PANW vs ZS vs AXON Stock Comparison

Palo Alto Networks, Zscaler and Axon Enterprise Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
PANW Palo Alto Networks Inc
$380.57 -2.0% 1M +75.2% 1Y
Market cap
$274.48B
P/E
894.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$11.48B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
5 wins
ZS Zscaler, Inc.
$247.82 +24.9% 1M -22.8% 1Y
Market cap
$38.06B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
1 win
AXON Axon Enterprise, Inc.
$438.05 +4.4% 1M -42.3% 1Y
Market cap
$34.46B
P/E
172.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.22B
Div. yield
–
Cybersecurity Software Technology
3 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

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

QuestionPANWZSAXONLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $274.48B $38.06B $34.46B PANW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 894.1x -628.5x 172.9x AXON
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 87.1x 54.5x 55.1x ZS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +24.5% — +34.6% AXON
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 2.7% — 6.2% AXON
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — 0.4% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — 7.9x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +75.2% -22.8% -42.3% PANW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +35.0%/yr -4.9%/yr +19.5%/yr PANW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 49.7% 71.2% 61.6% PANW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 — 48/100 PANW

Percentile Scorecard

PANWZSAXON

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

AxisPANWZSAXON
Valuation 43 #71 of 124 16 #104 of 124 40 #75 of 124
Growth 37 #72 of 113 – 55 #51 of 113
Profitability 75 #28 of 109 – 60 #44 of 109
Financial Health 39 #78 of 127 32 #87 of 127 36 #82 of 127
Shareholder Returns 55 #29 of 63 – –
Overall 50 – 48
  • PANW ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • ZS ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • AXON ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodPANWZSAXONSPY
1 month -2.0%+24.9%+4.4% +0.7%
3 months +16.9%+67.0%-16.6% +3.7%
6 months +112.2%+89.6%+9.0% +7.1%
Year to date +106.6%+10.2%-22.9% +12.8%
1 year +75.2%-22.8%-42.3% +11.9%
3 years +219.1%+58.0%+117.1% +85.2%
3 years, per year +47.3%+16.5%+29.5% +22.8%
5 years +348.5%-22.3%+143.4% +67.6%
5 years, per year +35.0%-4.9%+19.5% +10.9%
10 years +1,406.6%—+1,849.5% +262.0%
10 years, per year +31.2%—+34.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasurePANWZSAXONSPY
Volatility, 1Y 49.7%71.2%61.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 47.0%82.5%61.6% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.260.961.54 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.51-0.32-0.69 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -36.0%-76.4%-60.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.4%-26.3%-42.3% -1.2%
52-week high $419.91$336.27$759.44 $779.14
52-week low $141.67$118.05$345.94 $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.

MultiplePANWZSAXON
P/E now vs peer median 928.5xmedian 39.0x -628.5xmedian 39.0x 177.1xmedian 39.0x
P/S now vs peer median 27.0xmedian 4.6x 12.1xmedian 4.6x 11.1xmedian 4.6x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 143.5xmedian 32.7x —median 32.7x 275.2xmedian 32.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 75.4xmedian 27.4x 47.4xmedian 27.4x 267.2xmedian 27.4x
P/B now vs peer median 11.3xmedian 3.2x 15.6xmedian 3.2x 9.7xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median -64.16median 1.23 —median 1.23 7.73median 1.23

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 monthsPANWZSAXON
Revenue $11.48B – $3.22B
Gross profit $8.08B – $1.91B
Operating income $695.00M – $23.77M
Net income $307.00M – $199.30M
Free cash flow $4.11B – $133.19M
R&D $2.55B – $768.36M
EPS (diluted) $0.40 – $2.41
Cash & equivalents $2.51B $928.35M $597.70M
Total debt – – $1.73B
Shares (diluted) 764.00M 160.22M 82.54M
Enterprise value $259.55B $24.18B $28.98B

