Compare · Technology
Fortinet vs. Palo Alto Networks: how they make money
The same facts for both companies, in the same order, from each company's own page and filings. This is not a ranking and says nothing about which share to own.
Each company in 5 points
Fortinet
1 · What it sells
Fortinet sells FortiGate firewalls plus the security subscriptions and support that keep them up to date, with revenue of $6,799.6 million in FY2025.
Sources and detail on the Fortinet page2 · Who pays it
In FY2025 customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa paid 41.7% of Fortinet's revenue, the Americas 39.7% and Asia-Pacific 18.6%.
Sources and detail on the Fortinet page3 · What it keeps from $100
Of every $100 that came in during FY2025 Fortinet kept $26.3 as net income, which included a one-off $39.9 million gain on buying Linksys, while operating income was $2,084.7 million.
Sources and detail on the Fortinet page4 · Where the operating profit comes from
Fortinet reports one segment and no profit by product, but services made up 67.4% of FY2025 revenue and gross profit was $80.5 of every $100 of revenue.
Sources and detail on the Fortinet page5 · The one thing to watch
Fortinet's inventory purchase commitments reached $1.93 billion at Sep 30, 2026, up from $810.6 million at Dec 31, 2025, while product gross margin fell 3.3 points in Q3 FY2026.
Sources and detail on the Fortinet page
Palo Alto Networks
1 · What it sells
Palo Alto Networks sells firewalls, security software subscriptions and support that protect organizations' networks, clouds and logins from hackers, with revenue of $11.5 billion in FY2026.
Sources and detail on the Palo Alto Networks page2 · Who pays it
In FY2026 customers in the United States paid 61.9% of Palo Alto Networks' revenue, Europe, the Middle East and Africa 21.1%, Asia-Pacific and Japan 12.0% and the rest of the Americas 5.0%.
Sources and detail on the Palo Alto Networks page3 · What it keeps from $100
Of every $100 of FY2026 revenue Palo Alto Networks kept $2.7 as net income, after a $562 million net fair-value loss on convertible notes and capped calls, while its operating income was $695 million.
Sources and detail on the Palo Alto Networks page4 · Where the operating profit comes from
Palo Alto Networks reports one segment and no profit by product, but subscriptions and support made up 80.1% of FY2026 revenue and gross profit was $70.4 of every $100 of revenue.
Sources and detail on the Palo Alto Networks page5 · The one thing to watch
In FY2026 CyberArk and Chronosphere added $930 million of revenue and an operating loss of $797 million after Palo Alto Networks bought them, against total operating income of $695 million.
Sources and detail on the Palo Alto Networks page
Where each $100 went
Each company's own receipt for its latest full fiscal year, with matching lines in the same order where both have them.
Fortinet
Where $100 went · FY2025
| Sales and marketing | $33.4 |
|---|---|
| Research and development | $11.6 |
| General and administrative | $3.3 |
| Making products and running services | $18.9 |
| Interest expense | $0.3 |
| Income tax | $6.2 |
| Kept as net income | $26.3 |
| Total | $100 |
Cityfort calculation from the FY2025 10-K. Of every $100 that came in during FY2025: revenue of $6,799.6 million plus $238.3 million of interest income, other income (including the one-off $39.9 million Linksys gain), gains on intellectual property matters and equity-method gains, $7,037.9 million in all. Stock-based pay ($279.5 million) sits inside the cost lines. Measured on revenue alone, operating income was $30.7 per $100.
Palo Alto Networks
Where $100 went · FY2026
| Sales and marketing | $34.2 |
|---|---|
| Research and development | $22.2 |
| General and administrative | $7.8 |
| Running the service and making products | $29.6 |
| Other expense, net | $1.4 |
| Income tax | $2.0 |
| Kept as net income | $2.7 |
| Total | $100 |
Cityfort calculation from the FY2026 10-K. Of every $100 of revenue in FY2026 ($11,480 million; other income and expense was a net expense, so it is a cost line here). The lines are rounded, so they add up to $99.9. Stock-based pay ($1,774 million) sits inside the cost lines. Measured the same way, operating income was $6.05 per $100.
Line items differ because each company groups its costs its own way in its filings. Only on Fortinet's receipt: Making products and running services; Interest expense. Only on Palo Alto Networks' receipt: Running the service and making products; Other expense, net.
Revenue, net income and free cash flow
Up to five fiscal years for each company, drawn on one shared scale per measure. Amounts in US$ as reported (GAAP).
