GEN vs AXON vs FFIV Stock Comparison

Gen Digital, Axon Enterprise and F5 Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GEN Gen Digital Inc.
$24.41 +12.9% 1M -10.3% 1Y
Market cap
$14.53B
P/E
13.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.08B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
5 wins
AXON Axon Enterprise, Inc.
$424.77 -1.2% 1M -42.3% 1Y
Market cap
$34.32B
P/E
172.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.22B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
3 wins
FFIV F5, Inc.
$461.60 +4.2% 1M +54.7% 1Y
Market cap
$26.15B
P/E
36.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.31B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Gen Digital leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Gen Digital 5, Axon Enterprise 3, F5 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGENAXONFFIVLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $14.53B $34.32B $26.15B AXON
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 13.8x 172.2x 36.0x GEN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 8.0x 53.4x 28.4x GEN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +20.2% +34.6% +9.4% AXON
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 20.7% 6.2% 22.0% FFIV
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 13.4% 0.4% — GEN
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.9x 7.9x — GEN
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -10.3% -42.3% +54.7% FFIV
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -1.1%/yr +19.2%/yr +16.4%/yr AXON
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 40.4% 61.6% 35.1% FFIV
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 70/100 48/100 64/100 GEN

Percentile Scorecard

GENAXONFFIV

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

AxisGENAXONFFIV
Valuation 89 #15 of 124 40 #75 of 124 75 #32 of 124
Growth 61 #45 of 113 57 #49 of 113 40 #68 of 113
Profitability 95 #6 of 110 60 #45 of 110 94 #8 of 110
Financial Health 15 #110 of 129 34 #86 of 129 52 #63 of 129
Shareholder Returns 92 #6 of 67 – 59 #28 of 67
Overall 70 48 64
  • GEN ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • AXON 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

PeriodGENAXONFFIVSPY
1 month +12.9%-1.2%+4.2% -0.8%
3 months -8.7%-19.2%+13.1% +3.5%
6 months +28.3%+5.5%+55.0% +7.0%
Year to date -10.2%-25.2%+80.8% +12.2%
1 year -10.3%-42.3%+54.7% +13.0%
3 years +47.8%+111.6%+208.2% +86.3%
3 years, per year +13.9%+28.4%+45.6% +23.1%
5 years -5.4%+140.9%+113.7% +68.6%
5 years, per year -1.1%+19.2%+16.4% +11.0%
10 years -2.5%+1,747.6%+286.1% +258.0%
10 years, per year -0.3%+33.9%+14.5% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureGENAXONFFIVSPY
Volatility, 1Y 40.4%61.6%35.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.0%61.8%34.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.841.561.08 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.26-0.691.56 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.7%-60.3%-47.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -22.3%-44.1%-3.8% -1.8%
52-week high $31.41$759.44$479.83 $779.14
52-week low $17.89$345.94$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.

MultipleGENAXONFFIV
P/E now vs peer median 13.9xmedian 38.1x 171.7xmedian 38.1x 36.0xmedian 38.1x
P/S now vs peer median 2.9xmedian 4.3x 10.7xmedian 4.3x 7.9xmedian 4.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 8.5xmedian 35.4x 267.1xmedian 35.4x 27.1xmedian 35.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 9.4xmedian 27.1x 259.1xmedian 27.1x 27.1xmedian 27.1x
P/B now vs peer median 5.5xmedian 3.4x 9.4xmedian 3.4x 6.8xmedian 3.4x
PEG now vs peer median -2.63median 1.27 7.49median 1.27 1.13median 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 monthsGENAXONFFIV
Revenue $5.08B $3.22B $3.31B
Gross profit $3.96B $1.91B $2.71B
Operating income $2.12B $23.77M $812.13M
Net income $1.05B $199.30M $726.51M
Free cash flow $1.55B $133.19M $969.60M
R&D $418.00M $768.36M $593.25M
EPS (diluted) $1.75 $2.41 $12.62
Cash & equivalents $564.00M $597.70M $1.61B
Total debt $8.16B $1.73B –
Shares (diluted) 603.00M 82.54M 57.55M
Enterprise value $12.24B $28.84B $20.55B

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
MetricGENAXONFFIV
P/E 13.9x 171.7x 36.0x
P/FCF 9.4x 259.1x 27.1x
P/Operating cash flow 9.3x 129.8x 25.0x
P/S 2.9x 10.7x 7.9x
P/B 5.5x 9.4x 6.8x
P/Tangible book 24.0x 10.2x 6.8x
EV/EBITDA 8.5x 267.1x 27.1x
EV/EBIT 10.5x 1,496x 30.3x
EV/Revenue 4.4x 11.0x 7.4x
EV/FCF 14.3x 267.0x 25.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.1x 133.8x 23.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.63 7.49 1.13

