FA vs CSCO vs OKTA Stock Comparison

First Advantage, Cisco Systems and Okta Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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FA First Advantage Corp
$21.25 +6.3% 1M +47.4% 1Y
Market cap
$3.65B
P/E
145.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.66B
Div. yield
0.00%
Identity and Access Management Technology
2 wins
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
7 wins
OKTA Okta, Inc.
$213.05 +3.7% 1M +140.6% 1Y
Market cap
$38.35B
P/E
129.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.07B
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, First Advantage 2, Okta 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionFACSCOOKTALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.65B $436.07B $38.35B CSCO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 145.1x 32.9x 129.6x CSCO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.3x 22.5x 57.7x FA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +32.9% +11.8% +11.2% FA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 1.5% 21.0% 9.6% CSCO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.6% 15.9% 3.0% CSCO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.1x 0.8x — CSCO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +47.4% +51.6% +140.6% OKTA
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -0.2%/yr +14.1%/yr -3.9%/yr CSCO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 60.6% 35.4% 65.1% CSCO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 66/100 53/100 70/100 OKTA

Percentile Scorecard

FACSCOOKTA

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

AxisFACSCOOKTA
Valuation 86 #18 of 124 32 #77 of 112 59 #52 of 124
Growth 85 #18 of 113 40 #66 of 109 76 #28 of 113
Profitability 73 #30 of 110 88 #14 of 105 80 #23 of 110
Financial Health 24 #98 of 129 28 #84 of 117 70 #39 of 129
Shareholder Returns 63 #26 of 68 77 #20 of 82 66 #24 of 68
Overall 66 53 70
  • FA ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • CSCO ranked among 122 companies in Computer Hardware
  • OKTA ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodFACSCOOKTASPY
1 month +6.3%+0.1%+3.7% -1.0%
3 months +8.2%-6.7%+53.8% +2.9%
6 months +70.5%+19.6%+180.4% +6.4%
Year to date +46.2%+38.3%+146.4% +11.4%
1 year +47.4%+51.6%+140.6% +13.1%
3 years +59.4%+100.9%+196.3% +79.4%
3 years, per year +16.8%+26.2%+43.7% +21.5%
5 years -1.2%+93.2%-18.2% +67.7%
5 years, per year -0.2%+14.1%-3.9% +10.9%
10 years —+253.2%— +255.2%
10 years, per year —+13.5%— +13.5%

Risk

MeasureFACSCOOKTASPY
Volatility, 1Y 60.6%35.4%65.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 54.2%37.3%54.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.491.091.34 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.781.462.16 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -61.1%-38.6%-83.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.9%-18.1%-8.2% -2.5%
52-week high $24.12$130.00$232.13 $779.14
52-week low $8.95$70.27$62.93 $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.

MultipleFACSCOOKTA
P/E now vs peer median 145.1xmedian 37.4x 31.7xmedian 31.3x 125.5xmedian 37.4x
P/S now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 4.4x 6.6xmedian 2.6x 11.6xmedian 4.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.6xmedian 35.0x 24.2xmedian 19.6x 67.4xmedian 35.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 14.6xmedian 27.2x 32.9xmedian 28.3x 36.4xmedian 27.2x
P/B now vs peer median 2.8xmedian 3.4x 8.4xmedian 2.9x 5.1xmedian 3.4x
PEG now vs peer median -5.92median 1.27 11.78median 1.15 3.59median 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 monthsFACSCOOKTA
Revenue $1.66B $63.33B $3.07B
Gross profit $752.05M $40.86B $2.40B
Operating income $177.66M $15.37B $232.00M
Net income $25.14M $13.27B $296.00M
Free cash flow $248.96M $12.77B $979.00M
R&D $100.89M $9.56B $651.00M
EPS (diluted) $0.15 $3.33 $1.66
Cash & equivalents $237.90M $7.22B $763.00M
Total debt $6.75B $29.53B $1.05B
Shares (diluted) 173.23M 3.99B 178.81M
Enterprise value $2.73B $371.99B $28.45B

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
MetricFACSCOOKTA
P/E 145.1x 31.7x 125.5x
P/FCF 14.6x 32.9x 36.4x
P/Operating cash flow 14.0x 29.6x 36.1x
P/S 2.2x 6.6x 11.6x
P/B 2.8x 8.4x 5.1x
P/Tangible book 7.2x 9.8x 5.2x
EV/EBITDA 12.6x 24.2x 67.4x
EV/EBIT 30.6x 28.2x 143.6x
EV/Revenue 3.3x 6.9x 10.8x
EV/FCF 21.9x 34.0x 34.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 20.8x 30.6x 33.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -5.92 11.78 3.59

