 3.99B
Enterprise value $1.12B $78.72B $341.31B

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
MetricCALXFTNTCSCO
P/E 44.9x 43.6x 30.3x
P/FCF 26.7x 29.7x 31.4x
P/Operating cash flow 20.8x 27.3x 28.3x
P/S 2.1x 12.3x 6.3x
P/B 3.2x 59.7x 8.0x
P/Tangible book 3.2x 62.8x 9.4x
EV/EBITDA 26.3x 30.0x 23.1x
EV/EBIT 34.0x 36.4x 27.0x
EV/Revenue 1.9x 11.8x 6.5x
EV/FCF 24.4x 28.6x 32.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.0x 26.2x 29.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 6.35 1.50 11.24

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCALXFTNTCSCO
Revenue growth (1Y) 27.8% 18.8% 11.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.9% 14.7% 3.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 30.3% 17.2% 11.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 16.6% 4.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 273.3% 24.8% 30.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 3.8% 27.6% 0.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 290.5% 9.3% 30.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 4.9% 26.0% 1.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 287.6% 14.2% 30.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 7.1% 29.1% 2.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 24.5% 41.5% -0.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 41.8% 15.5% -10.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 19.4% 53.3% -3.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 62.0% 16.4% -12.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCALXFTNTCSCO
Gross margin 56.6% 80.2% 64.5%
EBITDA margin 7.1% 39.4% 28.3%
Operating margin 5.5% 32.4% 24.3%
Pretax margin 6.5% 34.8% 25.3%
Net margin 4.6% 28.2% 21.0%
FCF margin 7.7% 41.4% 20.2%
Operating cash flow margin 9.9% 45.1% 22.4%
Return on equity 7.1% 166.9% 26.8%
Return on assets 5.4% 20.4% 10.4%
Return on invested capital – 111.7% 15.9%
Return on capital employed 8.2% 44.2% 17.9%
Asset turnover 1.2x 0.7x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.1x 1.6x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 7.2% 3.9% 6.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCALXFTNTCSCO
Debt / assets – 4.6% 22.8%
Debt / equity – 0.3x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA – -1.2x 0.8x
Debt / FCF – 0.2x 2.3x
Liabilities / assets 25.6% 85.7% 61.2%
Equity / assets 74.4% 14.3% 38.8%
Interest coverage – 135.7x 10.5x
Current ratio 2.8x 1.3x 0.9x
Quick ratio 1.6x 1.1x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.9x 0.8x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 6.95 7.51 3.90

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCALXFTNTCSCO
Dividend yield – – 1.6%
Net buyback yield 8.4% 3.0% 1.4%
Shareholder yield 8.4% 3.0% 3.1%
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.

ConsensusCALXFTNTCSCO
Forward P/E 20.5xFY2026 35.8xFY2026 21.7xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $1.62FY2026 $3.58FY2026 $4.74FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +20.9%FY2026 +29.7%FY2026 +9.5%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +48.1% +0.8% +20.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.11BFY2026 $8.38BFY2026 $74.93BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +11.0%FY2026 +23.2%FY2026 +18.3%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +18.8% +13.2% +0.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCALXFTNTCSCO
Held by institutions 94.5% 68.6% 80.1%
Institutions holding 290 1,569 4,048
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.5% +23.7% +5.0%
Institutions buying 148 854 1,848
Institutions selling 111 551 1,818
Buyers to sellers 1.33 1.55 1.02

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.

CALXFTNTCSCO
CALX 1.00 0.04 0.22
FTNT 0.04 1.00 0.26
CSCO 0.22 0.26 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CALX, FTNT and CSCO?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Calix (CALX) $2.10B, Fortinet (FTNT) $94.46B, Cisco Systems (CSCO) $405.38B.

Which stock is cheaper, CALX, FTNT and CSCO?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Calix (CALX) 45.9x, Fortinet (FTNT) 41.4x, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 30.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Calix (CALX) is cheapest (Calix (CALX) 20.5x, Fortinet (FTNT) 35.8x, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 21.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Calix (CALX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Calix (CALX) +27.8%, Fortinet (FTNT) +18.8%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +11.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Fortinet (FTNT) has the highest net margin (Calix (CALX) 4.6%, Fortinet (FTNT) 28.2%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 21.0%). On return on invested capital, Fortinet (FTNT) leads (Fortinet (FTNT) 111.7%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 15.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Fortinet (FTNT) returned the most: Calix (CALX) -47.1%, Fortinet (FTNT) +46.0%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +39.0%. Over five years, Fortinet (FTNT) compounded fastest (Calix (CALX) -13.0%/yr, Fortinet (FTNT) +13.9%/yr, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +12.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cisco Systems (CSCO) has been the steadiest (Calix (CALX) 40.8%, Fortinet (FTNT) 49.5%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 35.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CALX, FTNT and CSCO?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Fortinet (FTNT) 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.