GEN vs AXON vs PANW Stock Comparison

Gen Digital, Axon Enterprise and Palo Alto Networks Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GEN Gen Digital Inc.
$24.35 +16.8% 1M -8.8% 1Y
Market cap
$14.59B
P/E
12.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.23B
Div. yield
2.09%
Cybersecurity Software Technology
4 wins
AXON Axon Enterprise, Inc.
$423.17 -0.4% 1M -44.0% 1Y
Market cap
$34.38B
P/E
171.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.22B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
2 wins
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

9 decided of 12

Gen Digital leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Gen Digital 4, Palo Alto Networks 3, Axon Enterprise 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGENAXONPANWLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $14.59B $34.38B $321.51B PANW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 12.1x 171.1x 962.5x GEN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 7.9x 53.2x 90.3x GEN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +16.9% +34.6% +24.5% AXON
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 6.2% 2.7% AXON
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 0.4% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 7.9x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 2.09% — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -8.8% -44.0% +78.2% PANW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -0.9%/yr +18.7%/yr +36.0%/yr PANW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 40.3% 61.5% 49.6% GEN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 49/100 50/100 GEN

Percentile Scorecard

GENAXONPANW

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

AxisGENAXONPANW
Valuation 81 #24 of 124 42 #73 of 124 42 #72 of 124
Growth 63 #43 of 113 57 #49 of 113 37 #72 of 113
Profitability 80 #23 of 109 60 #44 of 109 76 #27 of 109
Financial Health 8 #117 of 127 37 #80 of 127 38 #79 of 127
Shareholder Returns – – 57 #28 of 63
Overall 58 49 50
  • GEN ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • AXON 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

PeriodGENAXONPANWSPY
1 month +16.8%-0.4%+0.6% +0.9%
3 months -11.9%-20.3%+25.6% +5.9%
6 months +27.2%+5.6%+117.3% +8.5%
Year to date -10.4%-25.5%+114.2% +13.3%
1 year -8.8%-44.0%+78.2% +12.4%
3 years +47.5%+110.8%+230.4% +88.1%
3 years, per year +13.8%+28.2%+49.0% +23.5%
5 years -4.3%+135.1%+364.9% +68.2%
5 years, per year -0.9%+18.7%+36.0% +11.0%
10 years -2.1%+1,783.3%+1,461.7% +263.4%
10 years, per year -0.2%+34.1%+31.6% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureGENAXONPANWSPY
Volatility, 1Y 40.3%61.5%49.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.0%61.6%46.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.841.561.25 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.22-0.711.58 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.7%-60.3%-36.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -22.5%-44.3%-6.1% -0.9%
52-week high $31.41$759.44$419.91 $779.14
52-week low $17.89$345.94$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.

MultipleGENAXONPANW
P/E now vs peer median 12.1xmedian 37.9x 171.1xmedian 37.9x 962.5xmedian 37.9x
P/S now vs peer median 2.8xmedian 4.4x 10.7xmedian 4.4x 28.0xmedian 4.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 34.5x 266.1xmedian 34.5x 148.8xmedian 34.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 8.6xmedian 26.6x 258.1xmedian 26.6x 78.2xmedian 26.6x
P/B now vs peer median 5.3xmedian 3.4x 9.4xmedian 3.4x 11.7xmedian 3.4x
PEG now vs peer median -4.45median 1.24 7.46median 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 monthsGENAXONPANW
Revenue $5.23B $3.22B $11.48B
Gross profit $4.05B $1.91B $8.08B
Operating income $2.19B $23.77M $695.00M
Net income $1.21B $199.30M $307.00M
Free cash flow – $133.19M $4.11B
R&D $430.00M $768.36M $2.55B
EPS (diluted) $2.00 $2.41 $0.40
Cash & equivalents $589.00M $597.70M $2.51B
Total debt – $1.73B –
Shares (diluted) 603.00M 82.54M 764.00M
Enterprise value $14.59B $28.90B $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
MetricGENAXONPANW
P/E 12.1x 171.1x 962.5x
P/FCF 8.6x 258.1x 78.2x
P/Operating cash flow 8.2x 129.3x 70.6x
P/S 2.8x 10.7x 28.0x
P/B 5.3x 9.4x 11.7x
P/Tangible book 17.9x 10.1x 15.7x
EV/EBITDA – 266.1x 148.8x
EV/EBIT – 1,490x 458.2x
EV/Revenue 2.8x 11.0x 27.7x
EV/FCF – 266.0x 77.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 8.2x 133.3x 69.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -4.45 7.46 -66.50

