FTNT vs PANW vs FFIV Stock Comparison

Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks and F5 Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
3 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
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
3 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

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

QuestionFTNTPANWFFIVLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $134.37B $292.69B $26.20B PANW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 63.4x 953.4x 36.1x FFIV
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 50.3x 86.9x 28.0x FFIV
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +18.8% +24.5% +9.4% PANW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 28.2% 2.7% 22.0% FTNT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 111.7% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -1.2x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +111.9% +77.0% +50.9% FTNT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +21.8%/yr +35.3%/yr +17.0%/yr PANW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.7% 49.5% 35.1% FFIV
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 69/100 49/100 64/100 FTNT

Percentile Scorecard

FTNTPANWFFIV

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

AxisFTNTPANWFFIV
Valuation 49 #64 of 124 42 #72 of 124 74 #33 of 124
Growth 64 #41 of 113 37 #72 of 113 40 #68 of 113
Profitability 100 #1 of 110 76 #27 of 110 94 #8 of 110
Financial Health 55 #59 of 129 38 #81 of 129 52 #63 of 129
Shareholder Returns 76 #17 of 68 54 #32 of 68 60 #28 of 68
Overall 69 49 64
  • FTNT ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • PANW ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • FFIV ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodFTNTPANWFFIVSPY
1 month +0.7%-3.2%-0.1% -1.0%
3 months +18.1%+17.5%+16.1% +2.9%
6 months +113.4%+113.1%+50.2% +6.4%
Year to date +126.7%+106.6%+78.4% +11.4%
1 year +111.9%+77.0%+50.9% +13.1%
3 years +212.8%+201.9%+207.2% +79.4%
3 years, per year +46.3%+44.6%+45.4% +21.5%
5 years +168.4%+352.9%+118.7% +67.7%
5 years, per year +21.8%+35.3%+17.0% +10.9%
10 years +2,730.0%+1,420.4%+285.7% +255.2%
10 years, per year +39.7%+31.3%+14.5% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureFTNTPANWFFIVSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.7%49.5%35.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 37.6%46.9%34.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.971.241.04 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.621.561.45 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.3%-36.0%-47.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.6%-9.4%-5.1% -2.5%
52-week high $194.75$419.91$479.83 $779.14
52-week low $75.23$141.67$223.99 $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.

MultipleFTNTPANWFFIV
P/E now vs peer median 62.2xmedian 37.4x 928.4xmedian 37.4x 35.6xmedian 37.4x
P/S now vs peer median 17.5xmedian 4.4x 27.0xmedian 4.4x 7.8xmedian 4.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 43.3xmedian 35.0x 143.5xmedian 35.0x 26.7xmedian 35.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 42.4xmedian 27.2x 75.4xmedian 27.2x 26.7xmedian 27.2x
P/B now vs peer median 85.1xmedian 3.4x 11.3xmedian 3.4x 6.7xmedian 3.4x
PEG now vs peer median 2.14median 1.27 -64.15median 1.27 1.12median 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 monthsFTNTPANWFFIV
Revenue $7.53B $11.48B $3.31B
Gross profit $6.04B $8.08B $2.71B
Operating income $2.44B $695.00M $812.13M
Net income $2.12B $307.00M $726.51M
Free cash flow $3.12B $4.11B $969.60M
R&D $846.40M $2.55B $593.25M
EPS (diluted) $2.87 $0.40 $12.62
Cash & equivalents $2.93B $2.51B $1.61B
Total debt $2.99B – –
Shares (diluted) 739.90M 764.00M 57.55M
Enterprise value $120.30B $277.77B $20.60B

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
MetricFTNTPANWFFIV
P/E 62.2x 928.4x 35.6x
P/FCF 42.4x 75.4x 26.7x
P/Operating cash flow 38.9x 68.1x 24.7x
P/S 17.5x 27.0x 7.8x
P/B 85.1x 11.3x 6.7x
P/Tangible book 89.6x 15.1x 6.7x
EV/EBITDA 43.3x 143.5x 26.7x
EV/EBIT 52.6x 441.8x 29.9x
EV/Revenue 17.1x 26.7x 7.3x
EV/FCF 41.2x 74.7x 25.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 37.8x 67.4x 23.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.14 -64.15 1.12

