FTNT vs ZS vs PANW Stock Comparison

Fortinet, Zscaler and Palo Alto Networks Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
FTNT Fortinet, Inc.
$174.08 -1.3% 1M +102.7% 1Y
Market cap
$127.71B
P/E
55.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.88B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
5 wins
ZS Zscaler, Inc.
$255.80 +28.3% 1M -22.2% 1Y
Market cap
$41.71B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
PANW Palo Alto Networks Inc
$394.49 +0.6% 1M +78.2% 1Y
Market cap
$321.51B
P/E
962.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.48B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
3 wins

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

Fortinet leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Fortinet 5, Palo Alto Networks 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionFTNTZSPANWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $127.71B $41.71B $321.51B PANW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 55.9x -648.7x 962.5x FTNT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 48.6x 56.2x 90.3x FTNT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +20.2% — +24.5% PANW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — — 2.7% –
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 +102.7% -22.2% +78.2% FTNT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +21.0%/yr -4.3%/yr +36.0%/yr PANW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 43.2% 71.1% 49.6% FTNT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 52/100 — 50/100 FTNT

Percentile Scorecard

FTNTZSPANW

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

AxisFTNTZSPANW
Valuation 31 #86 of 124 15 #105 of 124 42 #72 of 124
Growth 67 #38 of 113 – 37 #72 of 113
Profitability 96 #5 of 109 – 76 #27 of 109
Financial Health 15 #108 of 127 32 #87 of 127 38 #79 of 127
Shareholder Returns – – 57 #28 of 63
Overall 52 – 50
  • FTNT ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • ZS 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

PeriodFTNTZSPANWSPY
1 month -1.3%+28.3%+0.6% +0.9%
3 months +13.6%+66.4%+25.6% +5.9%
6 months +102.2%+89.9%+117.3% +8.5%
Year to date +119.2%+13.7%+114.2% +13.3%
1 year +102.7%-22.2%+78.2% +12.4%
3 years +209.4%+65.7%+230.4% +88.1%
3 years, per year +45.8%+18.3%+49.0% +23.5%
5 years +158.8%-19.8%+364.9% +68.2%
5 years, per year +21.0%-4.3%+36.0% +11.0%
10 years +2,637.1%—+1,461.7% +263.4%
10 years, per year +39.2%—+31.6% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureFTNTZSPANWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 43.2%71.1%49.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 38.7%82.4%46.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.980.951.25 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.38-0.311.58 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -38.3%-76.4%-36.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -10.6%-23.9%-6.1% -0.9%
52-week high $194.75$336.27$419.91 $779.14
52-week low $75.23$118.05$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.

MultipleFTNTZSPANW
P/E now vs peer median 55.9xmedian 37.9x -648.7xmedian 37.9x 962.5xmedian 37.9x
P/S now vs peer median 16.2xmedian 4.4x 12.4xmedian 4.4x 28.0xmedian 4.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 34.5x —median 34.5x 148.8xmedian 34.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 41.4xmedian 26.6x 48.9xmedian 26.6x 78.2xmedian 26.6x
P/B now vs peer median 56.8xmedian 3.4x 16.1xmedian 3.4x 11.7xmedian 3.4x
PEG now vs peer median 1.96median 1.24 —median 1.24 -66.50median 1.24

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 monthsFTNTZSPANW
Revenue $7.88B – $11.48B
Gross profit – – $8.08B
Operating income $2.60B – $695.00M
Net income $2.28B – $307.00M
Free cash flow – – $4.11B
R&D $857.40M – $2.55B
EPS (diluted) $3.08 – $0.40
Cash & equivalents $3.75B $928.35M $2.51B
Shares (diluted) 739.90M 160.22M 764.00M
Enterprise value $127.71B $27.83B $306.58B

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
MetricFTNTZSPANW
P/E 55.9x -648.7x 962.5x
P/FCF 41.4x 48.9x 78.2x
P/Operating cash flow 34.6x – 70.6x
P/S 16.2x 12.4x 28.0x
P/B 56.8x 16.1x 11.7x
P/Tangible book 56.8x 17.5x 15.7x
EV/EBITDA – – 148.8x
EV/EBIT – – 458.2x
EV/Revenue 16.2x – 27.7x
EV/FCF – – 77.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 34.6x – 69.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.96 – -66.50

Growth

14 metrics
MetricFTNTZSPANW
Revenue growth (1Y) 20.2% – 24.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 15.1% – 18.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – – 19.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – 17.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 27.8% – -44.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 28.9% – 21.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 21.8% – -72.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 25.6% – -11.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 25.3% – -74.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 28.5% – -14.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 50.6% – 22.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 17.5% – 17.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – – 18.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – 16.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricFTNTZSPANW
Gross margin – – 70.4%
EBITDA margin – – 18.6%
Operating margin – – 6.1%
Pretax margin – – 4.7%
Net margin – – 2.7%
FCF margin – – 35.8%
Operating cash flow margin 46.8% – 39.7%
Return on equity 120.1% – 1.1%
Return on assets 20.0% – 0.6%
Return on invested capital – – –
Return on capital employed – – 1.9%
Asset turnover 0.7x – 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x – 14.8x
Stock comp / revenue 3.9% – 15.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricFTNTZSPANW
Debt / assets – – –
Debt / equity – – –
Net debt / EBITDA – – –
Debt / FCF – – –
Liabilities / assets 81.2% 67.0% 43.3%
Equity / assets 18.8% 33.0% 56.7%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 1.4x 1.7x 0.9x
Quick ratio – 1.6x 0.7x
Cash ratio – 1.2x 0.3x
Altman Z-score – – 9.53

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricFTNTZSPANW
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield – – -0.1%
Shareholder yield – – -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.

ConsensusFTNTZSPANW
Forward P/E 48.6xFY2026 56.2xFY2027 90.3xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $3.58FY2026 $4.55FY2027 $4.37FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +29.7%FY2026 +8.1%FY2027 +13.8%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +0.8% +27.0% +16.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.38BFY2026 $4.07BFY2027 $13.37BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +23.2%FY2026 +21.5%FY2027 +16.5%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +13.2% +19.4% +12.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersFTNTZSPANW
Held by institutions 68.6% 51.4% 82.1%
Institutions holding 1,567 734 2,915
Change in shares held, QoQ +23.7% -3.9% +6.6%
Institutions buying 854 416 1,548
Institutions selling 549 236 1,125
Buyers to sellers 1.56 1.76 1.38

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.

FTNTZSPANW
FTNT 1.00 0.59 0.77
ZS 0.59 1.00 0.61
PANW 0.77 0.61 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, FTNT, ZS and PANW?

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Fortinet (FTNT) $127.71B, Zscaler (ZS) $41.71B, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) $321.51B.

Which stock is cheaper, FTNT, ZS and PANW?

Fortinet (FTNT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Fortinet (FTNT) 55.9x, Zscaler (ZS) -648.7x, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 962.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Fortinet (FTNT) is cheapest (Fortinet (FTNT) 48.6x, Zscaler (ZS) 56.2x, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 90.3x). 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: Fortinet (FTNT) +20.2%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +24.5%.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Fortinet (FTNT) returned the most: Fortinet (FTNT) +102.7%, Zscaler (ZS) -22.2%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +78.2%. Over five years, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) compounded fastest (Fortinet (FTNT) +21.0%/yr, Zscaler (ZS) -4.3%/yr, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +36.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Fortinet (FTNT) has been the steadiest (Fortinet (FTNT) 43.2%, Zscaler (ZS) 71.1%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 49.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, FTNT, ZS 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, Fortinet (FTNT) leads on 5. 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.