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGENAXONPANW
Revenue growth (1Y) 16.9% 34.6% 24.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 11.7% 33.2% 18.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 14.1% 32.2% 19.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 10.2% 32.0% 17.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 30.5% 1,682% -44.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 26.3% -40.2% 21.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 111.6% -38.9% -72.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -4.8% 26.5% -11.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 118.9% -39.3% -74.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -2.7% 22.9% -14.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 34.4% -3.5% 22.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.0% 18.8% 17.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -24.5% 18.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 6.3% 16.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGENAXONPANW
Gross margin – 59.4% 70.4%
EBITDA margin – 4.1% 18.6%
Operating margin – 0.7% 6.1%
Pretax margin – 5.7% 4.7%
Net margin – 6.2% 2.7%
FCF margin – 4.1% 35.8%
Operating cash flow margin 34.0% 8.3% 39.7%
Return on equity 44.7% 5.5% 1.1%
Return on assets 7.7% 2.7% 0.6%
Return on invested capital – 0.4% –
Return on capital employed – 0.4% 1.9%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.4x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 1.3x 14.8x
Stock comp / revenue 4.3% 19.7% 15.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGENAXONPANW
Debt / assets – 23.1% –
Debt / equity – 0.5x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 7.9x –
Debt / FCF – 13.0x –
Liabilities / assets 82.4% 50.9% 43.3%
Equity / assets 17.6% 49.1% 56.7%
Interest coverage – 0.2x –
Current ratio 0.4x 2.1x 0.9x
Quick ratio – 1.6x 0.7x
Cash ratio – 0.5x 0.3x
Altman Z-score – 6.33 9.53

Shareholder Returns

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

ConsensusGENAXONPANW
Forward P/E 7.9xFY2026 53.2xFY2026 90.3xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $3.07FY2026 $7.95FY2026 $4.37FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +19.9%FY2026 +16.1%FY2026 +13.8%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +10.4% +29.2% +16.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.64BFY2026 $3.57BFY2026 $13.37BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +12.7%FY2026 +28.3%FY2026 +16.5%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +8.2% +41.4% +12.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGENAXONPANW
Held by institutions 89.1% 88.7% 82.1%
Institutions holding 688 1,118 2,915
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.8% +8.0% +6.6%
Institutions buying 391 667 1,548
Institutions selling 211 324 1,125
Buyers to sellers 1.85 2.06 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.

GENAXONPANW
GEN 1.00 0.36 0.39
AXON 0.36 1.00 0.33
PANW 0.39 0.33 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GEN, AXON and PANW?

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Gen Digital (GEN) $14.59B, Axon Enterprise (AXON) $34.38B, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) $321.51B.

Which stock is cheaper, GEN, AXON and PANW?

Gen Digital (GEN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Gen Digital (GEN) 12.1x, Axon Enterprise (AXON) 171.1x, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 962.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Gen Digital (GEN) is cheapest (Gen Digital (GEN) 7.9x, Axon Enterprise (AXON) 53.2x, 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?

Axon Enterprise (AXON) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Gen Digital (GEN) +16.9%, Axon Enterprise (AXON) +34.6%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +24.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Axon Enterprise (AXON) has the highest net margin (Axon Enterprise (AXON) 6.2%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 2.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Palo Alto Networks (PANW) returned the most: Gen Digital (GEN) -8.8%, Axon Enterprise (AXON) -44.0%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +78.2%. Over five years, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) compounded fastest (Gen Digital (GEN) -0.9%/yr, Axon Enterprise (AXON) +18.7%/yr, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +36.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Gen Digital (GEN) 2.09%. Axon Enterprise (AXON) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Gen Digital (GEN) has been the steadiest (Gen Digital (GEN) 40.3%, Axon Enterprise (AXON) 61.5%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 49.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, GEN, AXON 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.