GEN vs PANW vs FTNT Stock Comparison

Gen Digital, Palo Alto Networks and Fortinet Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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GEN Gen Digital Inc.
$28.20 +35.3% 1M +9.1% 1Y
Market cap
$16.72B
P/E
13.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.23B
Div. yield
1.81%
Cybersecurity Software Technology
5 wins
PANW Palo Alto Networks Inc
$380.57 -2.0% 1M +75.2% 1Y
Market cap
$310.16B
P/E
928.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.48B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
4 wins
FTNT Fortinet, Inc.
$139.10 -20.9% 1M +65.2% 1Y
Market cap
$102.04B
P/E
44.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.88B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Gen Digital leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Gen Digital 5, Palo Alto Networks 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGENPANWFTNTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $16.72B $310.16B $102.04B PANW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 13.9x 928.5x 44.7x GEN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 9.2x 87.1x 38.9x GEN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +16.9% +24.5% +20.2% PANW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 23.1% 2.7% — GEN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.4% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.8x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.81% — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +9.1% +75.2% +65.2% PANW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.1%/yr +35.0%/yr +15.6%/yr PANW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.8% 49.7% 48.8% GEN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 72/100 50/100 55/100 GEN

Percentile Scorecard

GENPANWFTNT

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

AxisGENPANWFTNT
Valuation 87 #17 of 124 43 #71 of 124 42 #73 of 124
Growth 63 #42 of 113 37 #72 of 113 67 #38 of 113
Profitability 95 #6 of 109 75 #28 of 109 97 #4 of 109
Financial Health 18 #104 of 127 39 #78 of 127 14 #109 of 127
Shareholder Returns 95 #4 of 63 55 #29 of 63 –
Overall 72 50 55
  • GEN ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • PANW ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • FTNT ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodGENPANWFTNTSPY
1 month +35.3%-2.0%-20.9% +0.7%
3 months +3.3%+16.9%-9.8% +3.7%
6 months +46.2%+112.2%+65.0% +7.1%
Year to date +3.7%+106.6%+75.2% +12.8%
1 year +9.1%+75.2%+65.2% +11.9%
3 years +69.4%+219.1%+147.0% +85.2%
3 years, per year +19.2%+47.3%+35.2% +22.8%
5 years +10.8%+348.5%+106.8% +67.6%
5 years, per year +2.1%+35.0%+15.6% +10.9%
10 years +13.3%+1,406.6%+2,087.1% +262.0%
10 years, per year +1.3%+31.2%+36.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureGENPANWFTNTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.8%49.7%48.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 40.9%47.0%51.0% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.801.261.04 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.211.511.33 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.7%-36.0%-38.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -10.2%-9.4%-28.6% -1.2%
52-week high $31.41$419.91$194.75 $779.14
52-week low $17.89$141.67$75.23 $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.

MultipleGENPANWFTNT
P/E now vs peer median 13.9xmedian 39.0x 928.5xmedian 39.0x 44.7xmedian 39.0x
P/S now vs peer median 3.2xmedian 4.6x 27.0xmedian 4.6x 12.9xmedian 4.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.1xmedian 32.7x 143.5xmedian 32.7x —median 32.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 9.5xmedian 27.4x 75.4xmedian 27.4x 41.4xmedian 27.4x
P/B now vs peer median 6.1xmedian 3.2x 11.3xmedian 3.2x 45.4xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median -5.13median 1.23 -64.16median 1.23 1.57median 1.23

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 monthsGENPANWFTNT
Revenue $5.23B $11.48B $7.88B
Gross profit $4.05B $8.08B –
Operating income $2.19B $695.00M $2.60B
Net income $1.21B $307.00M $2.28B
Free cash flow $1.76B $4.11B –
R&D $430.00M $2.55B $857.40M
EPS (diluted) $2.00 $0.40 $3.08
Cash & equivalents $589.00M $2.51B $3.75B
Total debt $8.12B – –
Shares (diluted) 603.00M 764.00M 739.90M
Enterprise value $14.54B $295.24B $102.04B

