GEN vs ZS Stock Comparison

Gen Digital and Zscaler Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GEN Gen Digital Inc.
$24.41 +12.9% 1M -10.3% 1Y
Market cap
$14.46B
P/E
13.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.08B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
4 wins
ZS Zscaler, Inc.
$260.45 +34.9% 1M -19.4% 1Y
Market cap
$41.86B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
1 win

Head to Head

5 decided of 12

Gen Digital leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Gen Digital 4, Zscaler 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGENZSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $14.46B $41.86B ZS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 13.7x -660.5x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 8.0x 57.2x GEN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +20.2% — –
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 20.7% — –
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% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -10.3% -19.4% GEN
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -1.1%/yr -3.4%/yr GEN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 40.4% 71.3% GEN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 70/100 — –

Percentile Scorecard

GENZS

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

AxisGENZS
Valuation 89 #15 of 124 17 #103 of 124
Growth 61 #45 of 113 –
Profitability 95 #6 of 110 –
Financial Health 15 #110 of 129 32 #88 of 129
Shareholder Returns 92 #6 of 67 –
Overall 70 –
  • GEN ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • ZS ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodGENZSSPY
1 month +12.9%+34.9% -0.8%
3 months -8.7%+76.8% +3.5%
6 months +28.3%+94.2% +7.0%
Year to date -10.2%+15.8% +12.2%
1 year -10.3%-19.4% +13.0%
3 years +47.8%+68.7% +86.3%
3 years, per year +13.9%+19.1% +23.1%
5 years -5.4%-16.0% +68.6%
5 years, per year -1.1%-3.4% +11.0%
10 years -2.5%— +258.0%
10 years, per year -0.3%— +13.6%

Risk

MeasureGENZSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 40.4%71.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.0%83.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.840.96 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.26-0.27 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.7%-76.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -22.3%-22.5% -1.8%
52-week high $31.41$336.27 $779.14
52-week low $17.89$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.

MultipleGENZS
P/E now vs peer median 13.9xmedian 38.1x -660.5xmedian 38.1x
P/S now vs peer median 2.9xmedian 4.3x 12.7xmedian 4.3x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 8.5xmedian 35.4x —median 35.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 9.4xmedian 27.1x 49.8xmedian 27.1x
P/B now vs peer median 5.5xmedian 3.4x 16.3xmedian 3.4x
PEG now vs peer median -2.63median 1.27 —median 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 monthsGENZS
Revenue $5.08B –
Gross profit $3.96B –
Operating income $2.12B –
Net income $1.05B –
Free cash flow $1.55B –
R&D $418.00M –
EPS (diluted) $1.75 –
Cash & equivalents $564.00M $928.35M
Total debt $8.16B –
Shares (diluted) 603.00M 160.22M
Enterprise value $12.16B $27.98B

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
MetricGENZS
P/E 13.9x -660.5x
P/FCF 9.4x 49.8x
P/Operating cash flow 9.3x –
P/S 2.9x 12.7x
P/B 5.5x 16.3x
P/Tangible book 24.0x 17.8x
EV/EBITDA 8.5x –
EV/EBIT 10.5x –
EV/Revenue 4.4x –
EV/FCF 14.3x –
EV/Operating cash flow 14.1x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -2.63 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGENZS
Revenue growth (1Y) 20.2% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 12.6% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 17.4% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.1% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 29.2% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 17.5% –
Net income growth (1Y) 76.4% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) -7.3% –
EPS growth (1Y) 82.5% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) -5.3% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 14.9% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 26.9% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 14.8% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 26.8% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGENZS
Gross margin 78.0% –
EBITDA margin 51.4% –
Operating margin 41.7% –
Pretax margin 30.2% –
Net margin 20.7% –
FCF margin 30.5% –
Operating cash flow margin 30.9% –
Return on equity 40.0% –
Return on assets 6.7% –
Return on invested capital 13.4% –
Return on capital employed 16.4% –
Asset turnover 0.3x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x –
Stock comp / revenue 4.4% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGENZS
Debt / assets 52.1% –
Debt / equity 3.1x –
Net debt / EBITDA 2.9x –
Debt / FCF 5.3x –
Liabilities / assets 83.0% 67.0%
Equity / assets 17.0% 33.0%
Interest coverage 3.9x –
Current ratio 0.5x 1.7x
Quick ratio 0.3x 1.6x
Cash ratio 0.2x 1.2x
Altman Z-score 1.36 –

Shareholder Returns

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

ConsensusGENZS
Forward P/E 8.0xFY2026 57.2xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $3.07FY2026 $4.55FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +19.9%FY2026 +8.1%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +10.4% +27.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.64BFY2026 $4.07BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +12.7%FY2026 +21.5%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +8.2% +19.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGENZS
Held by institutions 89.1% 51.4%
Institutions holding 688 734
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.8% -3.9%
Institutions buying 391 416
Institutions selling 211 236
Buyers to sellers 1.85 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.

GENZS
GEN 1.00 0.41
ZS 0.41 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GEN and ZS?

Zscaler (ZS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Gen Digital (GEN) $14.46B, Zscaler (ZS) $41.86B.

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Gen Digital (GEN) returned the most: Gen Digital (GEN) -10.3%, Zscaler (ZS) -19.4%. Over five years, Gen Digital (GEN) compounded fastest (Gen Digital (GEN) -1.1%/yr, Zscaler (ZS) -3.4%/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) 40.4%, Zscaler (ZS) 71.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do GEN and ZS move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.41, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, GEN 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 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.