PANW vs FTNT vs ZS Stock Comparison

Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet and Zscaler Prices as of Nov 3, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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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
FTNT Fortinet, Inc.
$128.11 -29.2% 1M +46.4% 1Y
Market cap
$94.71B
P/E
41.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.88B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
5 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

Fortinet leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Fortinet 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.

QuestionPANWFTNTZSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $260.97B $94.71B $36.00B PANW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 850.1x 41.5x -569.9x FTNT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 80.1x 35.8x 49.5x FTNT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +24.5% +20.2% +25.4% ZS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.7% 29.0% -1.9% FTNT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 88.9% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -1.4x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +59.7% +46.4% -33.1% PANW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +33.6%/yr +13.6%/yr -7.5%/yr PANW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 50.1% 49.4% 71.5% FTNT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 49/100 70/100 53/100 FTNT

Percentile Scorecard

PANWFTNTZS

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

AxisPANWFTNTZS
Valuation 43 #71 of 124 60 #50 of 124 51 #61 of 124
Growth 38 #71 of 114 68 #37 of 114 66 #40 of 114
Profitability 74 #30 of 111 100 #1 of 111 62 #43 of 111
Financial Health 37 #81 of 128 57 #56 of 128 39 #79 of 128
Shareholder Returns 54 #34 of 73 67 #25 of 73 47 #39 of 73
Overall 49 70 53
  • PANW ranked among 136 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • FTNT 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

PeriodPANWFTNTZSSPY
1 month -13.2%-29.2%+14.5% -2.0%
3 months -4.4%-23.9%+37.9% -2.2%
6 months +90.3%+42.5%+59.2% +4.2%
Year to date +90.1%+61.3%+0.1% +10.6%
1 year +59.7%+46.4%-33.1% +10.4%
3 years +187.6%+153.8%+36.9% +73.6%
3 years, per year +42.2%+36.4%+11.1% +20.2%
5 years +325.5%+89.3%-32.2% +61.6%
5 years, per year +33.6%+13.6%-7.5% +10.1%
10 years +1,342.9%+1,979.7%— +261.3%
10 years, per year +30.6%+35.5%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasurePANWFTNTZSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 50.1%49.4%71.5% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 47.3%52.0%82.5% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.301.071.01 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.190.94-0.46 0.81
Max drawdown, 5Y -36.0%-38.3%-76.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -16.6%-34.2%-33.1% -3.2%
52-week high $419.91$194.75$336.27 $779.14
52-week low $141.67$75.23$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.

MultiplePANWFTNTZS
P/E now vs peer median 854.4xmedian 38.8x 41.2xmedian 38.8x -570.8xmedian 38.8x
P/S now vs peer median 24.9xmedian 4.4x 11.9xmedian 4.4x 10.9xmedian 4.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 131.9xmedian 28.6x 28.6xmedian 28.6x 126.6xmedian 28.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 69.4xmedian 23.6x 27.4xmedian 23.6x 43.1xmedian 23.6x
P/B now vs peer median 10.4xmedian 3.1x 41.9xmedian 3.1x 14.1xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median -59.04median 1.27 1.45median 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 monthsPANWFTNTZS
Revenue $11.48B $7.88B $3.35B
Gross profit $8.08B $6.29B $2.57B
Operating income $695.00M $2.60B -$133.27M
Net income $307.00M $2.28B -$63.18M
Free cash flow $4.11B $3.43B $852.35M
R&D $2.55B $857.40M $903.40M
EPS (diluted) $0.40 $3.07 $-0.39
Cash & equivalents $2.51B $3.75B $928.35M
Total debt – $497.10M –
Shares (diluted) 764.00M 742.60M 160.22M
Enterprise value $246.04B $78.97B $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
MetricPANWFTNTZS
P/E 854.4x 41.2x -570.8x
P/FCF 69.4x 27.4x 43.1x
P/Operating cash flow 62.7x 25.5x 32.5x
P/S 24.9x 11.9x 10.9x
P/B 10.4x 41.9x 14.1x
P/Tangible book 13.9x 43.3x 15.4x
EV/EBITDA 131.9x 28.6x 126.6x
EV/EBIT 406.2x 34.6x -249.3x
EV/Revenue 24.6x 11.4x 9.9x
EV/FCF 68.6x 26.2x 39.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 62.0x 24.4x 29.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -59.04 1.45 -16.60

