CSCO vs FTNT vs CALX Stock Comparison

Cisco Systems, Fortinet and Calix Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CSCO Cisco Systems, Inc.
$106.50 +0.1% 1M +51.6% 1Y
Market cap
$436.07B
P/E
32.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$63.33B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
4 wins
FTNT Fortinet, Inc.
$179.99 +0.7% 1M +111.9% 1Y
Market cap
$134.37B
P/E
63.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.53B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
5 wins
CALX Calix, Inc
$36.50 +5.7% 1M -39.3% 1Y
Market cap
$2.40B
P/E
46.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.11B
Div. yield
–
Networking Equipment Technology
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Fortinet leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Fortinet 5, Cisco Systems 4, Calix 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCSCOFTNTCALXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $436.07B $134.37B $2.40B CSCO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 32.9x 63.4x 46.8x CSCO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.5x 50.3x 22.5x CSCO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.8% +18.8% +27.8% CALX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 21.0% 28.2% 4.6% FTNT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.9% 111.7% — FTNT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x -1.2x — FTNT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +51.6% +111.9% -39.3% FTNT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +14.1%/yr +21.8%/yr -7.5%/yr FTNT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.4% 42.7% 41.5% CSCO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 69/100 76/100 CALX

Percentile Scorecard

CSCOFTNTCALX

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

AxisCSCOFTNTCALX
Valuation 32 #77 of 112 49 #64 of 124 60 #45 of 112
Growth 40 #66 of 109 64 #41 of 113 82 #21 of 109
Profitability 88 #14 of 105 100 #1 of 110 64 #38 of 105
Financial Health 28 #84 of 117 55 #59 of 129 76 #29 of 117
Shareholder Returns 77 #20 of 82 76 #17 of 68 98 #3 of 82
Overall 53 69 76
  • CSCO ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • FTNT ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • CALX ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCSCOFTNTCALXSPY
1 month +0.1%+0.7%+5.7% -1.0%
3 months -6.7%+18.1%+1.4% +2.9%
6 months +19.6%+113.4%-15.9% +6.4%
Year to date +38.3%+126.7%-31.0% +11.4%
1 year +51.6%+111.9%-39.3% +13.1%
3 years +100.9%+212.8%+4.9% +79.4%
3 years, per year +26.2%+46.3%+1.6% +21.5%
5 years +93.2%+168.4%-32.2% +67.7%
5 years, per year +14.1%+21.8%-7.5% +10.9%
10 years +253.2%+2,730.0%+453.0% +255.2%
10 years, per year +13.5%+39.7%+18.7% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCSCOFTNTCALXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.4%42.7%41.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 37.3%37.6%43.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.090.970.86 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.462.62-0.95 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.6%-38.3%-65.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -18.1%-7.6%-46.7% -2.5%
52-week high $130.00$194.75$68.42 $779.14
52-week low $70.27$75.23$33.15 $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.

MultipleCSCOFTNTCALX
P/E now vs peer median 31.7xmedian 31.3x 62.2xmedian 37.4x 45.3xmedian 31.3x
P/S now vs peer median 6.6xmedian 2.6x 17.5xmedian 4.4x 2.1xmedian 2.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 24.2xmedian 19.6x 43.3xmedian 35.0x 26.6xmedian 19.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 32.9xmedian 28.3x 42.4xmedian 27.2x 26.9xmedian 28.3x
P/B now vs peer median 8.4xmedian 2.9x 85.1xmedian 3.4x 3.2xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 11.78median 1.15 2.14median 1.27 6.40median 1.15

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 monthsCSCOFTNTCALX
Revenue $63.33B $7.53B $1.11B
Gross profit $40.86B $6.04B $628.73M
Operating income $15.37B $2.44B $61.25M
Net income $13.27B $2.12B $51.19M
Free cash flow $12.77B $3.12B $85.42M
R&D $9.56B $846.40M $207.99M
EPS (diluted) $3.33 $2.87 $0.78
Cash & equivalents $7.22B $2.93B $68.91M
Total debt $29.53B $2.99B –
Shares (diluted) 3.99B 739.90M 65.51M
Enterprise value $371.99B $120.30B $1.23B

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
MetricCSCOFTNTCALX
P/E 31.7x 62.2x 45.3x
P/FCF 32.9x 42.4x 26.9x
P/Operating cash flow 29.6x 38.9x 21.0x
P/S 6.6x 17.5x 2.1x
P/B 8.4x 85.1x 3.2x
P/Tangible book 9.8x 89.6x 3.2x
EV/EBITDA 24.2x 43.3x 26.6x
EV/EBIT 28.2x 52.6x 34.4x
EV/Revenue 6.9x 17.1x 1.9x
EV/FCF 34.0x 41.2x 24.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 30.6x 37.8x 19.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 11.78 2.14 6.40

Growth

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

Profitability

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

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCSCOFTNTCALX
Debt / assets 22.8% 4.6% –
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.3x –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x -1.2x –
Debt / FCF 2.3x 0.2x –
Liabilities / assets 61.2% 85.7% 25.6%
Equity / assets 38.8% 14.3% 74.4%
Interest coverage 10.5x 135.7x –
Current ratio 0.9x 1.3x 2.8x
Quick ratio 0.6x 1.1x 1.6x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.8x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 4.05 10.06 7.00

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCSCOFTNTCALX
Dividend yield 1.6% – –
Net buyback yield 1.3% 2.1% 8.3%
Shareholder yield 2.9% 2.1% 8.3%
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.

ConsensusCSCOFTNTCALX
Forward P/E 22.5xFY2027 50.3xFY2026 22.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.74FY2027 $3.58FY2026 $1.62FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +9.5%FY2027 +29.7%FY2026 +20.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +20.7% +0.8% +48.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $74.93BFY2027 $8.38BFY2026 $1.11BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +18.3%FY2027 +23.2%FY2026 +11.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.6% +13.2% +18.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCSCOFTNTCALX
Held by institutions 80.1% 68.6% 94.5%
Institutions holding 4,044 1,567 288
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.0% +23.7% +0.5%
Institutions buying 1,846 854 148
Institutions selling 1,816 549 111
Buyers to sellers 1.02 1.56 1.33

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.

CSCOFTNTCALX
CSCO 1.00 0.26 0.21
FTNT 0.26 1.00 0.04
CALX 0.21 0.04 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CSCO, FTNT and CALX?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cisco Systems (CSCO) $436.07B, Fortinet (FTNT) $134.37B, Calix (CALX) $2.40B.

Which stock is cheaper, CSCO, FTNT and CALX?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 32.9x, Fortinet (FTNT) 63.4x, Calix (CALX) 46.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Cisco Systems (CSCO) is cheapest (Cisco Systems (CSCO) 22.5x, Fortinet (FTNT) 50.3x, Calix (CALX) 22.5x). 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: Cisco Systems (CSCO) +11.8%, Fortinet (FTNT) +18.8%, Calix (CALX) +27.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Fortinet (FTNT) returned the most: Cisco Systems (CSCO) +51.6%, Fortinet (FTNT) +111.9%, Calix (CALX) -39.3%. Over five years, Fortinet (FTNT) compounded fastest (Cisco Systems (CSCO) +14.1%/yr, Fortinet (FTNT) +21.8%/yr, Calix (CALX) -7.5%/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) 35.4%, Fortinet (FTNT) 42.7%, Calix (CALX) 41.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.