Gen Digital vs Palo Alto Networks
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The short version
- Palo Alto Networks is the larger business, with $11.5B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $5.0B for Gen Digital, about 2.3 times as much.
- Gen Digital grew revenue faster (27.1%, against 24.5%).
- Gen Digital kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (42.4% operating margin, against 6.1%).
- Palo Alto Networks turned more of its sales into free cash flow (35.8% FCF margin, against 30.5%).
- Gen Digital earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (13.7%, against 2.6%).
| Latest fiscal year | GEN · FY26 | PANW · FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $15.0B | $290.7B |
| Revenue | $5.0B | $11.5B |
| Free cash flow | $1.5B | $4.1B |
| Net income | $973M | $307M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 27.1% | 24.5% |
| 5-year growth | 14.4% | 22.0% |
| Share count change | −0.8% | 7.8% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 78.5% | 70.4% |
| Operating margin | 42.4% | 6.1% |
| Net margin | 19.5% | 2.7% |
| FCF margin | 30.5% | 35.8% |
| Return on capital | 13.7% | 2.6% |
| Return on equity | 39.9% | 1.7% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $7.8B | −$1.3B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 3.0x | −0.8x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $946M | $1.0B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 14.5x | — |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 4 |
Revenue
FY17
GEN $4.0B
PANW $1.8B
FY18
GEN $2.6B
PANW $2.3B
FY19
GEN $2.5B
PANW $2.9B
FY20
GEN $2.5B
PANW $3.4B
FY21
GEN $2.6B
PANW $4.3B
FY22
GEN $2.8B
PANW $5.5B
FY23
GEN $3.3B
PANW $6.9B
FY24
GEN $3.8B
PANW $8.0B
FY25
GEN $3.9B
PANW $9.2B
FY26
GEN $5.0B
PANW $11.5B
GEN
PANW
Operating margin
FY17
GEN −2.5%
PANW −9.4%
FY18
GEN −6.0%
PANW −4.6%
FY19
GEN 6.4%
PANW −1.9%
FY20
GEN 14.3%
PANW −5.3%
FY21
GEN 35.1%
PANW −7.2%
FY22
GEN 35.9%
PANW −3.4%
FY23
GEN 36.4%
PANW 5.6%
FY24
GEN 29.2%
PANW 8.5%
FY25
GEN 40.9%
PANW 13.5%
FY26
GEN 42.4%
PANW 6.1%
GEN
PANW
Free cash flow
FY17
GEN −$279M
PANW $705M
FY18
GEN $808M
PANW $926M
FY19
GEN $1.3B
PANW $924M
FY20
GEN −$950M
PANW $821M
FY21
GEN $700M
PANW $1.4B
FY22
GEN $968M
PANW $1.8B
FY23
GEN $751M
PANW $2.6B
FY24
GEN $2.0B
PANW $3.1B
FY25
GEN $1.2B
PANW $3.5B
FY26
GEN $1.5B
PANW $4.1B
GEN
PANW
Return on capital
FY17
GEN −2.2%
PANW −17.2%
FY18
GEN −2.0%
PANW —
FY19
GEN 1.6%
PANW —
FY20
GEN 5.0%
PANW —
FY21
GEN 34.7%
PANW —
FY22
GEN 41.7%
PANW —
FY23
GEN 18.7%
PANW —
FY24
GEN 10.5%
PANW 27.9%
FY25
GEN 10.4%
PANW 20.8%
FY26
GEN 13.7%
PANW 2.6%
GEN
PANW
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.