FFIV vs AXON vs PANW Stock Comparison

F5, Axon Enterprise and Palo Alto Networks Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
FFIV F5, Inc.
$461.60 +4.2% 1M +54.7% 1Y
Market cap
$26.23B
P/E
36.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.31B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
5 wins
AXON Axon Enterprise, Inc.
$424.77 -1.2% 1M -42.3% 1Y
Market cap
$34.51B
P/E
171.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.22B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
1 win
PANW Palo Alto Networks Inc
$390.46 +4.2% 1M +79.8% 1Y
Market cap
$318.22B
P/E
952.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.48B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
3 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

F5 leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (F5 5, Palo Alto Networks 3, Axon Enterprise 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionFFIVAXONPANWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $26.23B $34.51B $318.22B PANW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 36.0x 171.7x 952.6x FFIV
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 28.4x 53.4x 89.1x FFIV
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.4% +34.6% +24.5% AXON
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 22.0% 6.2% 2.7% FFIV
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 0.4% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 7.9x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +54.7% -42.3% +79.8% PANW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +16.4%/yr +19.2%/yr +36.6%/yr PANW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.1% 61.6% 49.6% FFIV
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 48/100 49/100 FFIV

Percentile Scorecard

FFIVAXONPANW

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

AxisFFIVAXONPANW
Valuation 75 #32 of 124 40 #75 of 124 42 #72 of 124
Growth 40 #68 of 113 57 #49 of 113 37 #72 of 113
Profitability 94 #8 of 110 60 #45 of 110 76 #27 of 110
Financial Health 52 #63 of 129 34 #86 of 129 38 #81 of 129
Shareholder Returns 59 #28 of 67 – 52 #33 of 67
Overall 64 48 49
  • FFIV ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • AXON ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • PANW ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodFFIVAXONPANWSPY
1 month +4.2%-1.2%+4.2% -0.8%
3 months +13.1%-19.2%+23.0% +3.5%
6 months +55.0%+5.5%+113.5% +7.0%
Year to date +80.8%-25.2%+112.0% +12.2%
1 year +54.7%-42.3%+79.8% +13.0%
3 years +208.2%+111.6%+227.0% +86.3%
3 years, per year +45.6%+28.4%+48.5% +23.1%
5 years +113.7%+140.9%+375.4% +68.6%
5 years, per year +16.4%+19.2%+36.6% +11.0%
10 years +286.1%+1,747.6%+1,447.0% +258.0%
10 years, per year +14.5%+33.9%+31.5% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureFFIVAXONPANWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.1%61.6%49.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 34.6%61.8%46.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.081.561.25 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.56-0.691.61 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -47.4%-60.3%-36.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.8%-44.1%-7.0% -1.8%
52-week high $479.83$759.44$419.91 $779.14
52-week low $223.99$345.94$141.67 $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.

MultipleFFIVAXONPANW
P/E now vs peer median 36.0xmedian 38.1x 171.7xmedian 38.1x 952.6xmedian 38.1x
P/S now vs peer median 7.9xmedian 4.3x 10.7xmedian 4.3x 27.7xmedian 4.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 27.1xmedian 35.4x 267.1xmedian 35.4x 147.3xmedian 35.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 27.1xmedian 27.1x 259.1xmedian 27.1x 77.4xmedian 27.1x
P/B now vs peer median 6.8xmedian 3.4x 9.4xmedian 3.4x 11.6xmedian 3.4x
PEG now vs peer median 1.13median 1.27 7.49median 1.27 -65.83median 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 monthsFFIVAXONPANW
Revenue $3.31B $3.22B $11.48B
Gross profit $2.71B $1.91B $8.08B
Operating income $812.13M $23.77M $695.00M
Net income $726.51M $199.30M $307.00M
Free cash flow $969.60M $133.19M $4.11B
R&D $593.25M $768.36M $2.55B
EPS (diluted) $12.62 $2.41 $0.40
Cash & equivalents $1.61B $597.70M $2.51B
Total debt – $1.73B –
Shares (diluted) 57.55M 82.54M 764.00M
Enterprise value $20.64B $29.03B $303.30B

