GEN vs PANW vs ZS Stock Comparison

Gen Digital, Palo Alto Networks and Zscaler Prices as of Nov 3, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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GEN Gen Digital Inc.
$29.71 +35.1% 1M +13.1% 1Y
Market cap
$18.38B
P/E
15.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.23B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
5 wins
PANW Palo Alto Networks Inc
$350.20 -13.2% 1M +59.7% 1Y
Market cap
$260.97B
P/E
850.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.48B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
3 wins
ZS Zscaler, Inc.
$225.09 +14.5% 1M -33.1% 1Y
Market cap
$36.00B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$3.35B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
1 win

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Gen Digital leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Gen Digital 5, Palo Alto Networks 3, Zscaler 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGENPANWZSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $18.38B $260.97B $36.00B PANW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 15.2x 850.1x -569.9x GEN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 9.7x 80.1x 49.5x GEN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +16.9% +24.5% +25.4% ZS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 23.1% 2.7% -1.9% GEN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.4% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.8x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +13.1% +59.7% -33.1% PANW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.6%/yr +33.6%/yr -7.5%/yr PANW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 43.0% 50.1% 71.5% GEN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 69/100 49/100 53/100 GEN

Percentile Scorecard

GENPANWZS

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

AxisGENPANWZS
Valuation 84 #21 of 124 43 #71 of 124 51 #61 of 124
Growth 64 #42 of 114 38 #71 of 114 66 #40 of 114
Profitability 96 #6 of 111 74 #30 of 111 62 #43 of 111
Financial Health 14 #110 of 128 37 #81 of 128 39 #79 of 128
Shareholder Returns 90 #8 of 73 54 #34 of 73 47 #39 of 73
Overall 69 49 53
  • GEN ranked among 136 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • PANW ranked among 136 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • ZS ranked among 136 companies in Infrastructure Software

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodGENPANWZSSPY
1 month +35.1%-13.2%+14.5% -2.0%
3 months +5.1%-4.4%+37.9% -2.2%
6 months +50.7%+90.3%+59.2% +4.2%
Year to date +9.3%+90.1%+0.1% +10.6%
1 year +13.1%+59.7%-33.1% +10.4%
3 years +68.5%+187.6%+36.9% +73.6%
3 years, per year +19.0%+42.2%+11.1% +20.2%
5 years +19.1%+325.5%-32.2% +61.6%
5 years, per year +3.6%+33.6%-7.5% +10.1%
10 years +16.7%+1,342.9%— +261.3%
10 years, per year +1.6%+30.6%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureGENPANWZSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 43.0%50.1%71.5% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.0%47.3%82.5% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.751.301.01 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.301.19-0.46 0.81
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.7%-36.0%-76.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -5.4%-16.6%-33.1% -3.2%
52-week high $31.41$419.91$336.27 $779.14
52-week low $17.89$141.67$118.05 $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.

MultipleGENPANWZS
P/E now vs peer median 14.7xmedian 38.8x 854.4xmedian 38.8x -570.8xmedian 38.8x
P/S now vs peer median 3.4xmedian 4.4x 24.9xmedian 4.4x 10.9xmedian 4.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.4xmedian 28.6x 131.9xmedian 28.6x 126.6xmedian 28.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 10.0xmedian 23.6x 69.4xmedian 23.6x 43.1xmedian 23.6x
P/B now vs peer median 6.4xmedian 3.1x 10.4xmedian 3.1x 14.1xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median -5.40median 1.27 -59.04median 1.27 -16.60median 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 monthsGENPANWZS
Revenue $5.23B $11.48B $3.35B
Gross profit $4.05B $8.08B $2.57B
Operating income $2.19B $695.00M -$133.27M
Net income $1.21B $307.00M -$63.18M
Free cash flow $1.76B $4.11B $852.35M
R&D $430.00M $2.55B $903.40M
EPS (diluted) $2.00 $0.40 $-0.39
Cash & equivalents $589.00M $2.51B $928.35M
Total debt $8.12B – –
Shares (diluted) 603.00M 764.00M 160.22M
Enterprise value $16.19B $246.04B $22.16B