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPANWFTNTZS
Revenue growth (1Y) 24.5% 20.2% 25.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 18.5% 15.1% 27.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 19.3% 18.6% 25.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 17.5% 16.7% 27.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) -44.1% 27.8% -3.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 21.5% 28.9% 17.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -72.9% 21.8% -52.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -11.3% 25.6% 32.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -74.9% 24.9% -46.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -14.5% 28.3% 34.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 22.5% 50.6% 16.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 17.9% 17.5% 34.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 18.6% 69.2% 5.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 16.1% 18.5% 32.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPANWFTNTZS
Gross margin 70.4% 79.7% 76.8%
EBITDA margin 18.6% 39.8% 7.8%
Operating margin 6.1% 33.0% -4.0%
Pretax margin 4.7% 35.3% -0.5%
Net margin 2.7% 29.0% -1.9%
FCF margin 35.8% 43.5% 25.4%
Operating cash flow margin 39.7% 46.8% 33.7%
Return on equity 1.1% 120.1% -2.5%
Return on assets 0.6% 20.0% -0.8%
Return on invested capital – 88.9% –
Return on capital employed 1.9% 41.2% -2.9%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.7x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 14.8x 1.6x -17.9x
Stock comp / revenue 15.5% 3.9% 24.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPANWFTNTZS
Debt / assets – 4.2% –
Debt / equity – 0.2x –
Net debt / EBITDA – -1.4x –
Debt / FCF – 0.1x –
Liabilities / assets 43.3% 81.2% 67.0%
Equity / assets 56.7% 18.8% 33.0%
Interest coverage – 175.6x -11.3x
Current ratio 0.9x 1.4x 1.7x
Quick ratio 0.7x 1.2x 1.6x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.9x 1.2x
Altman Z-score 8.50 7.44 4.64

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPANWFTNTZS
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield -0.1% 1.0% -0.2%
Shareholder yield -0.1% 1.0% -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.

ConsensusPANWFTNTZS
Forward P/E 80.1xFY2027 35.8xFY2026 49.5xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $4.37FY2027 $3.58FY2026 $4.55FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +13.8%FY2027 +29.7%FY2026 +8.1%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +16.5% +0.8% +27.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $13.37BFY2027 $8.38BFY2026 $4.07BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +16.5%FY2027 +23.2%FY2026 +21.5%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +12.7% +13.2% +19.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPANWFTNTZS
Held by institutions 82.1% 68.6% 51.4%
Institutions holding 2,918 1,570 737
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.6% +23.7% -3.9%
Institutions buying 1,549 855 418
Institutions selling 1,127 551 237
Buyers to sellers 1.37 1.55 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.

PANWFTNTZS
PANW 1.00 0.71 0.62
FTNT 0.71 1.00 0.55
ZS 0.62 0.55 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PANW, FTNT and ZS?

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Palo Alto Networks (PANW) $260.97B, Fortinet (FTNT) $94.71B, Zscaler (ZS) $36.00B.

Which stock is cheaper, PANW, FTNT and ZS?

Fortinet (FTNT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 850.1x, Fortinet (FTNT) 41.5x, Zscaler (ZS) -569.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Fortinet (FTNT) is cheapest (Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 80.1x, Fortinet (FTNT) 35.8x, 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: Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +24.5%, Fortinet (FTNT) +20.2%, Zscaler (ZS) +25.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Fortinet (FTNT) has the highest net margin (Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 2.7%, Fortinet (FTNT) 29.0%, Zscaler (ZS) -1.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Palo Alto Networks (PANW) returned the most: Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +59.7%, Fortinet (FTNT) +46.4%, Zscaler (ZS) -33.1%. Over five years, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) compounded fastest (Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +33.6%/yr, Fortinet (FTNT) +13.6%/yr, Zscaler (ZS) -7.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Fortinet (FTNT) has been the steadiest (Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 50.1%, Fortinet (FTNT) 49.4%, Zscaler (ZS) 71.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, PANW, FTNT 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, Fortinet (FTNT) 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.