GEN vs PANW vs FFIV Stock Comparison

Gen Digital, Palo Alto Networks 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
$14.38B
P/E
13.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.08B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
3 wins
PANW Palo Alto Networks Inc
$390.46 +4.2% 1M +79.8% 1Y
Market cap
$302.18B
P/E
984.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.48B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
4 wins
FFIV F5, Inc.
$461.60 +4.2% 1M +54.7% 1Y
Market cap
$25.90B
P/E
35.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.31B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
2 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Palo Alto Networks leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Palo Alto Networks 4, Gen Digital 3, F5 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGENPANWFFIVLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $14.38B $302.18B $25.90B PANW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 13.7x 984.3x 35.6x GEN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 8.0x 89.4x 28.4x GEN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +20.2% +24.5% +9.4% PANW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 20.7% 2.7% 22.0% FFIV
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 13.4% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.9x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -10.3% +79.8% +54.7% PANW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -1.1%/yr +36.6%/yr +16.4%/yr PANW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 40.4% 49.6% 35.1% FFIV
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 70/100 49/100 64/100 GEN

Percentile Scorecard

GENPANWFFIV

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

AxisGENPANWFFIV
Valuation 89 #15 of 124 42 #72 of 124 75 #32 of 124
Growth 61 #45 of 113 37 #72 of 113 40 #68 of 113
Profitability 95 #6 of 110 76 #27 of 110 94 #8 of 110
Financial Health 15 #110 of 129 38 #81 of 129 52 #63 of 129
Shareholder Returns 92 #6 of 67 52 #33 of 67 59 #28 of 67
Overall 70 49 64
  • GEN 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

PeriodGENPANWFFIVSPY
1 month +12.9%+4.2%+4.2% -0.8%
3 months -8.7%+23.0%+13.1% +3.5%
6 months +28.3%+113.5%+55.0% +7.0%
Year to date -10.2%+112.0%+80.8% +12.2%
1 year -10.3%+79.8%+54.7% +13.0%
3 years +47.8%+227.0%+208.2% +86.3%
3 years, per year +13.9%+48.5%+45.6% +23.1%
5 years -5.4%+375.4%+113.7% +68.6%
5 years, per year -1.1%+36.6%+16.4% +11.0%
10 years -2.5%+1,447.0%+286.1% +258.0%
10 years, per year -0.3%+31.5%+14.5% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureGENPANWFFIVSPY
Volatility, 1Y 40.4%49.6%35.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.0%46.9%34.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.841.251.08 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.261.611.56 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.7%-36.0%-47.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -22.3%-7.0%-3.8% -1.8%
52-week high $31.41$419.91$479.83 $779.14
52-week low $17.89$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.

MultipleGENPANWFFIV
P/E now vs peer median 13.9xmedian 38.1x 952.6xmedian 38.1x 36.0xmedian 38.1x
P/S now vs peer median 2.9xmedian 4.3x 27.7xmedian 4.3x 7.9xmedian 4.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 8.5xmedian 35.4x 147.3xmedian 35.4x 27.1xmedian 35.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 9.4xmedian 27.1x 77.4xmedian 27.1x 27.1xmedian 27.1x
P/B now vs peer median 5.5xmedian 3.4x 11.6xmedian 3.4x 6.8xmedian 3.4x
PEG now vs peer median -2.63median 1.27 -65.83median 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 monthsGENPANWFFIV
Revenue $5.08B $11.48B $3.31B
Gross profit $3.96B $8.08B $2.71B
Operating income $2.12B $695.00M $812.13M
Net income $1.05B $307.00M $726.51M
Free cash flow $1.55B $4.11B $969.60M
R&D $418.00M $2.55B $593.25M
EPS (diluted) $1.75 $0.40 $12.62
Cash & equivalents $564.00M $2.51B $1.61B
Total debt $8.16B – –
Shares (diluted) 603.00M 764.00M 57.55M
Enterprise value $12.09B $287.26B $20.30B

