FFIV vs PANW vs CHKP Stock Comparison

F5, Palo Alto Networks and Check Point Software Technologies 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
2 wins
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
4 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Palo Alto Networks leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Palo Alto Networks 4, Check Point Software Technologies 3, F5 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionFFIVPANWCHKPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $26.23B $318.22B $16.86B PANW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 36.0x 952.6x 16.3x CHKP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 28.4x 89.1x 16.3x CHKP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.4% +24.5% +4.6% PANW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 22.0% 2.7% 37.9% CHKP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +54.7% +79.8% -16.9% PANW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +16.4%/yr +36.6%/yr +6.2%/yr PANW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.1% 49.6% 42.1% FFIV
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 49/100 56/100 FFIV

Percentile Scorecard

FFIVPANWCHKP

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

AxisFFIVPANWCHKP
Valuation 75 #32 of 124 42 #72 of 124 90 #13 of 124
Growth 40 #68 of 113 37 #72 of 113 25 #85 of 113
Profitability 94 #8 of 110 76 #27 of 110 93 #9 of 110
Financial Health 52 #63 of 129 38 #81 of 129 –
Shareholder Returns 59 #28 of 67 52 #33 of 67 17 #56 of 67
Overall 64 49 56
  • FFIV ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • PANW ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • CHKP ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodFFIVPANWCHKPSPY
1 month +4.2%+4.2%+21.6% -0.8%
3 months +13.1%+23.0%+20.2% +3.5%
6 months +55.0%+113.5%+15.6% +7.0%
Year to date +80.8%+112.0%-14.0% +12.2%
1 year +54.7%+79.8%-16.9% +13.0%
3 years +208.2%+227.0%+21.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year +45.6%+48.5%+6.6% +23.1%
5 years +113.7%+375.4%+35.1% +68.6%
5 years, per year +16.4%+36.6%+6.2% +11.0%
10 years +286.1%+1,447.0%+102.4% +258.0%
10 years, per year +14.5%+31.5%+7.3% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureFFIVPANWCHKPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.1%49.6%42.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 34.6%46.9%49.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.081.250.00 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.561.61-0.40 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -47.4%-36.0%-51.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -3.8%-7.0%-21.9% -1.8%
52-week high $479.83$419.91$204.39 $779.14
52-week low $223.99$141.67$112.47 $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.

MultipleFFIVPANWCHKP
P/E now vs peer median 36.0xmedian 38.1x 952.6xmedian 38.1x 16.3xmedian 38.1x
P/S now vs peer median 7.9xmedian 4.3x 27.7xmedian 4.3x 6.1xmedian 4.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 27.1xmedian 35.4x 147.3xmedian 35.4x 16.2xmedian 35.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 27.1xmedian 27.1x 77.4xmedian 27.1x 14.6xmedian 27.1x
P/B now vs peer median 6.8xmedian 3.4x 11.6xmedian 3.4x —median 3.4x
PEG now vs peer median 1.13median 1.27 -65.83median 1.27 1.28median 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 monthsFFIVPANWCHKP
Revenue $3.31B $11.48B $2.76B
Gross profit $2.71B $8.08B $2.38B
Operating income $812.13M $695.00M $802.20M
Net income $726.51M $307.00M $1.05B
Free cash flow $969.60M $4.11B $1.16B
R&D $593.25M $2.55B $463.70M
EPS (diluted) $12.62 $0.40 $9.54
Cash & equivalents $1.61B $2.51B $596.30M
Shares (diluted) 57.55M 764.00M 109.91M
Enterprise value $20.64B $303.30B $7.87B

