PANW vs GEN vs FFIV Stock Comparison

Palo Alto Networks, Gen Digital and F5 Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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PANW Palo Alto Networks Inc
$348.04 -14.4% 1M +62.2% 1Y
Market cap
$237.43B
P/E
773.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.48B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
4 wins
GEN Gen Digital Inc.
$30.89 +38.6% 1M +19.4% 1Y
Market cap
$18.42B
P/E
15.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.23B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
4 wins
FFIV F5, Inc.
$329.72 -28.1% 1M +36.6% 1Y
Market cap
$17.87B
P/E
24.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.31B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
1 win

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Palo Alto Networks leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Palo Alto Networks 4, Gen Digital 4, F5 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPANWGENFFIVLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $237.43B $18.42B $17.87B PANW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 773.4x 15.3x 24.6x GEN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 79.6x 10.1x 19.3x GEN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +24.5% +16.9% +9.4% PANW
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.7% 23.1% 22.0% 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 +62.2% +19.4% +36.6% PANW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +33.5%/yr +4.5%/yr +8.3%/yr PANW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 50.0% 43.1% 41.7% FFIV
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 49/100 69/100 66/100 GEN

Percentile Scorecard

PANWGENFFIV

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

AxisPANWGENFFIV
Valuation 42 #73 of 124 82 #23 of 124 81 #25 of 124
Growth 38 #71 of 114 63 #43 of 114 42 #67 of 114
Profitability 74 #30 of 111 96 #6 of 111 95 #7 of 111
Financial Health 37 #81 of 128 14 #110 of 128 50 #65 of 128
Shareholder Returns 54 #34 of 73 90 #8 of 73 65 #26 of 73
Overall 49 69 66
  • PANW ranked among 136 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • GEN ranked among 136 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • FFIV ranked among 136 companies in Infrastructure Software

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodPANWGENFFIVSPY
1 month -14.4%+38.6%-28.1% -1.0%
3 months -4.0%+10.5%-19.8% -0.4%
6 months +89.5%+57.9%-3.3% +4.5%
Year to date +88.9%+13.6%+29.2% +12.4%
1 year +62.2%+19.4%+36.6% +13.6%
3 years +185.8%+75.2%+114.0% +76.4%
3 years, per year +42.0%+20.6%+28.9% +20.8%
5 years +322.9%+24.7%+48.7% +63.7%
5 years, per year +33.5%+4.5%+8.3% +10.4%
10 years +1,310.8%+31.5%+142.9% +267.7%
10 years, per year +30.3%+2.8%+9.3% +13.9%

Risk

MeasurePANWGENFFIVSPY
Volatility, 1Y 50.0%43.1%41.7% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 47.2%41.1%48.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.270.771.09 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.240.450.88 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -36.0%-49.7%-47.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -17.1%-1.7%-31.3% -1.6%
52-week high $419.91$31.41$479.83 $779.14
52-week low $141.67$17.89$223.99 $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.

MultiplePANWGENFFIV
P/E now vs peer median 849.1xmedian 41.0x 15.3xmedian 41.0x 25.7xmedian 41.0x
P/S now vs peer median 24.7xmedian 4.4x 3.5xmedian 4.4x 5.7xmedian 4.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 131.1xmedian 28.9x 9.7xmedian 28.9x 18.8xmedian 28.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 69.0xmedian 23.9x 10.4xmedian 23.9x 19.3xmedian 23.9x
P/B now vs peer median 10.3xmedian 3.1x 6.7xmedian 3.1x 4.9xmedian 3.1x
PEG now vs peer median -58.67median 1.36 -5.62median 1.36 0.81median 1.36

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 monthsPANWGENFFIV
Revenue $11.48B $5.23B $3.31B
Gross profit $8.08B $4.05B $2.71B
Operating income $695.00M $2.19B $812.13M
Net income $307.00M $1.21B $726.51M
Free cash flow $4.11B $1.76B $969.60M
R&D $2.55B $430.00M $593.25M
EPS (diluted) $0.40 $2.00 $12.62
Cash & equivalents $2.51B $589.00M $1.61B
Total debt – $8.12B –
Shares (diluted) 764.00M 603.00M 57.55M
Enterprise value $222.51B $16.24B $12.28B

