PANW vs FTNT vs GEN Stock Comparison

Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet and Gen Digital Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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PANW Palo Alto Networks Inc
$380.55 -3.2% 1M +77.0% 1Y
Market cap
$292.69B
P/E
953.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.48B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
3 wins
FTNT Fortinet, Inc.
$179.99 +0.7% 1M +111.9% 1Y
Market cap
$134.37B
P/E
63.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.53B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
4 wins
GEN Gen Digital Inc.
$24.88 -5.1% 1M -8.5% 1Y
Market cap
$14.59B
P/E
13.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.08B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionPANWFTNTGENLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $292.69B $134.37B $14.59B PANW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 953.4x 63.4x 13.9x GEN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 86.9x 50.3x 8.1x GEN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +24.5% +18.8% +20.2% PANW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.7% 28.2% 20.7% FTNT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 111.7% 13.4% FTNT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -1.2x 2.9x FTNT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +77.0% +111.9% -8.5% FTNT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +35.3%/yr +21.8%/yr -1.4%/yr PANW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 49.5% 42.7% 40.3% GEN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 49/100 69/100 70/100 GEN

Percentile Scorecard

PANWFTNTGEN

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

AxisPANWFTNTGEN
Valuation 42 #72 of 124 49 #64 of 124 88 #16 of 124
Growth 37 #72 of 113 64 #41 of 113 61 #45 of 113
Profitability 76 #27 of 110 100 #1 of 110 95 #6 of 110
Financial Health 38 #81 of 129 55 #59 of 129 15 #110 of 129
Shareholder Returns 54 #32 of 68 76 #17 of 68 93 #6 of 68
Overall 49 69 70
  • PANW ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • FTNT ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • GEN ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodPANWFTNTGENSPY
1 month -3.2%+0.7%-5.1% -1.0%
3 months +17.5%+18.1%-3.7% +2.9%
6 months +113.1%+113.4%+30.7% +6.4%
Year to date +106.6%+126.7%-8.5% +11.4%
1 year +77.0%+111.9%-8.5% +13.1%
3 years +201.9%+212.8%+45.8% +79.4%
3 years, per year +44.6%+46.3%+13.4% +21.5%
5 years +352.9%+168.4%-6.7% +67.7%
5 years, per year +35.3%+21.8%-1.4% +10.9%
10 years +1,420.4%+2,730.0%+3.3% +255.2%
10 years, per year +31.3%+39.7%+0.3% +13.5%

Risk

MeasurePANWFTNTGENSPY
Volatility, 1Y 49.5%42.7%40.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 46.9%37.6%41.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.240.970.83 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.562.62-0.21 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -36.0%-38.3%-49.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.4%-7.6%-20.8% -2.5%
52-week high $419.91$194.75$31.41 $779.14
52-week low $141.67$75.23$17.89 $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.

MultiplePANWFTNTGEN
P/E now vs peer median 928.4xmedian 37.4x 62.2xmedian 37.4x 14.2xmedian 37.4x
P/S now vs peer median 27.0xmedian 4.4x 17.5xmedian 4.4x 2.9xmedian 4.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 143.5xmedian 35.0x 43.3xmedian 35.0x 8.6xmedian 35.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 75.4xmedian 27.2x 42.4xmedian 27.2x 9.6xmedian 27.2x
P/B now vs peer median 11.3xmedian 3.4x 85.1xmedian 3.4x 5.6xmedian 3.4x
PEG now vs peer median -64.15median 1.27 2.14median 1.27 -2.68median 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 monthsPANWFTNTGEN
Revenue $11.48B $7.53B $5.08B
Gross profit $8.08B $6.04B $3.96B
Operating income $695.00M $2.44B $2.12B
Net income $307.00M $2.12B $1.05B
Free cash flow $4.11B $3.12B $1.55B
R&D $2.55B $846.40M $418.00M
EPS (diluted) $0.40 $2.87 $1.75
Cash & equivalents $2.51B $2.93B $564.00M
Total debt – $2.99B $8.16B
Shares (diluted) 764.00M 739.90M 603.00M
Enterprise value $277.77B $120.30B $12.29B

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
MetricPANWFTNTGEN
P/E 928.4x 62.2x 14.2x
P/FCF 75.4x 42.4x 9.6x
P/Operating cash flow 68.1x 38.9x 9.5x
P/S 27.0x 17.5x 2.9x
P/B 11.3x 85.1x 5.6x
P/Tangible book 15.1x 89.6x 24.4x
EV/EBITDA 143.5x 43.3x 8.6x
EV/EBIT 441.8x 52.6x 10.6x
EV/Revenue 26.7x 17.1x 4.4x
EV/FCF 74.7x 41.2x 14.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 67.4x 37.8x 14.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -64.15 2.14 -2.68