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
MetricGENPANWFFIV
P/E 13.9x 952.6x 36.0x
P/FCF 9.4x 77.4x 27.1x
P/Operating cash flow 9.3x 69.9x 25.0x
P/S 2.9x 27.7x 7.9x
P/B 5.5x 11.6x 6.8x
P/Tangible book 24.0x 15.5x 6.8x
EV/EBITDA 8.5x 147.3x 27.1x
EV/EBIT 10.5x 453.5x 30.3x
EV/Revenue 4.4x 27.5x 7.4x
EV/FCF 14.3x 76.6x 25.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.1x 69.2x 23.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.63 -65.83 1.13

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGENPANWFFIV
Revenue growth (1Y) 20.2% 24.5% 9.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.6% 18.5% 5.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 17.4% 19.3% 10.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.1% 17.5% 7.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 29.2% -44.1% 8.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 17.5% 21.5% 25.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 76.4% -72.9% 8.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -7.3% -11.3% 29.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 82.5% -74.9% 10.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -5.3% -14.5% 31.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 14.9% 22.5% 6.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 26.9% 17.9% 19.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 14.8% 18.6% 1.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 26.8% 16.1% 19.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGENPANWFFIV
Gross margin 78.0% 70.4% 81.9%
EBITDA margin 51.4% 18.6% 27.5%
Operating margin 41.7% 6.1% 24.5%
Pretax margin 30.2% 4.7% 25.8%
Net margin 20.7% 2.7% 22.0%
FCF margin 30.5% 35.8% 29.3%
Operating cash flow margin 30.9% 39.7% 31.7%
Return on equity 40.0% 1.1% 19.4%
Return on assets 6.7% 0.6% 10.9%
Return on invested capital 13.4% – –
Return on capital employed 16.4% 1.9% 16.6%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.2x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 14.8x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 4.4% 15.5% 7.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGENPANWFFIV
Debt / assets 52.1% – –
Debt / equity 3.1x – –
Net debt / EBITDA 2.9x – –
Debt / FCF 5.3x – –
Liabilities / assets 83.0% 43.3% 43.5%
Equity / assets 17.0% 56.7% 56.5%
Interest coverage 3.9x – –
Current ratio 0.5x 0.9x 1.7x
Quick ratio 0.3x 0.7x 1.5x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 1.36 9.44 7.16

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGENPANWFFIV
Dividend yield 2.1% – –
Net buyback yield 4.1% -0.1% 0.6%
Shareholder yield 6.2% -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.

ConsensusGENPANWFFIV
Forward P/E 8.0xFY2026 89.4xFY2027 28.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.07FY2026 $4.37FY2027 $16.24FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +19.9%FY2026 +13.8%FY2027 +2.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.4% +16.5% +5.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.64BFY2026 $13.37BFY2027 $3.52BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +12.7%FY2026 +16.5%FY2027 +13.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.2% +12.7% +6.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGENPANWFFIV
Held by institutions 89.1% 82.1% 96.6%
Institutions holding 688 2,912 831
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.8% +6.6% -2.6%
Institutions buying 391 1,545 483
Institutions selling 211 1,125 240
Buyers to sellers 1.85 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.

GENPANWFFIV
GEN 1.00 0.40 0.29
PANW 0.40 1.00 0.36
FFIV 0.29 0.36 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GEN, PANW and FFIV?

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Gen Digital (GEN) $14.38B, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) $302.18B, F5 (FFIV) $25.90B.

Which stock is cheaper, GEN, PANW and FFIV?

Gen Digital (GEN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Gen Digital (GEN) 13.7x, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 984.3x, F5 (FFIV) 35.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Gen Digital (GEN) is cheapest (Gen Digital (GEN) 8.0x, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 89.4x, 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?

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Gen Digital (GEN) +20.2%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +24.5%, F5 (FFIV) +9.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

F5 (FFIV) has the highest net margin (Gen Digital (GEN) 20.7%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 2.7%, F5 (FFIV) 22.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Palo Alto Networks (PANW) returned the most: Gen Digital (GEN) -10.3%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +79.8%, F5 (FFIV) +54.7%. Over five years, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) compounded fastest (Gen Digital (GEN) -1.1%/yr, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +36.6%/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%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 49.6%, F5 (FFIV) 35.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, GEN, 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 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.