CSCO vs FA vs IDN Stock Comparison

Cisco Systems, First Advantage and Intellicheck Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CSCO Cisco Systems, Inc.
$110.24 +3.3% 1M +56.1% 1Y
Market cap
$440.38B
P/E
33.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$63.33B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
7 wins
FA First Advantage Corp
$21.25 +8.4% 1M +47.7% 1Y
Market cap
$3.62B
P/E
144.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.66B
Div. yield
0.00%
Identity and Access Management Technology
2 wins
IDN Intellicheck, Inc.
$2.47 +3.3% 1M -48.1% 1Y
Market cap
$50.71M
P/E
16.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$24.11M
Div. yield
–
Identity and Access Management Technology
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Cisco Systems leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Cisco Systems 7, Intellicheck 2, First Advantage 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCSCOFAIDNLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $440.38B $3.62B $50.71M CSCO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 33.2x 144.0x 16.1x IDN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.3x 17.3x 35.3x FA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.8% +32.9% +16.7% FA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 21.0% 1.5% 13.0% CSCO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.9% 3.6% — CSCO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 4.1x — CSCO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +56.1% +47.7% -48.1% CSCO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +14.4%/yr +0.4%/yr -22.5%/yr CSCO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.6% 60.7% 86.2% CSCO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 67/100 92/100 IDN

Percentile Scorecard

CSCOFAIDN

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

AxisCSCOFAIDN
Valuation 31 #77 of 111 87 #17 of 124 95 #7 of 124
Growth 40 #65 of 108 85 #18 of 113 94 #8 of 113
Profitability 87 #14 of 104 73 #30 of 110 89 #13 of 110
Financial Health 28 #83 of 115 24 #98 of 129 88 #16 of 129
Shareholder Returns 78 #19 of 81 65 #24 of 67 –
Overall 53 67 92
  • CSCO ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • FA ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • IDN ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCSCOFAIDNSPY
1 month +3.3%+8.4%+3.3% -0.8%
3 months -3.8%+6.2%-32.0% +3.5%
6 months +24.9%+68.9%-68.9% +7.0%
Year to date +43.1%+46.2%-63.0% +12.2%
1 year +56.1%+47.7%-48.1% +13.0%
3 years +113.8%+65.6%+41.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year +28.8%+18.3%+12.2% +23.1%
5 years +96.2%+2.1%-72.1% +68.6%
5 years, per year +14.4%+0.4%-22.5% +11.0%
10 years +260.9%—+46.2% +258.0%
10 years, per year +13.7%—+3.9% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCSCOFAIDNSPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.6%60.7%86.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 37.3%54.7%90.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.110.510.26 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.580.79-0.56 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.6%-61.1%-85.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -15.2%-11.9%-72.5% -1.8%
52-week high $130.00$24.12$8.99 $779.14
52-week low $71.04$8.95$2.14 $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.

MultipleCSCOFAIDN
P/E now vs peer median 32.8xmedian 32.0x 145.1xmedian 38.1x 15.9xmedian 38.1x
P/S now vs peer median 6.9xmedian 2.8x 2.2xmedian 4.3x 2.1xmedian 4.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 25.1xmedian 19.4x 12.6xmedian 35.4x 10.6xmedian 35.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 34.1xmedian 29.0x 14.6xmedian 27.1x 17.8xmedian 27.1x
P/B now vs peer median 8.7xmedian 2.9x 2.8xmedian 3.4x 2.2xmedian 3.4x
PEG now vs peer median 12.20median 1.13 -5.92median 1.27 0.39median 1.27

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 monthsCSCOFAIDN
Revenue $63.33B $1.66B $24.11M
Gross profit $40.86B $752.05M $21.96M
Operating income $15.37B $177.66M $2.85M
Net income $13.27B $25.14M $3.14M
Free cash flow $12.77B $248.96M $2.81M
R&D $9.56B $100.89M $5.28M
EPS (diluted) $3.33 $0.15 $0.15
Cash & equivalents $7.22B $237.90M $11.84M
Total debt $29.53B $2.03B –
Shares (diluted) 3.99B 173.23M 20.93M
Enterprise value $376.31B $2.70B $11.94M

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
MetricCSCOFAIDN
P/E 32.8x 145.1x 15.9x
P/FCF 34.1x 14.6x 17.8x
P/Operating cash flow 30.7x 14.0x 17.3x
P/S 6.9x 2.2x 2.1x
P/B 8.7x 2.8x 2.2x
P/Tangible book 10.2x 7.2x 2.4x
EV/EBITDA 25.1x 12.6x 10.6x
EV/EBIT 29.2x 30.6x 13.4x
EV/Revenue 7.1x 3.3x 1.6x
EV/FCF 35.1x 21.9x 13.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 31.6x 20.8x 13.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 12.20 -5.92 0.39