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPANWFTNTGEN
Revenue growth (1Y) 24.5% 18.8% 20.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 18.5% 14.7% 12.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 19.3% 17.2% 17.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 17.5% 16.6% 11.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) -44.1% 24.8% 29.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 21.5% 27.6% 17.5%
Net income growth (1Y) -72.9% 9.3% 76.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -11.3% 26.0% -7.3%
EPS growth (1Y) -74.9% 14.2% 82.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -14.5% 29.1% -5.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 22.5% 41.5% 14.9%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 17.9% 15.5% 26.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 18.6% 53.3% 14.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 16.1% 16.4% 26.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPANWFTNTGEN
Gross margin 70.4% 80.2% 78.0%
EBITDA margin 18.6% 39.4% 51.4%
Operating margin 6.1% 32.4% 41.7%
Pretax margin 4.7% 34.8% 30.2%
Net margin 2.7% 28.2% 20.7%
FCF margin 35.8% 41.4% 30.5%
Operating cash flow margin 39.7% 45.1% 30.9%
Return on equity 1.1% 166.9% 40.0%
Return on assets 0.6% 20.4% 6.7%
Return on invested capital – 111.7% 13.4%
Return on capital employed 1.9% 44.2% 16.4%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.7x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 14.8x 1.6x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue 15.5% 3.9% 4.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPANWFTNTGEN
Debt / assets – 4.6% 52.1%
Debt / equity – 0.3x 3.1x
Net debt / EBITDA – -1.2x 2.9x
Debt / FCF – 0.2x 5.3x
Liabilities / assets 43.3% 85.7% 83.0%
Equity / assets 56.7% 14.3% 17.0%
Interest coverage – 135.7x 3.9x
Current ratio 0.9x 1.3x 0.5x
Quick ratio 0.7x 1.1x 0.3x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.8x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 9.21 10.06 1.38

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPANWFTNTGEN
Dividend yield – – 2.0%
Net buyback yield -0.1% 2.1% 4.0%
Shareholder yield -0.1% 2.1% 6.0%
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.

ConsensusPANWFTNTGEN
Forward P/E 86.9xFY2027 50.3xFY2026 8.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.38FY2027 $3.58FY2026 $3.07FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +14.1%FY2027 +29.7%FY2026 +19.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +16.2% +0.8% +10.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $13.37BFY2027 $8.38BFY2026 $5.64BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +16.5%FY2027 +23.2%FY2026 +12.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +12.7% +13.2% +8.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPANWFTNTGEN
Held by institutions 82.1% 68.6% 89.1%
Institutions holding 2,912 1,567 688
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.6% +23.7% +3.8%
Institutions buying 1,545 854 391
Institutions selling 1,125 549 211
Buyers to sellers 1.37 1.56 1.85

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.

PANWFTNTGEN
PANW 1.00 0.77 0.40
FTNT 0.77 1.00 0.43
GEN 0.40 0.43 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PANW, FTNT and GEN?

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Palo Alto Networks (PANW) $292.69B, Fortinet (FTNT) $134.37B, Gen Digital (GEN) $14.59B.

Which stock is cheaper, PANW, FTNT and GEN?

Gen Digital (GEN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 953.4x, Fortinet (FTNT) 63.4x, Gen Digital (GEN) 13.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Gen Digital (GEN) is cheapest (Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 86.9x, Fortinet (FTNT) 50.3x, Gen Digital (GEN) 8.1x). 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: Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +24.5%, Fortinet (FTNT) +18.8%, Gen Digital (GEN) +20.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Fortinet (FTNT) has the highest net margin (Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 2.7%, Fortinet (FTNT) 28.2%, Gen Digital (GEN) 20.7%). On return on invested capital, Fortinet (FTNT) leads (Fortinet (FTNT) 111.7%, Gen Digital (GEN) 13.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Fortinet (FTNT) returned the most: Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +77.0%, Fortinet (FTNT) +111.9%, Gen Digital (GEN) -8.5%. Over five years, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) compounded fastest (Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +35.3%/yr, Fortinet (FTNT) +21.8%/yr, Gen Digital (GEN) -1.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Gen Digital (GEN) has been the steadiest (Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 49.5%, Fortinet (FTNT) 42.7%, Gen Digital (GEN) 40.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.