FFIV vs AXON vs ZS Stock Comparison

F5, Axon Enterprise and Zscaler Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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FFIV F5, Inc.
$311.74 -33.6% 1M +26.5% 1Y
Market cap
$17.71B
P/E
24.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.31B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
6 wins
AXON Axon Enterprise, Inc.
$382.56 -8.6% 1M -40.2% 1Y
Market cap
$31.08B
P/E
154.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.22B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
2 wins
ZS Zscaler, Inc.
$203.88 -3.9% 1M -37.1% 1Y
Market cap
$33.24B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$3.35B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
1 win

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

F5 leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (F5 6, Axon Enterprise 2, Zscaler 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionFFIVAXONZSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $17.71B $31.08B $33.24B ZS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 24.3x 154.7x -517.0x FFIV
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.2x 48.1x 44.8x FFIV
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.4% +34.6% +25.4% AXON
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 22.0% 6.2% -1.9% 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 +26.5% -40.2% -37.1% FFIV
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +7.1%/yr +15.9%/yr -9.6%/yr AXON
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.1% 61.7% 72.0% FFIV
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 66/100 46/100 53/100 FFIV

Percentile Scorecard

FFIVAXONZS

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

AxisFFIVAXONZS
Valuation 81 #24 of 124 36 #80 of 124 53 #59 of 124
Growth 41 #68 of 114 53 #54 of 114 66 #40 of 114
Profitability 95 #7 of 111 58 #47 of 111 62 #43 of 111
Financial Health 50 #64 of 128 35 #83 of 128 39 #79 of 128
Shareholder Returns 63 #28 of 74 – 47 #40 of 74
Overall 66 46 53
  • FFIV ranked among 136 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • AXON ranked among 136 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • ZS ranked among 136 companies in Infrastructure Software

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodFFIVAXONZSSPY
1 month -33.6%-8.6%-3.9% -5.9%
3 months -24.5%-26.8%+25.4% -4.6%
6 months -9.6%-10.4%+33.4% +0.2%
Year to date +22.1%-32.6%-9.4% +7.5%
1 year +26.5%-40.2%-37.1% +8.2%
3 years +101.7%+76.4%+24.7% +68.3%
3 years, per year +26.4%+20.8%+7.6% +19.0%
5 years +40.6%+109.5%-39.8% +56.5%
5 years, per year +7.1%+15.9%-9.6% +9.4%
10 years +129.7%+1,640.5%— +251.5%
10 years, per year +8.7%+33.1%— +13.4%

Risk

MeasureFFIVAXONZSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.1%61.7%72.0% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 48.6%61.9%83.5% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.111.621.11 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.63-0.65-0.51 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -47.4%-60.3%-76.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -35.0%-40.8%-38.5% -5.9%
52-week high $479.83$645.72$331.29 $779.14
52-week low $223.99$345.94$118.05 $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.

MultipleFFIVAXONZS
P/E now vs peer median 24.3xmedian 39.4x 154.7xmedian 39.4x -517.0xmedian 39.4x
P/S now vs peer median 5.4xmedian 4.0x 9.7xmedian 4.0x 9.9xmedian 4.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.7xmedian 34.1x 241.4xmedian 34.1x 113.4xmedian 34.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median 18.3xmedian 22.7x 233.3xmedian 22.7x 39.0xmedian 22.7x
P/B now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 2.9x 8.5xmedian 2.9x 12.8xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 0.76median 1.32 6.75median 1.32 -15.04median 1.32

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 monthsFFIVAXONZS
Revenue $3.31B $3.22B $3.35B
Gross profit $2.71B $1.91B $2.57B
Operating income $812.13M $23.77M -$133.27M
Net income $726.51M $199.30M -$63.18M
Free cash flow $969.60M $133.19M $852.35M
R&D $593.25M $768.36M $903.40M
EPS (diluted) $12.62 $2.41 $-0.39
Cash & equivalents $1.61B $597.70M $928.35M
Total debt – $1.73B –
Shares (diluted) 57.55M 82.54M 160.22M
Enterprise value $12.12B $25.60B $19.40B

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
MetricFFIVAXONZS
P/E 24.3x 154.7x -517.0x
P/FCF 18.3x 233.3x 39.0x
P/Operating cash flow 16.9x 116.9x 29.4x
P/S 5.4x 9.7x 9.9x
P/B 4.6x 8.5x 12.8x
P/Tangible book 4.6x 9.2x 13.9x
EV/EBITDA 17.7x 241.4x 113.4x
EV/EBIT 19.8x 1,352x -223.4x
EV/Revenue 4.9x 10.0x 8.9x
EV/FCF 16.6x 241.3x 34.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 15.4x 120.9x 26.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.76 6.75 -15.04