Growth

14 metrics
MetricFTNTPANWFFIV
Revenue growth (1Y) 18.8% 24.5% 9.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.7% 18.5% 5.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 17.2% 19.3% 10.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 16.6% 17.5% 7.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 24.8% -44.1% 8.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 27.6% 21.5% 25.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 9.3% -72.9% 8.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 26.0% -11.3% 29.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 14.2% -74.9% 10.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 29.1% -14.5% 31.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 41.5% 22.5% 6.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 15.5% 17.9% 19.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 53.3% 18.6% 1.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 16.4% 16.1% 19.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricFTNTPANWFFIV
Gross margin 80.2% 70.4% 81.9%
EBITDA margin 39.4% 18.6% 27.5%
Operating margin 32.4% 6.1% 24.5%
Pretax margin 34.8% 4.7% 25.8%
Net margin 28.2% 2.7% 22.0%
FCF margin 41.4% 35.8% 29.3%
Operating cash flow margin 45.1% 39.7% 31.7%
Return on equity 166.9% 1.1% 19.4%
Return on assets 20.4% 0.6% 10.9%
Return on invested capital 111.7% – –
Return on capital employed 44.2% 1.9% 16.6%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.2x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 14.8x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 3.9% 15.5% 7.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricFTNTPANWFFIV
Debt / assets 4.6% – –
Debt / equity 0.3x – –
Net debt / EBITDA -1.2x – –
Debt / FCF 0.2x – –
Liabilities / assets 85.7% 43.3% 43.5%
Equity / assets 14.3% 56.7% 56.5%
Interest coverage 135.7x – –
Current ratio 1.3x 0.9x 1.7x
Quick ratio 1.1x 0.7x 1.5x
Cash ratio 0.8x 0.3x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 10.06 9.21 7.09

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricFTNTPANWFFIV
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 2.1% -0.1% 0.6%
Shareholder yield 2.1% -0.1% 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.

ConsensusFTNTPANWFFIV
Forward P/E 50.3xFY2026 86.9xFY2027 28.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.58FY2026 $4.38FY2027 $16.24FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +29.7%FY2026 +14.1%FY2027 +2.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +0.8% +16.2% +5.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.38BFY2026 $13.37BFY2027 $3.52BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +23.2%FY2026 +16.5%FY2027 +13.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +13.2% +12.7% +6.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersFTNTPANWFFIV
Held by institutions 68.6% 82.1% 96.6%
Institutions holding 1,567 2,912 831
Change in shares held, QoQ +23.7% +6.6% -2.6%
Institutions buying 854 1,545 483
Institutions selling 549 1,125 240
Buyers to sellers 1.56 1.37 2.01

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.

FTNTPANWFFIV
FTNT 1.00 0.77 0.42
PANW 0.77 1.00 0.35
FFIV 0.42 0.35 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, FTNT, PANW and FFIV?

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Fortinet (FTNT) $134.37B, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) $292.69B, F5 (FFIV) $26.20B.

Which stock is cheaper, FTNT, PANW and FFIV?

F5 (FFIV) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Fortinet (FTNT) 63.4x, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 953.4x, F5 (FFIV) 36.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, F5 (FFIV) is cheapest (Fortinet (FTNT) 50.3x, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 86.9x, F5 (FFIV) 28.0x). 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%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +24.5%, F5 (FFIV) +9.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Fortinet (FTNT) has the highest net margin (Fortinet (FTNT) 28.2%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 2.7%, F5 (FFIV) 22.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Fortinet (FTNT) returned the most: Fortinet (FTNT) +111.9%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +77.0%, F5 (FFIV) +50.9%. Over five years, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) compounded fastest (Fortinet (FTNT) +21.8%/yr, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +35.3%/yr, F5 (FFIV) +17.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, F5 (FFIV) has been the steadiest (Fortinet (FTNT) 42.7%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 49.5%, F5 (FFIV) 35.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 3. 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.