FFIV vs ZS Stock Comparison

F5 and Zscaler Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
FFIV F5, Inc.
$455.42 -0.1% 1M +50.9% 1Y
Market cap
$26.20B
P/E
36.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.31B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
4 wins
ZS Zscaler, Inc.
$255.15 +19.0% 1M -20.0% 1Y
Market cap
$41.78B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
1 win

Head to Head

5 decided of 12

F5 leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (F5 4, Zscaler 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionFFIVZSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $26.20B $41.78B ZS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 36.1x -647.0x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 28.0x 56.1x FFIV
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.4% — –
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 22.0% — –
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +50.9% -20.0% FFIV
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +17.0%/yr -3.7%/yr FFIV
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 35.1% 71.1% FFIV
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 64/100 — –

Percentile Scorecard

FFIVZS

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

AxisFFIVZS
Valuation 74 #33 of 124 17 #103 of 124
Growth 40 #68 of 113 –
Profitability 94 #8 of 110 –
Financial Health 52 #63 of 129 33 #87 of 129
Shareholder Returns 60 #28 of 68 –
Overall 64 –
  • FFIV ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • ZS ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodFFIVZSSPY
1 month -0.1%+19.0% -1.0%
3 months +16.1%+79.3% +2.9%
6 months +50.2%+88.3% +6.4%
Year to date +78.4%+13.4% +11.4%
1 year +50.9%-20.0% +13.1%
3 years +207.2%+54.8% +79.4%
3 years, per year +45.4%+15.7% +21.5%
5 years +118.7%-17.1% +67.7%
5 years, per year +17.0%-3.7% +10.9%
10 years +285.7%— +255.2%
10 years, per year +14.5%— +13.5%

Risk

MeasureFFIVZSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 35.1%71.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 34.6%83.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.040.96 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.45-0.28 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -47.4%-76.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -5.1%-24.1% -2.5%
52-week high $479.83$336.27 $779.14
52-week low $223.99$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.

MultipleFFIVZS
P/E now vs peer median 35.6xmedian 37.4x -647.0xmedian 37.4x
P/S now vs peer median 7.8xmedian 4.4x 12.4xmedian 4.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 26.7xmedian 35.0x —median 35.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.7xmedian 27.2x 48.8xmedian 27.2x
P/B now vs peer median 6.7xmedian 3.4x 16.0xmedian 3.4x
PEG now vs peer median 1.12median 1.27 —median 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 monthsFFIVZS
Revenue $3.31B –
Gross profit $2.71B –
Operating income $812.13M –
Net income $726.51M –
Free cash flow $969.60M –
R&D $593.25M –
EPS (diluted) $12.62 –
Cash & equivalents $1.61B $928.35M
Shares (diluted) 57.55M 160.22M
Enterprise value $20.60B $27.90B

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
MetricFFIVZS
P/E 35.6x -647.0x
P/FCF 26.7x 48.8x
P/Operating cash flow 24.7x –
P/S 7.8x 12.4x
P/B 6.7x 16.0x
P/Tangible book 6.7x 17.5x
EV/EBITDA 26.7x –
EV/EBIT 29.9x –
EV/Revenue 7.3x –
EV/FCF 25.0x –
EV/Operating cash flow 23.1x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.12 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricFFIVZS
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.4% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.7% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.5% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.1% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 8.1% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 25.8% –
Net income growth (1Y) 8.9% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 29.8% –
EPS growth (1Y) 10.7% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 31.9% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 6.2% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 19.3% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 1.5% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 19.3% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricFFIVZS
Gross margin 81.9% –
EBITDA margin 27.5% –
Operating margin 24.5% –
Pretax margin 25.8% –
Net margin 22.0% –
FCF margin 29.3% –
Operating cash flow margin 31.7% –
Return on equity 19.4% –
Return on assets 10.9% –
Return on invested capital – –
Return on capital employed 16.6% –
Asset turnover 0.5x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x –
Stock comp / revenue 7.6% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricFFIVZS
Debt / assets – –
Debt / equity – –
Net debt / EBITDA – –
Debt / FCF – –
Liabilities / assets 43.5% 67.0%
Equity / assets 56.5% 33.0%
Interest coverage – –
Current ratio 1.7x 1.7x
Quick ratio 1.5x 1.6x
Cash ratio 0.9x 1.2x
Altman Z-score 7.09 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricFFIVZS
Dividend yield – –
Net buyback yield 0.6% –
Shareholder yield 0.6% –
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.

ConsensusFFIVZS
Forward P/E 28.0xFY2026 56.1xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $16.24FY2026 $4.55FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +2.7%FY2026 +8.1%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +5.0% +27.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.52BFY2026 $4.07BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +13.8%FY2026 +21.5%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +6.4% +19.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersFFIVZS
Held by institutions 96.6% 51.4%
Institutions holding 831 734
Change in shares held, QoQ -2.6% -3.9%
Institutions buying 483 416
Institutions selling 240 236
Buyers to sellers 2.01 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.

FFIVZS
FFIV 1.00 0.34
ZS 0.34 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, FFIV and ZS?

Zscaler (ZS) is the largest by market capitalisation: F5 (FFIV) $26.20B, Zscaler (ZS) $41.78B.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year F5 (FFIV) returned the most: F5 (FFIV) +50.9%, Zscaler (ZS) -20.0%. Over five years, F5 (FFIV) compounded fastest (F5 (FFIV) +17.0%/yr, Zscaler (ZS) -3.7%/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%, Zscaler (ZS) 71.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do FFIV and ZS move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.34, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, FFIV 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 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.