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCSCOFAIDN
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.8% 32.9% 16.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.6% 28.7% 11.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.1% 29.3% 17.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.6% 25.2% 10.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 30.7% 777.9% 361.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 0.7% 28.7% 41.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 30.3% 116.8% 442.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 1.7% -20.0% 41.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 30.7% 116.9% 423.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 2.7% -24.5% 40.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -0.1% 1,685% 93.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -10.7% 11.6% 44.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -3.9% 1,945% 94.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -12.5% 10.1% 43.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCSCOFAIDN
Gross margin 64.5% 45.2% 91.1%
EBITDA margin 28.3% 26.0% 15.0%
Operating margin 24.3% 10.7% 11.8%
Pretax margin 25.3% 2.2% 13.3%
Net margin 21.0% 1.5% 13.0%
FCF margin 20.2% 15.0% 11.7%
Operating cash flow margin 22.4% 15.7% 12.0%
Return on equity 26.8% 1.9% 14.3%
Return on assets 10.4% 0.7% 11.9%
Return on invested capital 15.9% 3.6% –
Return on capital employed 17.9% 5.0% 12.2%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.4x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.1x 10.4x 0.9x
Stock comp / revenue 6.0% 1.2% 3.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCSCOFAIDN
Debt / assets 22.8% 54.3% –
Debt / equity 0.6x 1.6x –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 4.1x –
Debt / FCF 2.3x 8.2x –
Liabilities / assets 61.2% 65.5% 12.0%
Equity / assets 38.8% 34.5% 88.0%
Interest coverage 10.5x – –
Current ratio 0.9x 2.5x 5.0x
Quick ratio 0.6x 2.4x 4.7x
Cash ratio 0.4x 1.0x 3.8x
Altman Z-score 4.16 1.52 4.42

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCSCOFAIDN
Dividend yield 1.5% 0.0% –
Net buyback yield 1.3% 0.9% –
Shareholder yield 2.8% 0.9% –
Payout ratio (earnings) – 0.4% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 0.0% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 29.2% –
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.

ConsensusCSCOFAIDN
Forward P/E 23.3xFY2027 17.3xFY2026 35.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.74FY2027 $1.23FY2026 $0.07FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +9.5%FY2027 +18.3%FY2026 +16.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +20.7% +30.9% -71.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $74.93BFY2027 $1.66BFY2026 $21.46MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +18.3%FY2027 +5.9%FY2026 -5.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.6% +2.4% -3.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCSCOFAIDN
Held by institutions 80.1% 100.0% 51.5%
Institutions holding 4,044 178 83
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.0% +4.9% -2.0%
Institutions buying 1,846 113 57
Institutions selling 1,816 41 17
Buyers to sellers 1.02 2.76 3.35

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.

CSCOFAIDN
CSCO 1.00 -0.12 0.04
FA -0.12 1.00 0.04
IDN 0.04 0.04 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CSCO, FA and IDN?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cisco Systems (CSCO) $440.38B, First Advantage (FA) $3.62B, Intellicheck (IDN) $50.71M.

Which stock is cheaper, CSCO, FA and IDN?

Intellicheck (IDN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 33.2x, First Advantage (FA) 144.0x, Intellicheck (IDN) 16.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, First Advantage (FA) is cheapest (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 23.3x, First Advantage (FA) 17.3x, Intellicheck (IDN) 35.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

First Advantage (FA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Cisco Systems (CSCO) +11.8%, First Advantage (FA) +32.9%, Intellicheck (IDN) +16.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) has the highest net margin (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 21.0%, First Advantage (FA) 1.5%, Intellicheck (IDN) 13.0%). On return on invested capital, Cisco Systems (CSCO) leads (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 15.9%, First Advantage (FA) 3.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Cisco Systems (CSCO) returned the most: Cisco Systems (CSCO) +56.1%, First Advantage (FA) +47.7%, Intellicheck (IDN) -48.1%. Over five years, Cisco Systems (CSCO) compounded fastest (Cisco Systems (CSCO) +14.4%/yr, First Advantage (FA) +0.4%/yr, Intellicheck (IDN) -22.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cisco Systems (CSCO) has been the steadiest (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 35.6%, First Advantage (FA) 60.7%, Intellicheck (IDN) 86.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CSCO, FA and IDN?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Cisco Systems (CSCO) leads on 7. 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.