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
MetricPANWGENFFIV
P/E 849.1x 15.3x 25.7x
P/FCF 69.0x 10.4x 19.3x
P/Operating cash flow 62.3x 10.3x 17.9x
P/S 24.7x 3.5x 5.7x
P/B 10.3x 6.7x 4.9x
P/Tangible book 13.9x 22.5x 4.9x
EV/EBITDA 131.1x 9.7x 18.8x
EV/EBIT 403.7x 11.8x 21.1x
EV/Revenue 24.4x 4.9x 5.2x
EV/FCF 68.2x 14.7x 17.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 61.6x 14.5x 16.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -58.67 -5.62 0.81

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPANWGENFFIV
Revenue growth (1Y) 24.5% 16.9% 9.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 18.5% 11.7% 5.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 19.3% 14.1% 10.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 17.5% 10.2% 7.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) -44.1% 30.5% 8.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 21.5% 26.3% 25.8%
Net income growth (1Y) -72.9% 111.6% 8.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -11.3% -4.8% 29.8%
EPS growth (1Y) -74.9% 118.9% 10.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -14.5% -2.7% 31.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 22.5% 34.4% 6.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 17.9% 22.0% 19.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 18.6% 35.7% 1.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 16.1% 22.1% 19.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPANWGENFFIV
Gross margin 70.4% 77.4% 81.9%
EBITDA margin 18.6% 51.2% 27.5%
Operating margin 6.1% 41.8% 24.5%
Pretax margin 4.7% 32.3% 25.8%
Net margin 2.7% 23.1% 22.0%
FCF margin 35.8% 33.7% 29.3%
Operating cash flow margin 39.7% 34.0% 31.7%
Return on equity 1.1% 44.7% 19.4%
Return on assets 0.6% 7.7% 10.9%
Return on invested capital – 14.4% –
Return on capital employed 1.9% 18.0% 16.6%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.3x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 14.8x 1.5x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 15.5% 4.3% 7.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPANWGENFFIV
Debt / assets – 52.2% –
Debt / equity – 3.0x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.8x –
Debt / FCF – 4.6x –
Liabilities / assets 43.3% 82.4% 43.5%
Equity / assets 56.7% 17.6% 56.5%
Interest coverage – 4.3x –
Current ratio 0.9x 0.4x 1.7x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.3x 1.5x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.2x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 8.45 1.52 5.65

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPANWGENFFIV
Dividend yield – 1.7% –
Net buyback yield -0.1% 4.2% 0.9%
Shareholder yield -0.1% 5.8% 0.9%
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.

ConsensusPANWGENFFIV
Forward P/E 79.6xFY2027 10.1xFY2026 19.3xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $4.37FY2027 $3.07FY2026 $17.06FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +13.8%FY2027 +19.9%FY2026 +34.0%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +16.5% +10.4% +14.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $13.37BFY2027 $5.64BFY2026 $3.52BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +16.5%FY2027 +12.7%FY2026 +13.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +12.7% +8.2% +6.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPANWGENFFIV
Held by institutions 82.1% 89.1% 96.6%
Institutions holding 2,918 690 833
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.6% +3.8% -2.6%
Institutions buying 1,549 392 485
Institutions selling 1,127 212 240
Buyers to sellers 1.37 1.85 2.02

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.

PANWGENFFIV
PANW 1.00 0.32 0.34
GEN 0.32 1.00 0.18
FFIV 0.34 0.18 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PANW, GEN and FFIV?

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Palo Alto Networks (PANW) $237.43B, Gen Digital (GEN) $18.42B, F5 (FFIV) $17.87B.

Which stock is cheaper, PANW, GEN and FFIV?

Gen Digital (GEN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 773.4x, Gen Digital (GEN) 15.3x, F5 (FFIV) 24.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Gen Digital (GEN) is cheapest (Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 79.6x, Gen Digital (GEN) 10.1x, F5 (FFIV) 19.3x). 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%, Gen Digital (GEN) +16.9%, F5 (FFIV) +9.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Gen Digital (GEN) has the highest net margin (Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 2.7%, Gen Digital (GEN) 23.1%, F5 (FFIV) 22.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Palo Alto Networks (PANW) returned the most: Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +62.2%, Gen Digital (GEN) +19.4%, F5 (FFIV) +36.6%. Over five years, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) compounded fastest (Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +33.5%/yr, Gen Digital (GEN) +4.5%/yr, F5 (FFIV) +8.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, F5 (FFIV) has been the steadiest (Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 50.0%, Gen Digital (GEN) 43.1%, F5 (FFIV) 41.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 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.