Revenue
Fortinet
Palo Alto Networks
See the numbers
Net income
Fortinet
Palo Alto Networks
See the numbers
Free cash flow
Fortinet
Palo Alto Networks
See the numbers
Sources: Fortinet S3, S5, S4, S1, S2 · Palo Alto Networks S3, S2, S1
Who pays each company
Fortinet
- Organizations paying for security subscriptions · 38.7% of revenueYearly FortiGuard and other cloud-delivered security services: $2,633.2 million, 38.7% of FY2025 revenue.
- Organizations buying products · 32.6% of revenueFortiGate firewalls and other hardware and software: $2,218.4 million, 32.6% of FY2025 revenue.
- Organizations paying for technical support and other services · 28.6% of revenueFortiCare support, training and professional services: $1,948.0 million, 28.6% of FY2025 revenue.
Palo Alto Networks
- Organizations paying for subscriptions · 54.3% of revenueYearly fees for cloud-delivered security, security operations, cloud security and, since 2026, identity security and observability: $6,239 million, 54.3% of FY2026 revenue.
- Organizations paying for support · 25.8% of revenueSecurity updates, upgrades, bug fixes and repairs, usually bought with firewalls: $2,961 million, 25.8% of FY2026 revenue.
- Organizations buying products · 19.9% of revenueFirewall hardware and software licenses: $2,280 million, 19.9% of FY2026 revenue.
Revenue by segment
Fortinet
Not on the Fortinet page.
Palo Alto Networks
Not on the Palo Alto Networks page.
Debt and cash
Fortinet
- Debt
- $497M
- Cash and investments
- $5.3B
On Sep 30, 2026.
At Sep 30, 2026 Fortinet held $5,318.4 million of cash and investments against $497.1 million of bonds, so cash exceeded debt by $4,821.3 million.
Palo Alto Networks
- Debt
- $1.8B
- Cash and investments
- $7.9B
On Jul 31, 2026.
At Jul 31, 2026 Palo Alto Networks held $7,906 million of cash and investments against $1,774 million of convertible notes, so cash exceeded debt by $6,132 million.
Sources: Fortinet S10, S6, S1, S2, S4 · Palo Alto Networks S1
Who owns each company
Fortinet
- One class of shares.
- Officers and directors as a group: 17.6% of shares (as of Mar 31, 2026).
- Ken Xie (co-founder, Chairman and CEO): 9.8% (as of Mar 31, 2026).
- Michael Xie (co-founder, President and CTO): 9.3% (as of Mar 31, 2026).
- BlackRock, Inc.: 7.4% (as of Jan 26, 2024).
- 1 more holders on the Fortinet page.
Palo Alto Networks
- One class of shares.
- Officers and directors as a group: 0.6% of shares (as of Sep 18, 2026).
- Vanguard Capital Management: 7.4% (as of Apr 30, 2026).
- BlackRock, Inc.: 6.0% (as of Jan 26, 2024).
Risks only one page tracks
Risks whose type the other company's page does not list. Both pages track risks of these types: customer or supplier concentration, execution, legal cases, competition. Every risk is on each company's page.
Fortinet
- Hardware made in Taiwan (other)About 87% of Fortinet's hardware is made in Taiwan, and its custom chips come from TSMC or Renesas foundries with no guaranteed capacity. The 10-Q names tensions between China and Taiwan among economic and political risks.
- Service revenue range lowered (demand)On Oct 28, 2026 Fortinet gave a FY2026 service revenue range of $5.150–5.170 billion, below the $5.180–5.220 billion it gave on Jul 29, 2026. Services were 67.4% of FY2025 revenue.
Palo Alto Networks
- Convertible notes at fair value (debt)The 2030 notes, about $1.1 billion of principal, are carried at fair value, $1,774 million at Jul 31, 2026. Changes in that value go through net income: a $562 million net loss with the capped calls in FY2026.
- Stock-based pay and dilution (other)Stock-based pay was $1,774 million in FY2026, 15.5% of revenue and 5.8 times net income. Diluted shares rose from 709 million in FY2025 to 764 million in FY2026; about 112 million shares were issued for CyberArk in February 2026.
- Operations in Israel (other)Palo Alto Networks has employees and research work in Israel, more of them since CyberArk, and the 10-K lists conditions there as a risk.
Sources: Fortinet S1, S6, S10, S11 · Palo Alto Networks S1, S8
Key facts
- How does Fortinet make money compared with Palo Alto Networks?
- Fortinet's revenue by payer: Organizations paying for security subscriptions 38.7%, Organizations buying products 32.6%, Organizations paying for technical support and other services 28.6%. Palo Alto Networks' revenue by payer: Organizations paying for subscriptions 54.3%, Organizations paying for support 25.8%, Organizations buying products 19.9%.
- Which is bigger by revenue, Fortinet or Palo Alto Networks?
