FTNT vs GEN vs PANW Stock Comparison

Fortinet, Gen Digital and Palo Alto Networks Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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FTNT Fortinet, Inc.
$179.99 +0.7% 1M +111.9% 1Y
Market cap
$134.37B
P/E
63.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.53B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
4 wins
GEN Gen Digital Inc.
$24.88 -5.1% 1M -8.5% 1Y
Market cap
$14.59B
P/E
13.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.08B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
4 wins
PANW Palo Alto Networks Inc
$380.55 -3.2% 1M +77.0% 1Y
Market cap
$292.69B
P/E
953.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.48B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Gen Digital leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Gen Digital 4, Fortinet 4, Palo Alto Networks 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionFTNTGENPANWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $134.37B $14.59B $292.69B PANW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 63.4x 13.9x 953.4x GEN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 50.3x 8.1x 86.9x GEN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +18.8% +20.2% +24.5% PANW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 28.2% 20.7% 2.7% FTNT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 111.7% 13.4% — FTNT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -1.2x 2.9x — FTNT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +111.9% -8.5% +77.0% FTNT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +21.8%/yr -1.4%/yr +35.3%/yr PANW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.7% 40.3% 49.5% GEN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 69/100 70/100 49/100 GEN

Percentile Scorecard

FTNTGENPANW

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

AxisFTNTGENPANW
Valuation 49 #64 of 124 88 #16 of 124 42 #72 of 124
Growth 64 #41 of 113 61 #45 of 113 37 #72 of 113
Profitability 100 #1 of 110 95 #6 of 110 76 #27 of 110
Financial Health 55 #59 of 129 15 #110 of 129 38 #81 of 129
Shareholder Returns 76 #17 of 68 93 #6 of 68 54 #32 of 68
Overall 69 70 49
  • FTNT ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • GEN 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

PeriodFTNTGENPANWSPY
1 month +0.7%-5.1%-3.2% -1.0%
3 months +18.1%-3.7%+17.5% +2.9%
6 months +113.4%+30.7%+113.1% +6.4%
Year to date +126.7%-8.5%+106.6% +11.4%
1 year +111.9%-8.5%+77.0% +13.1%
3 years +212.8%+45.8%+201.9% +79.4%
3 years, per year +46.3%+13.4%+44.6% +21.5%
5 years +168.4%-6.7%+352.9% +67.7%
5 years, per year +21.8%-1.4%+35.3% +10.9%
10 years +2,730.0%+3.3%+1,420.4% +255.2%
10 years, per year +39.7%+0.3%+31.3% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureFTNTGENPANWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.7%40.3%49.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 37.6%41.0%46.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.970.831.24 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.62-0.211.56 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.3%-49.7%-36.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.6%-20.8%-9.4% -2.5%
52-week high $194.75$31.41$419.91 $779.14
52-week low $75.23$17.89$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.

MultipleFTNTGENPANW
P/E now vs peer median 62.2xmedian 37.4x 14.2xmedian 37.4x 928.4xmedian 37.4x
P/S now vs peer median 17.5xmedian 4.4x 2.9xmedian 4.4x 27.0xmedian 4.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 43.3xmedian 35.0x 8.6xmedian 35.0x 143.5xmedian 35.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 42.4xmedian 27.2x 9.6xmedian 27.2x 75.4xmedian 27.2x
P/B now vs peer median 85.1xmedian 3.4x 5.6xmedian 3.4x 11.3xmedian 3.4x
PEG now vs peer median 2.14median 1.27 -2.68median 1.27 -64.15median 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 monthsFTNTGENPANW
Revenue $7.53B $5.08B $11.48B
Gross profit $6.04B $3.96B $8.08B
Operating income $2.44B $2.12B $695.00M
Net income $2.12B $1.05B $307.00M
Free cash flow $3.12B $1.55B $4.11B
R&D $846.40M $418.00M $2.55B
EPS (diluted) $2.87 $1.75 $0.40
Cash & equivalents $2.93B $564.00M $2.51B
Total debt $2.99B $8.16B –
Shares (diluted) 739.90M 603.00M 764.00M
Enterprise value $120.30B $12.29B $277.77B

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
MetricFTNTGENPANW
P/E 62.2x 14.2x 928.4x
P/FCF 42.4x 9.6x 75.4x
P/Operating cash flow 38.9x 9.5x 68.1x
P/S 17.5x 2.9x 27.0x
P/B 85.1x 5.6x 11.3x
P/Tangible book 89.6x 24.4x 15.1x
EV/EBITDA 43.3x 8.6x 143.5x
EV/EBIT 52.6x 10.6x 441.8x
EV/Revenue 17.1x 4.4x 26.7x
EV/FCF 41.2x 14.5x 74.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 37.8x 14.3x 67.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.14 -2.68 -64.15