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
MetricGENPANWZS
P/E 14.7x 854.4x -570.8x
P/FCF 10.0x 69.4x 43.1x
P/Operating cash flow 9.9x 62.7x 32.5x
P/S 3.4x 24.9x 10.9x
P/B 6.4x 10.4x 14.1x
P/Tangible book 21.6x 13.9x 15.4x
EV/EBITDA 9.4x 131.9x 126.6x
EV/EBIT 11.5x 406.2x -249.3x
EV/Revenue 4.8x 24.6x 9.9x
EV/FCF 14.3x 68.6x 39.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.1x 62.0x 29.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -5.40 -59.04 -16.60

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGENPANWZS
Revenue growth (1Y) 16.9% 24.5% 25.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 11.7% 18.5% 27.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 14.1% 19.3% 25.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 10.2% 17.5% 27.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 30.5% -44.1% -3.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 26.3% 21.5% 17.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 111.6% -72.9% -52.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -4.8% -11.3% 32.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 118.9% -74.9% -46.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -2.7% -14.5% 34.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 34.4% 22.5% 16.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.0% 17.9% 34.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 35.7% 18.6% 5.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.1% 16.1% 32.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGENPANWZS
Gross margin 77.4% 70.4% 76.8%
EBITDA margin 51.2% 18.6% 7.8%
Operating margin 41.8% 6.1% -4.0%
Pretax margin 32.3% 4.7% -0.5%
Net margin 23.1% 2.7% -1.9%
FCF margin 33.7% 35.8% 25.4%
Operating cash flow margin 34.0% 39.7% 33.7%
Return on equity 44.7% 1.1% -2.5%
Return on assets 7.7% 0.6% -0.8%
Return on invested capital 14.4% – –
Return on capital employed 18.0% 1.9% -2.9%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.2x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 14.8x -17.9x
Stock comp / revenue 4.3% 15.5% 24.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGENPANWZS
Debt / assets 52.2% – –
Debt / equity 3.0x – –
Net debt / EBITDA 2.8x – –
Debt / FCF 4.6x – –
Liabilities / assets 82.4% 43.3% 67.0%
Equity / assets 17.6% 56.7% 33.0%
Interest coverage 4.3x – -11.3x
Current ratio 0.4x 0.9x 1.7x
Quick ratio 0.3x 0.7x 1.6x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x 1.2x
Altman Z-score 1.49 8.50 4.64

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGENPANWZS
Dividend yield 1.7% – –
Net buyback yield 4.3% -0.1% -0.2%
Shareholder yield 6.1% -0.1% -0.2%
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.

ConsensusGENPANWZS
Forward P/E 9.7xFY2026 80.1xFY2027 49.5xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $3.07FY2026 $4.37FY2027 $4.55FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +19.9%FY2026 +13.8%FY2027 +8.1%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +10.4% +16.5% +27.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.64BFY2026 $13.37BFY2027 $4.07BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +12.7%FY2026 +16.5%FY2027 +21.5%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +8.2% +12.7% +19.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGENPANWZS
Held by institutions 89.1% 82.1% 51.4%
Institutions holding 690 2,918 737
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.8% +6.6% -3.9%
Institutions buying 392 1,549 418
Institutions selling 212 1,127 237
Buyers to sellers 1.85 1.37 1.76

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.

GENPANWZS
GEN 1.00 0.32 0.35
PANW 0.32 1.00 0.62
ZS 0.35 0.62 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GEN, PANW and ZS?

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Gen Digital (GEN) $18.38B, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) $260.97B, Zscaler (ZS) $36.00B.

Which stock is cheaper, GEN, PANW and ZS?

Gen Digital (GEN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Gen Digital (GEN) 15.2x, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 850.1x, Zscaler (ZS) -569.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Gen Digital (GEN) is cheapest (Gen Digital (GEN) 9.7x, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 80.1x, Zscaler (ZS) 49.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Zscaler (ZS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Gen Digital (GEN) +16.9%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +24.5%, Zscaler (ZS) +25.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Gen Digital (GEN) has the highest net margin (Gen Digital (GEN) 23.1%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 2.7%, Zscaler (ZS) -1.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Palo Alto Networks (PANW) returned the most: Gen Digital (GEN) +13.1%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +59.7%, Zscaler (ZS) -33.1%. Over five years, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) compounded fastest (Gen Digital (GEN) +3.6%/yr, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +33.6%/yr, Zscaler (ZS) -7.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Gen Digital (GEN) has been the steadiest (Gen Digital (GEN) 43.0%, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 50.1%, Zscaler (ZS) 71.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.