Growth

14 metrics
MetricFACSCOOKTA
Revenue growth (1Y) 32.9% 11.8% 11.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 28.7% 3.6% 14.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 29.3% 11.1% 13.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 25.2% 4.6% 17.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 777.9% 30.7% 222.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 28.7% 0.7% 32.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 116.8% 30.3% 76.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -20.0% 1.7% 35.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 116.9% 30.7% 78.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -24.5% 2.7% 34.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 1,685% -0.1% 15.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.6% -10.7% 54.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 1,945% -3.9% 15.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.1% -12.5% 55.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricFACSCOOKTA
Gross margin 45.2% 64.5% 78.1%
EBITDA margin 26.0% 28.3% 16.1%
Operating margin 10.7% 24.3% 7.5%
Pretax margin 2.2% 25.3% 10.5%
Net margin 1.5% 21.0% 9.6%
FCF margin 15.0% 20.2% 31.9%
Operating cash flow margin 15.7% 22.4% 32.1%
Return on equity 1.9% 26.8% 4.3%
Return on assets 0.7% 10.4% 3.2%
Return on invested capital 3.6% 15.9% 3.0%
Return on capital employed 5.0% 17.9% 3.2%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.5x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 10.4x 1.1x 3.3x
Stock comp / revenue 1.2% 6.0% 16.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricFACSCOOKTA
Debt / assets 54.3% 22.8% –
Debt / equity 1.6x 0.6x –
Net debt / EBITDA 4.1x 0.8x –
Debt / FCF 8.2x 2.3x –
Liabilities / assets 65.5% 61.2% 23.7%
Equity / assets 34.5% 38.8% 76.3%
Interest coverage – 10.5x 2.5x
Current ratio 2.5x 0.9x 1.5x
Quick ratio 2.4x 0.6x 1.4x
Cash ratio 1.0x 0.4x 1.1x
Altman Z-score 1.52 4.05 10.06

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricFACSCOOKTA
Dividend yield 0.0% 1.6% –
Net buyback yield 0.9% 1.3% 0.9%
Shareholder yield 0.9% 2.9% 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.

ConsensusFACSCOOKTA
Forward P/E 17.3xFY2026 22.5xFY2027 57.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.23FY2026 $4.74FY2027 $3.69FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +18.3%FY2026 +9.5%FY2027 +5.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +30.9% +20.7% +21.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.66BFY2026 $74.93BFY2027 $3.37BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.9%FY2026 +18.3%FY2027 +15.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +2.4% +0.6% +1.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersFACSCOOKTA
Held by institutions 100.0% 80.1% 90.0%
Institutions holding 178 4,044 820
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.9% +5.0% +0.7%
Institutions buying 113 1,846 451
Institutions selling 41 1,816 287
Buyers to sellers 2.76 1.02 1.57

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.

FACSCOOKTA
FA 1.00 -0.12 0.25
CSCO -0.12 1.00 0.13
OKTA 0.25 0.13 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, FA, CSCO and OKTA?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) is the largest by market capitalisation: First Advantage (FA) $3.65B, Cisco Systems (CSCO) $436.07B, Okta (OKTA) $38.35B.

Which stock is cheaper, FA, CSCO and OKTA?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (First Advantage (FA) 145.1x, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 32.9x, Okta (OKTA) 129.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, First Advantage (FA) is cheapest (First Advantage (FA) 17.3x, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 22.5x, Okta (OKTA) 57.7x). 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: First Advantage (FA) +32.9%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +11.8%, Okta (OKTA) +11.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cisco Systems (CSCO) has the highest net margin (First Advantage (FA) 1.5%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 21.0%, Okta (OKTA) 9.6%). On return on invested capital, Cisco Systems (CSCO) leads (First Advantage (FA) 3.6%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 15.9%, Okta (OKTA) 3.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Okta (OKTA) returned the most: First Advantage (FA) +47.4%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +51.6%, Okta (OKTA) +140.6%. Over five years, Cisco Systems (CSCO) compounded fastest (First Advantage (FA) -0.2%/yr, Cisco Systems (CSCO) +14.1%/yr, Okta (OKTA) -3.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cisco Systems (CSCO) has been the steadiest (First Advantage (FA) 60.6%, Cisco Systems (CSCO) 35.4%, Okta (OKTA) 65.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.