CRWD vs PANW vs GEN Stock Comparison

CrowdStrike Holdings, Palo Alto Networks and Gen Digital Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
PANW Palo Alto Networks Inc
$394.49 +0.6% 1M +78.2% 1Y
Market cap
$321.51B
P/E
962.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.48B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
5 wins
GEN Gen Digital Inc.
$24.35 +16.8% 1M -8.8% 1Y
Market cap
$14.59B
P/E
12.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.23B
Div. yield
2.09%
Cybersecurity Software Technology
3 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

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

QuestionCRWDPANWGENLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $273.04B $321.51B $14.59B PANW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 4,650x 962.5x 12.1x GEN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 200.5x 90.3x 7.9x GEN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +24.3% +24.5% +16.9% PANW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.1% 2.7% — PANW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -2.1% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -6.5x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — 2.09% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -51.2% +78.2% -8.8% PANW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -1.1%/yr +36.0%/yr -0.9%/yr PANW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 150.4% 49.6% 40.3% GEN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 50/100 58/100 CRWD

Percentile Scorecard

CRWDPANWGEN

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

AxisCRWDPANWGEN
Valuation 21 #98 of 124 42 #72 of 124 81 #24 of 124
Growth 88 #15 of 113 37 #72 of 113 63 #43 of 113
Profitability 68 #36 of 109 76 #27 of 109 80 #23 of 109
Financial Health 61 #50 of 127 38 #79 of 127 8 #117 of 127
Shareholder Returns 58 #27 of 63 57 #28 of 63 –
Overall 59 50 58
  • CRWD ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • PANW ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • GEN ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCRWDPANWGENSPY
1 month +2.9%+0.6%+16.8% +0.9%
3 months +48.7%+25.6%-11.9% +5.9%
6 months -41.1%+117.3%+27.2% +8.5%
Year to date -43.1%+114.2%-10.4% +13.3%
1 year -51.2%+78.2%-8.8% +12.4%
3 years +54.3%+230.4%+47.5% +88.1%
3 years, per year +15.6%+49.0%+13.8% +23.5%
5 years -5.4%+364.9%-4.3% +68.2%
5 years, per year -1.1%+36.0%-0.9% +11.0%
10 years —+1,461.7%-2.1% +263.4%
10 years, per year —+31.6%-0.2% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureCRWDPANWGENSPY
Volatility, 1Y 150.4%49.6%40.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 208.3%46.8%41.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.701.250.84 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.341.58-0.22 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -77.1%-36.0%-49.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -65.9%-6.1%-22.5% -0.9%
52-week high $782.17$419.91$31.41 $779.14
52-week low $179.38$141.67$17.89 $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.

MultipleCRWDPANWGEN
P/E now vs peer median 4,650xmedian 37.9x 962.5xmedian 37.9x 12.1xmedian 37.9x
P/S now vs peer median 50.6xmedian 4.4x 28.0xmedian 4.4x 2.8xmedian 4.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 407.4xmedian 34.5x 148.8xmedian 34.5x —median 34.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 169.7xmedian 26.6x 78.2xmedian 26.6x 8.6xmedian 26.6x
P/B now vs peer median 53.1xmedian 3.4x 11.7xmedian 3.4x 5.3xmedian 3.4x
PEG now vs peer median 125.16median 1.24 -66.50median 1.24 -4.45median 1.24

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 monthsCRWDPANWGEN
Revenue $5.40B $11.48B $5.23B
Gross profit $4.06B $8.08B $4.05B
Operating income -$119.49M $695.00M $2.19B
Net income $77.40M $307.00M $1.21B
Free cash flow $1.61B $4.11B –
R&D $1.56B $2.55B $430.00M
EPS (diluted) $0.06 $0.40 $2.00
Cash & equivalents $5.01B $2.51B $589.00M
Total debt $2.98B – –
Shares (diluted) 1.04B 764.00M 603.00M
Enterprise value $253.48B $306.58B $14.59B