Growth

14 metrics
MetricFFIVAXONZS
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.4% 34.6% 25.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.7% 33.2% 27.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.5% 32.2% 25.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.1% 32.0% 27.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 8.1% 1,682% -3.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 25.8% -40.2% 17.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 8.9% -38.9% -52.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 29.8% 26.5% 32.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 10.7% -39.3% -46.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 31.9% 22.9% 34.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 6.2% -3.5% 16.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 19.3% 18.8% 34.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 1.5% -24.5% 5.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 19.3% 6.3% 32.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricFFIVAXONZS
Gross margin 81.9% 59.4% 76.8%
EBITDA margin 27.5% 4.1% 7.8%
Operating margin 24.5% 0.7% -4.0%
Pretax margin 25.8% 5.7% -0.5%
Net margin 22.0% 6.2% -1.9%
FCF margin 29.3% 4.1% 25.4%
Operating cash flow margin 31.7% 8.3% 33.7%
Return on equity 19.4% 5.5% -2.5%
Return on assets 10.9% 2.7% -0.8%
Return on invested capital – 0.4% –
Return on capital employed 16.6% 0.4% -2.9%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.4x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.3x -17.9x
Stock comp / revenue 7.6% 19.7% 24.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricFFIVAXONZS
Debt / assets – 23.1% –
Debt / equity – 0.5x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 7.9x –
Debt / FCF – 13.0x –
Liabilities / assets 43.5% 50.9% 67.0%
Equity / assets 56.5% 49.1% 33.0%
Interest coverage – 0.2x -11.3x
Current ratio 1.7x 2.1x 1.7x
Quick ratio 1.5x 1.6x 1.6x
Cash ratio 0.9x 0.5x 1.2x
Altman Z-score 5.44 5.81 4.25

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricFFIVAXONZS
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 0.9% – -0.2%
Shareholder yield 0.9% – -0.2%
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.

ConsensusFFIVAXONZS
Forward P/E 19.2xFY2026 48.1xFY2026 44.8xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $16.24FY2026 $7.95FY2026 $4.55FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +2.7%FY2026 +16.1%FY2026 +8.1%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +5.0% +29.3% +27.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.52BFY2026 $3.57BFY2026 $4.07BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +13.8%FY2026 +28.3%FY2026 +21.5%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +6.4% +41.7% +19.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersFFIVAXONZS
Held by institutions 96.6% 88.7% 51.1%
Institutions holding 833 1,121 737
Change in shares held, QoQ -2.6% +8.1% -3.9%
Institutions buying 484 670 418
Institutions selling 240 324 237
Buyers to sellers 2.02 2.07 1.76

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.

FFIVAXONZS
FFIV 1.00 0.15 0.33
AXON 0.15 1.00 0.38
ZS 0.33 0.38 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, FFIV, AXON and ZS?

Zscaler (ZS) is the largest by market capitalisation: F5 (FFIV) $17.71B, Axon Enterprise (AXON) $31.08B, Zscaler (ZS) $33.24B.

Which stock is cheaper, FFIV, AXON and ZS?

F5 (FFIV) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (F5 (FFIV) 24.3x, Axon Enterprise (AXON) 154.7x, Zscaler (ZS) -517.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, F5 (FFIV) is cheapest (F5 (FFIV) 19.2x, Axon Enterprise (AXON) 48.1x, Zscaler (ZS) 44.8x). 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%, Zscaler (ZS) +25.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

F5 (FFIV) has the highest net margin (F5 (FFIV) 22.0%, Axon Enterprise (AXON) 6.2%, Zscaler (ZS) -1.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year F5 (FFIV) returned the most: F5 (FFIV) +26.5%, Axon Enterprise (AXON) -40.2%, Zscaler (ZS) -37.1%. Over five years, Axon Enterprise (AXON) compounded fastest (F5 (FFIV) +7.1%/yr, Axon Enterprise (AXON) +15.9%/yr, Zscaler (ZS) -9.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, F5 (FFIV) has been the steadiest (F5 (FFIV) 42.1%, Axon Enterprise (AXON) 61.7%, Zscaler (ZS) 72.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 6. 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.