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
MetricPANWZSAXON
P/E 928.5x -628.5x 177.1x
P/FCF 75.4x 47.4x 267.2x
P/Operating cash flow 68.1x – 133.9x
P/S 27.0x 12.1x 11.1x
P/B 11.3x 15.6x 9.7x
P/Tangible book 15.1x 17.0x 10.5x
EV/EBITDA 143.5x – 275.2x
EV/EBIT 441.9x – 1,541x
EV/Revenue 26.8x – 11.4x
EV/FCF 74.7x – 275.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 67.4x – 137.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -64.16 – 7.73

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPANWZSAXON
Revenue growth (1Y) 24.5% – 34.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 18.5% – 33.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 19.3% – 32.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 17.5% – 32.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) -44.1% – 1,682%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 21.5% – -40.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -72.9% – -38.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -11.3% – 26.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -74.9% – -39.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -14.5% – 22.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 22.5% – -3.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 17.9% – 18.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 18.6% – -24.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 16.1% – 6.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPANWZSAXON
Gross margin 70.4% – 59.4%
EBITDA margin 18.6% – 4.1%
Operating margin 6.1% – 0.7%
Pretax margin 4.7% – 5.7%
Net margin 2.7% – 6.2%
FCF margin 35.8% – 4.1%
Operating cash flow margin 39.7% – 8.3%
Return on equity 1.1% – 5.5%
Return on assets 0.6% – 2.7%
Return on invested capital – – 0.4%
Return on capital employed 1.9% – 0.4%
Asset turnover 0.2x – 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 14.8x – 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 15.5% – 19.7%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPANWZSAXON
Debt / assets – – 23.1%
Debt / equity – – 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA – – 7.9x
Debt / FCF – – 13.0x
Liabilities / assets 43.3% 67.0% 50.9%
Equity / assets 56.7% 33.0% 49.1%
Interest coverage – – 0.2x
Current ratio 0.9x 1.7x 2.1x
Quick ratio 0.7x 1.6x 1.6x
Cash ratio 0.3x 1.2x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 9.21 – 6.52

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPANWZSAXON
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield -0.1% – –
Shareholder yield -0.1% – –
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.

ConsensusPANWZSAXON
Forward P/E 87.1xFY2027 54.5xFY2027 55.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.37FY2027 $4.55FY2027 $7.95FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +13.8%FY2027 +8.1%FY2027 +16.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +16.5% +27.0% +29.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $13.37BFY2027 $4.07BFY2027 $3.57BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +16.5%FY2027 +21.5%FY2027 +28.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +12.7% +19.4% +41.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPANWZSAXON
Held by institutions 82.1% 51.4% 88.7%
Institutions holding 2,916 735 1,119
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.6% -3.9% +8.0%
Institutions buying 1,548 417 668
Institutions selling 1,126 236 324
Buyers to sellers 1.37 1.77 2.06

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.

PANWZSAXON
PANW 1.00 0.62 0.33
ZS 0.62 1.00 0.36
AXON 0.33 0.36 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PANW, ZS and AXON?

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Palo Alto Networks (PANW) $274.48B, Zscaler (ZS) $38.06B, Axon Enterprise (AXON) $34.46B.

Which stock is cheaper, PANW, ZS and AXON?

Axon Enterprise (AXON) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 894.1x, Zscaler (ZS) -628.5x, Axon Enterprise (AXON) 172.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Zscaler (ZS) is cheapest (Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 87.1x, Zscaler (ZS) 54.5x, Axon Enterprise (AXON) 55.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Axon Enterprise (AXON) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +24.5%, Axon Enterprise (AXON) +34.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Axon Enterprise (AXON) has the highest net margin (Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 2.7%, Axon Enterprise (AXON) 6.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Palo Alto Networks (PANW) returned the most: Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +75.2%, Zscaler (ZS) -22.8%, Axon Enterprise (AXON) -42.3%. Over five years, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) compounded fastest (Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +35.0%/yr, Zscaler (ZS) -4.9%/yr, Axon Enterprise (AXON) +19.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) has been the steadiest (Palo Alto Networks (PANW) 49.7%, Zscaler (ZS) 71.2%, Axon Enterprise (AXON) 61.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.