Growth

14 metrics
MetricFTNTGENPANW
Revenue growth (1Y) 18.8% 20.2% 24.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.7% 12.6% 18.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 17.2% 17.4% 19.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 16.6% 11.1% 17.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 24.8% 29.2% -44.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 27.6% 17.5% 21.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 9.3% 76.4% -72.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 26.0% -7.3% -11.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 14.2% 82.5% -74.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 29.1% -5.3% -14.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 41.5% 14.9% 22.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 15.5% 26.9% 17.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 53.3% 14.8% 18.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 16.4% 26.8% 16.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricFTNTGENPANW
Gross margin 80.2% 78.0% 70.4%
EBITDA margin 39.4% 51.4% 18.6%
Operating margin 32.4% 41.7% 6.1%
Pretax margin 34.8% 30.2% 4.7%
Net margin 28.2% 20.7% 2.7%
FCF margin 41.4% 30.5% 35.8%
Operating cash flow margin 45.1% 30.9% 39.7%
Return on equity 166.9% 40.0% 1.1%
Return on assets 20.4% 6.7% 0.6%
Return on invested capital 111.7% 13.4% –
Return on capital employed 44.2% 16.4% 1.9%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.3x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 1.5x 14.8x
Stock comp / revenue 3.9% 4.4% 15.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricFTNTGENPANW
Debt / assets 4.6% 52.1% –
Debt / equity 0.3x 3.1x –
Net debt / EBITDA -1.2x 2.9x –
Debt / FCF 0.2x 5.3x –
Liabilities / assets 85.7% 83.0% 43.3%
Equity / assets 14.3% 17.0% 56.7%
Interest coverage 135.7x 3.9x –
Current ratio 1.3x 0.5x 0.9x
Quick ratio 1.1x 0.3x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.8x 0.2x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 10.06 1.38 9.21

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricFTNTGENPANW
Dividend yield – 2.0% –
Net buyback yield 2.1% 4.0% -0.1%
Shareholder yield 2.1% 6.0% -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.

ConsensusFTNTGENPANW
Forward P/E 50.3xFY2026 8.1xFY2026 86.9xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $3.58FY2026 $3.07FY2026 $4.38FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +29.7%FY2026 +19.9%FY2026 +14.1%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +0.8% +10.4% +16.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.38BFY2026 $5.64BFY2026 $13.37BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +23.2%FY2026 +12.7%FY2026 +16.5%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +13.2% +8.2% +12.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersFTNTGENPANW
Held by institutions 68.6% 89.1% 82.1%
Institutions holding 1,567 688 2,912
Change in shares held, QoQ +23.7% +3.8% +6.6%
Institutions buying 854 391 1,545
Institutions selling 549 211 1,125
Buyers to sellers 1.56 1.85 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.

FTNTGENPANW
FTNT 1.00 0.43 0.77
GEN 0.43 1.00 0.40
PANW 0.77 0.40 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, FTNT, GEN and PANW?

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Fortinet (FTNT) $134.37B, Gen Digital (GEN) $14.59B, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) $292.69B.

Which stock is cheaper, FTNT, GEN and PANW?

Gen Digital (GEN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Fortinet (FTNT) 63.4x, Gen Digital (GEN) 13.9x, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 953.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Gen Digital (GEN) is cheapest (Fortinet (FTNT) 50.3x, Gen Digital (GEN) 8.1x, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 86.9x). 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: Fortinet (FTNT) +18.8%, Gen Digital (GEN) +20.2%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +24.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Fortinet (FTNT) has the highest net margin (Fortinet (FTNT) 28.2%, Gen Digital (GEN) 20.7%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 2.7%). On return on invested capital, Fortinet (FTNT) leads (Fortinet (FTNT) 111.7%, Gen Digital (GEN) 13.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Fortinet (FTNT) returned the most: Fortinet (FTNT) +111.9%, Gen Digital (GEN) -8.5%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +77.0%. Over five years, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) compounded fastest (Fortinet (FTNT) +21.8%/yr, Gen Digital (GEN) -1.4%/yr, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +35.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Gen Digital (GEN) has been the steadiest (Fortinet (FTNT) 42.7%, Gen Digital (GEN) 40.3%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 49.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, FTNT, GEN 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, Gen Digital (GEN) 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.