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
MetricFFIVPANWCHKP
P/E 36.0x 952.6x 16.3x
P/FCF 27.1x 77.4x 14.6x
P/Operating cash flow 25.0x 69.9x 14.8x
P/S 7.9x 27.7x 6.1x
P/B 6.8x 11.6x –
P/Tangible book 6.8x 15.5x –
EV/EBITDA 27.1x 147.3x 16.2x
EV/EBIT 30.3x 453.5x 17.9x
EV/Revenue 7.4x 27.5x 5.2x
EV/FCF 25.4x 76.6x 12.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 23.5x 69.2x 12.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.13 -65.83 1.28

Growth

14 metrics
MetricFFIVPANWCHKP
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.4% 24.5% 4.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.7% 18.5% 5.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.5% 19.3% 3.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.1% 17.5% 4.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 8.1% -44.1% -8.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 25.8% 21.5% -3.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 8.9% -72.9% 22.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 29.8% -11.3% 7.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 10.7% -74.9% 26.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 31.9% -14.5% 12.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 6.2% 22.5% -3.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 19.3% 17.9% 2.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 1.5% 18.6% -3.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 19.3% 16.1% 2.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricFFIVPANWCHKP
Gross margin 81.9% 70.4% 86.1%
EBITDA margin 27.5% 18.6% 32.0%
Operating margin 24.5% 6.1% 29.0%
Pretax margin 25.8% 4.7% 34.1%
Net margin 22.0% 2.7% 37.9%
FCF margin 29.3% 35.8% 41.8%
Operating cash flow margin 31.7% 39.7% 41.2%
Return on equity 19.4% 1.1% –
Return on assets 10.9% 0.6% 13.9%
Return on invested capital – – –
Return on capital employed 16.6% 1.9% –
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.2x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 14.8x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 7.6% 15.5% 8.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricFFIVPANWCHKP
Debt / assets – – –
Debt / equity – – –
Net debt / EBITDA – – –
Debt / FCF – – –
Liabilities / assets 43.5% 43.3% –
Equity / assets 56.5% 56.7% –
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 1.7x 0.9x –
Quick ratio 1.5x 0.7x –
Cash ratio 0.9x 0.3x –
Altman Z-score 7.16 9.44 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricFFIVPANWCHKP
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 0.6% -0.1% -4.8%
Shareholder yield 0.6% -0.1% -4.8%
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.

ConsensusFFIVPANWCHKP
Forward P/E 28.4xFY2026 89.1xFY2027 16.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $16.24FY2026 $4.38FY2027 $9.77FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +2.7%FY2026 +14.1%FY2027 -17.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.0% +16.2% +18.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.52BFY2026 $13.37BFY2027 $2.72BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.8%FY2026 +16.5%FY2027 -0.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +6.4% +12.7% +2.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersFFIVPANWCHKP
Held by institutions 96.6% 82.1% 69.5%
Institutions holding 831 2,912 633
Change in shares held, QoQ -2.6% +6.6% +1.7%
Institutions buying 483 1,545 285
Institutions selling 240 1,125 259
Buyers to sellers 2.01 1.37 1.10

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.

FFIVPANWCHKP
FFIV 1.00 0.36 0.23
PANW 0.36 1.00 0.41
CHKP 0.23 0.41 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, FFIV, PANW and CHKP?

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is the largest by market capitalisation: F5 (FFIV) $26.23B, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) $318.22B, Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP) $16.86B.

Which stock is cheaper, FFIV, PANW and CHKP?

Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (F5 (FFIV) 36.0x, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 952.6x, Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP) 16.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP) is cheapest (F5 (FFIV) 28.4x, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 89.1x, Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP) 16.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: F5 (FFIV) +9.4%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +24.5%, Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP) +4.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP) has the highest net margin (F5 (FFIV) 22.0%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 2.7%, Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP) 37.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Palo Alto Networks (PANW) returned the most: F5 (FFIV) +54.7%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +79.8%, Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP) -16.9%. Over five years, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) compounded fastest (F5 (FFIV) +16.4%/yr, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +36.6%/yr, Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP) +6.2%/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%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 49.6%, Check Point Software Technologies (CHKP) 42.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) leads on 4. 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.