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
MetricCRWDPANWGEN
P/E 4,650x 962.5x 12.1x
P/FCF 169.7x 78.2x 8.6x
P/Operating cash flow 135.4x 70.6x 8.2x
P/S 50.6x 28.0x 2.8x
P/B 53.1x 11.7x 5.3x
P/Tangible book 56.1x 15.7x 17.9x
EV/EBITDA 407.4x 148.8x –
EV/EBIT -2,249x 458.2x –
EV/Revenue 49.8x 27.7x 2.8x
EV/FCF 167.1x 77.4x –
EV/Operating cash flow 133.3x 69.9x 8.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 125.16 -66.50 -4.45

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCRWDPANWGEN
Revenue growth (1Y) 24.3% 24.5% 16.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 26.9% 18.5% 11.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 26.2% 19.3% 14.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 27.6% 17.5% 10.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 66.9% -44.1% 30.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.9% 21.5% 26.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 127.3% -72.9% 111.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 41.4% -11.3% -4.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 120.0% -74.9% 118.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 37.2% -14.5% -2.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 45.2% 22.5% 34.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 23.8% 17.9% 22.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 45.4% 18.6% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 24.1% 16.1% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCRWDPANWGEN
Gross margin 75.2% 70.4% –
EBITDA margin 12.2% 18.6% –
Operating margin -2.2% 6.1% –
Pretax margin 1.4% 4.7% –
Net margin 1.1% 2.7% –
FCF margin 29.8% 35.8% –
Operating cash flow margin 37.4% 39.7% 34.0%
Return on equity 1.6% 1.1% 44.7%
Return on assets 0.7% 0.6% 7.7%
Return on invested capital -2.1% – –
Return on capital employed -1.7% 1.9% –
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.2x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 26.1x 14.8x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue 23.1% 15.5% 4.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCRWDPANWGEN
Debt / assets 6.2% – –
Debt / equity 0.1x – –
Net debt / EBITDA -6.5x – –
Debt / FCF 0.5x – –
Liabilities / assets 57.3% 43.3% 82.4%
Equity / assets 42.7% 56.7% 17.6%
Interest coverage -4.5x – –
Current ratio 1.6x 0.9x 0.4x
Quick ratio 1.4x 0.7x –
Cash ratio 1.1x 0.3x –
Altman Z-score 24.32 9.53 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCRWDPANWGEN
Dividend yield – – 2.1%
Net buyback yield 0.0% -0.1% –
Shareholder yield 0.0% -0.1% 2.1%
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.

ConsensusCRWDPANWGEN
Forward P/E 200.5xFY2026 90.3xFY2027 7.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.33FY2026 $4.37FY2027 $3.07FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +43.0%FY2026 +13.8%FY2027 +19.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +23.3% +16.5% +10.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.28BFY2026 $13.37BFY2027 $5.64BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +30.5%FY2026 +16.5%FY2027 +12.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +22.3% +12.7% +8.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCRWDPANWGEN
Held by institutions 77.4% 82.1% 89.1%
Institutions holding 2,433 2,915 688
Change in shares held, QoQ +12.2% +6.6% +3.8%
Institutions buying 1,375 1,548 391
Institutions selling 837 1,125 211
Buyers to sellers 1.64 1.38 1.85

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.

CRWDPANWGEN
CRWD 1.00 0.34 0.09
PANW 0.34 1.00 0.39
GEN 0.09 0.39 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CRWD, PANW and GEN?

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is the largest by market capitalisation: CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD) $273.04B, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) $321.51B, Gen Digital (GEN) $14.59B.

Which stock is cheaper, CRWD, PANW and GEN?

Gen Digital (GEN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD) 4,650x, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 962.5x, Gen Digital (GEN) 12.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Gen Digital (GEN) is cheapest (CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD) 200.5x, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 90.3x, Gen Digital (GEN) 7.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD) +24.3%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +24.5%, Gen Digital (GEN) +16.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) has the highest net margin (CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD) 1.1%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 2.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Palo Alto Networks (PANW) returned the most: CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD) -51.2%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +78.2%, Gen Digital (GEN) -8.8%. Over five years, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) compounded fastest (CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD) -1.1%/yr, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +36.0%/yr, Gen Digital (GEN) -0.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Gen Digital (GEN) 2.09%. CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Gen Digital (GEN) has been the steadiest (CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD) 150.4%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 49.6%, Gen Digital (GEN) 40.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CRWD, PANW and GEN?

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