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGENAXONFFIV
Revenue growth (1Y) 20.2% 34.6% 9.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.6% 33.2% 5.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 17.4% 32.2% 10.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.1% 32.0% 7.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 29.2% 1,682% 8.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 17.5% -40.2% 25.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 76.4% -38.9% 8.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -7.3% 26.5% 29.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 82.5% -39.3% 10.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -5.3% 22.9% 31.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 14.9% -3.5% 6.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 26.9% 18.8% 19.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 14.8% -24.5% 1.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 26.8% 6.3% 19.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGENAXONFFIV
Gross margin 78.0% 59.4% 81.9%
EBITDA margin 51.4% 4.1% 27.5%
Operating margin 41.7% 0.7% 24.5%
Pretax margin 30.2% 5.7% 25.8%
Net margin 20.7% 6.2% 22.0%
FCF margin 30.5% 4.1% 29.3%
Operating cash flow margin 30.9% 8.3% 31.7%
Return on equity 40.0% 5.5% 19.4%
Return on assets 6.7% 2.7% 10.9%
Return on invested capital 13.4% 0.4% –
Return on capital employed 16.4% 0.4% 16.6%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.4x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 1.3x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 4.4% 19.7% 7.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGENAXONFFIV
Debt / assets 52.1% 23.1% –
Debt / equity 3.1x 0.5x –
Net debt / EBITDA 2.9x 7.9x –
Debt / FCF 5.3x 13.0x –
Liabilities / assets 83.0% 50.9% 43.5%
Equity / assets 17.0% 49.1% 56.5%
Interest coverage 3.9x 0.2x –
Current ratio 0.5x 2.1x 1.7x
Quick ratio 0.3x 1.6x 1.5x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.5x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 1.36 6.35 7.16

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGENAXONFFIV
Dividend yield 2.1% – –
Net buyback yield 4.1% – 0.6%
Shareholder yield 6.2% – 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.

ConsensusGENAXONFFIV
Forward P/E 8.0xFY2026 53.4xFY2026 28.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.07FY2026 $7.95FY2026 $16.24FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +19.9%FY2026 +16.1%FY2026 +2.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.4% +29.2% +5.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.64BFY2026 $3.57BFY2026 $3.52BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +12.7%FY2026 +28.3%FY2026 +13.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.2% +41.4% +6.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGENAXONFFIV
Held by institutions 89.1% 88.7% 96.6%
Institutions holding 688 1,117 831
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.8% +8.0% -2.6%
Institutions buying 391 666 483
Institutions selling 211 324 240
Buyers to sellers 1.85 2.06 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.

GENAXONFFIV
GEN 1.00 0.36 0.29
AXON 0.36 1.00 0.14
FFIV 0.29 0.14 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GEN, AXON and FFIV?

Axon Enterprise (AXON) is the largest by market capitalisation: Gen Digital (GEN) $14.53B, Axon Enterprise (AXON) $34.32B, F5 (FFIV) $26.15B.

Which stock is cheaper, GEN, AXON and FFIV?

Gen Digital (GEN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Gen Digital (GEN) 13.8x, Axon Enterprise (AXON) 172.2x, F5 (FFIV) 36.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Gen Digital (GEN) is cheapest (Gen Digital (GEN) 8.0x, Axon Enterprise (AXON) 53.4x, F5 (FFIV) 28.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Axon Enterprise (AXON) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Gen Digital (GEN) +20.2%, Axon Enterprise (AXON) +34.6%, F5 (FFIV) +9.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

F5 (FFIV) has the highest net margin (Gen Digital (GEN) 20.7%, Axon Enterprise (AXON) 6.2%, F5 (FFIV) 22.0%). On return on invested capital, Gen Digital (GEN) leads (Gen Digital (GEN) 13.4%, Axon Enterprise (AXON) 0.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year F5 (FFIV) returned the most: Gen Digital (GEN) -10.3%, Axon Enterprise (AXON) -42.3%, F5 (FFIV) +54.7%. Over five years, Axon Enterprise (AXON) compounded fastest (Gen Digital (GEN) -1.1%/yr, Axon Enterprise (AXON) +19.2%/yr, F5 (FFIV) +16.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, F5 (FFIV) has been the steadiest (Gen Digital (GEN) 40.4%, Axon Enterprise (AXON) 61.6%, F5 (FFIV) 35.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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