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
MetricFFIVAXONPANW
P/E 36.0x 171.7x 952.6x
P/FCF 27.1x 259.1x 77.4x
P/Operating cash flow 25.0x 129.8x 69.9x
P/S 7.9x 10.7x 27.7x
P/B 6.8x 9.4x 11.6x
P/Tangible book 6.8x 10.2x 15.5x
EV/EBITDA 27.1x 267.1x 147.3x
EV/EBIT 30.3x 1,496x 453.5x
EV/Revenue 7.4x 11.0x 27.5x
EV/FCF 25.4x 267.0x 76.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 23.5x 133.8x 69.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.13 7.49 -65.83

Growth

14 metrics
MetricFFIVAXONPANW
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.4% 34.6% 24.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.7% 33.2% 18.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.5% 32.2% 19.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.1% 32.0% 17.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 8.1% 1,682% -44.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 25.8% -40.2% 21.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 8.9% -38.9% -72.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 29.8% 26.5% -11.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 10.7% -39.3% -74.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 31.9% 22.9% -14.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 6.2% -3.5% 22.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 19.3% 18.8% 17.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 1.5% -24.5% 18.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 19.3% 6.3% 16.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricFFIVAXONPANW
Gross margin 81.9% 59.4% 70.4%
EBITDA margin 27.5% 4.1% 18.6%
Operating margin 24.5% 0.7% 6.1%
Pretax margin 25.8% 5.7% 4.7%
Net margin 22.0% 6.2% 2.7%
FCF margin 29.3% 4.1% 35.8%
Operating cash flow margin 31.7% 8.3% 39.7%
Return on equity 19.4% 5.5% 1.1%
Return on assets 10.9% 2.7% 0.6%
Return on invested capital – 0.4% –
Return on capital employed 16.6% 0.4% 1.9%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.4x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.3x 14.8x
Stock comp / revenue 7.6% 19.7% 15.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricFFIVAXONPANW
Debt / assets – 23.1% –
Debt / equity – 0.5x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 7.9x –
Debt / FCF – 13.0x –
Liabilities / assets 43.5% 50.9% 43.3%
Equity / assets 56.5% 49.1% 56.7%
Interest coverage – 0.2x –
Current ratio 1.7x 2.1x 0.9x
Quick ratio 1.5x 1.6x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.9x 0.5x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 7.16 6.35 9.44

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricFFIVAXONPANW
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 0.6% – -0.1%
Shareholder yield 0.6% – -0.1%
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.

ConsensusFFIVAXONPANW
Forward P/E 28.4xFY2026 53.4xFY2026 89.1xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $16.24FY2026 $7.95FY2026 $4.38FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +2.7%FY2026 +16.1%FY2026 +14.1%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +5.0% +29.2% +16.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.52BFY2026 $3.57BFY2026 $13.37BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +13.8%FY2026 +28.3%FY2026 +16.5%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +6.4% +41.4% +12.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersFFIVAXONPANW
Held by institutions 96.6% 88.7% 82.1%
Institutions holding 831 1,117 2,912
Change in shares held, QoQ -2.6% +8.0% +6.6%
Institutions buying 483 666 1,545
Institutions selling 240 324 1,125
Buyers to sellers 2.01 2.06 1.37

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.

FFIVAXONPANW
FFIV 1.00 0.13 0.36
AXON 0.13 1.00 0.33
PANW 0.36 0.33 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, FFIV, AXON and PANW?

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is the largest by market capitalisation: F5 (FFIV) $26.23B, Axon Enterprise (AXON) $34.51B, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) $318.22B.

Which stock is cheaper, FFIV, AXON and PANW?

F5 (FFIV) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (F5 (FFIV) 36.0x, Axon Enterprise (AXON) 171.7x, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 952.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, F5 (FFIV) is cheapest (F5 (FFIV) 28.4x, Axon Enterprise (AXON) 53.4x, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 89.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Axon Enterprise (AXON) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: F5 (FFIV) +9.4%, Axon Enterprise (AXON) +34.6%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +24.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

F5 (FFIV) has the highest net margin (F5 (FFIV) 22.0%, Axon Enterprise (AXON) 6.2%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 2.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Palo Alto Networks (PANW) returned the most: F5 (FFIV) +54.7%, Axon Enterprise (AXON) -42.3%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +79.8%. Over five years, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) compounded fastest (F5 (FFIV) +16.4%/yr, Axon Enterprise (AXON) +19.2%/yr, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +36.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, F5 (FFIV) has been the steadiest (F5 (FFIV) 35.1%, Axon Enterprise (AXON) 61.6%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 49.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, FFIV, AXON and PANW?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, F5 (FFIV) 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.