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
MetricGENPANWFTNT
P/E 13.9x 928.5x 44.7x
P/FCF 9.5x 75.4x 41.4x
P/Operating cash flow 9.4x 68.1x 27.7x
P/S 3.2x 27.0x 12.9x
P/B 6.1x 11.3x 45.4x
P/Tangible book 20.5x 15.1x 45.4x
EV/EBITDA 9.1x 143.5x –
EV/EBIT 11.1x 441.9x –
EV/Revenue 4.6x 26.8x 12.9x
EV/FCF 13.7x 74.7x –
EV/Operating cash flow 13.6x 67.4x 27.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -5.13 -64.16 1.57

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGENPANWFTNT
Revenue growth (1Y) 16.9% 24.5% 20.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 11.7% 18.5% 15.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 14.1% 19.3% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 10.2% 17.5% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 30.5% -44.1% 27.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 26.3% 21.5% 28.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 111.6% -72.9% 21.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -4.8% -11.3% 25.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 118.9% -74.9% 25.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -2.7% -14.5% 28.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 34.4% 22.5% 50.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.0% 17.9% 17.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 35.7% 18.6% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.1% 16.1% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGENPANWFTNT
Gross margin 77.4% 70.4% –
EBITDA margin 51.2% 18.6% –
Operating margin 41.8% 6.1% –
Pretax margin 32.3% 4.7% –
Net margin 23.1% 2.7% –
FCF margin 33.7% 35.8% –
Operating cash flow margin 34.0% 39.7% 46.8%
Return on equity 44.7% 1.1% 120.1%
Return on assets 7.7% 0.6% 20.0%
Return on invested capital 14.4% – –
Return on capital employed 18.0% 1.9% –
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.2x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 14.8x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 4.3% 15.5% 3.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGENPANWFTNT
Debt / assets 52.2% – –
Debt / equity 3.0x – –
Net debt / EBITDA 2.8x – –
Debt / FCF 4.6x – –
Liabilities / assets 82.4% 43.3% 81.2%
Equity / assets 17.6% 56.7% 18.8%
Interest coverage 4.3x – –
Current ratio 0.4x 0.9x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.3x 0.7x –
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x –
Altman Z-score 1.45 9.21 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGENPANWFTNT
Dividend yield 1.8% – –
Net buyback yield 4.6% -0.1% –
Shareholder yield 6.4% -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.

ConsensusGENPANWFTNT
Forward P/E 9.2xFY2026 87.1xFY2027 38.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $3.07FY2026 $4.37FY2027 $3.58FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +19.9%FY2026 +13.8%FY2027 +29.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.4% +16.5% +0.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.64BFY2026 $13.37BFY2027 $8.38BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +12.7%FY2026 +16.5%FY2027 +23.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.2% +12.7% +13.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGENPANWFTNT
Held by institutions 89.1% 82.1% 68.6%
Institutions holding 689 2,916 1,568
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.8% +6.6% +23.7%
Institutions buying 392 1,548 854
Institutions selling 211 1,126 550
Buyers to sellers 1.86 1.37 1.55

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.

GENPANWFTNT
GEN 1.00 0.34 0.18
PANW 0.34 1.00 0.71
FTNT 0.18 0.71 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GEN, PANW and FTNT?

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Gen Digital (GEN) $16.72B, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) $310.16B, Fortinet (FTNT) $102.04B.

Which stock is cheaper, GEN, PANW and FTNT?

Gen Digital (GEN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Gen Digital (GEN) 13.9x, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 928.5x, Fortinet (FTNT) 44.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Gen Digital (GEN) is cheapest (Gen Digital (GEN) 9.2x, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 87.1x, Fortinet (FTNT) 38.9x). 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) +16.9%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +24.5%, Fortinet (FTNT) +20.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Gen Digital (GEN) has the highest net margin (Gen Digital (GEN) 23.1%, 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) +9.1%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +75.2%, Fortinet (FTNT) +65.2%. Over five years, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) compounded fastest (Gen Digital (GEN) +2.1%/yr, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +35.0%/yr, Fortinet (FTNT) +15.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Gen Digital (GEN) 1.81%. Palo Alto Networks (PANW) and Fortinet (FTNT) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Gen Digital (GEN) has been the steadiest (Gen Digital (GEN) 42.8%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 49.7%, Fortinet (FTNT) 48.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.