- Fortinet reported $6.8B of revenue in FY2025, and Palo Alto Networks reported $11.5B in FY2026. The two fiscal years end in different months.
- How much net income did Fortinet and Palo Alto Networks report?
- Fortinet reported net income of $1.9B in FY2025, and Palo Alto Networks reported $307M in FY2026.
- How much of every $100 did Fortinet and Palo Alto Networks keep as net income?
- Fortinet kept $26.3 of every $100 that came in during FY2025, and Palo Alto Networks kept $2.7 in FY2026 (Cityfort calculation from each company's annual report).
- How much debt and cash do Fortinet and Palo Alto Networks have?
- Fortinet had $497M of debt and $5.3B of cash and investments on Sep 30, 2026. Palo Alto Networks had $1.8B of debt and $7.9B of cash and investments on Jul 31, 2026.
- When do Fortinet's and Palo Alto Networks' fiscal years end?
- Fortinet: December 31 (FY2025 = year ended Dec 31, 2025). Palo Alto Networks: July 31 (FY2026 = year ended Jul 31, 2026).
Sources: Fortinet S3, S5, S4, S1, S2, S10, S6 · Palo Alto Networks S3, S2, S1
Built from each company's page. Fortinet updated Nov 6, 2026; Palo Alto Networks updated Nov 6, 2026.
Sources
Fortinet
- S1Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025 (ended Dec 31, 2025), Fortinet, Inc. (SEC EDGAR), Feb 25, 2026
- S2Form 10-K, fiscal year 2024 (ended Dec 31, 2024), Fortinet, Inc. (SEC EDGAR), Feb 21, 2025
- S3Form 10-K, fiscal year 2023 (ended Dec 31, 2023), Fortinet, Inc. (SEC EDGAR), Feb 26, 2024
- S4Form 10-K, fiscal year 2022 (ended Dec 31, 2022), Fortinet, Inc. (SEC EDGAR), Feb 24, 2023
- S5Form 10-K, fiscal year 2021 (ended Dec 31, 2021), Fortinet, Inc. (SEC EDGAR), Feb 25, 2022
- S6Form 10-Q, Q3 fiscal 2026 (quarter ended Sep 30, 2026), Fortinet, Inc. (SEC EDGAR), Oct 30, 2026
- S10Q3 2026 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1, Oct 28, 2026), Fortinet, Inc. (SEC EDGAR), Oct 28, 2026
- S11Q2 2026 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1, Jul 29, 2026), Fortinet, Inc. (SEC EDGAR), Jul 29, 2026
- S19Definitive proxy statement (DEF 14A) for the 2026 annual meeting, Fortinet, Inc. (SEC EDGAR), Apr 29, 2026
Palo Alto Networks
- S1Form 10-K, fiscal year 2026 (ended July 31, 2026), Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (SEC EDGAR), Sep 10, 2026
- S2Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025 (ended July 31, 2025), Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (SEC EDGAR), Aug 29, 2025
- S3Form 10-K, fiscal year 2024 (ended July 31, 2024), Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (SEC EDGAR), Sep 6, 2024
- S8Q4 and fiscal year 2026 earnings release (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1), Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (SEC EDGAR), Sep 1, 2026
- S16Definitive proxy statement (DEF 14A) for the 2026 annual meeting, Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (SEC EDGAR), Oct 27, 2026
Disclaimer
For learning only. Cityfort is not a registered investment adviser or broker-dealer and does not recommend buying or selling any security. Prices shown are dated and may be out of date.
Investing in securities involves risk, including loss of capital. Before making any investment decision, do your own research and consider consulting a registered investment adviser or other qualified professional.
Cityfort, its owners and contributors may or may not hold securities of companies covered. Cityfort is not paid by any company it covers. Content is not an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security, including in any initial public offering.
Read the positions policyRead the full disclaimerHide the full disclaimer
Cityfort publishes general educational content that explains how listed companies work. Cityfort is not registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission or any state securities regulator as an investment adviser, and is not a broker-dealer or a member of FINRA. Cityfort does not provide investment, tax or legal advice, recommendations, ratings, price targets or any opinion on whether to buy, sell or hold any security. Nothing on the site is tailored to any person's circumstances.
All information is taken from publicly available sources, mainly company filings with the SEC, which are listed on each page with dates. We work to keep it accurate and correct errors publicly, but we do not guarantee that it is complete, accurate or up to date. Any market price or price-based ratio shown is dated, may be out of date by the time you read it, and is included only to explain concepts.
Statements by company management, including forward-looking statements and guidance, are reported as the company's statements, with their date and source; they are not our forecasts. Adjusted (non-GAAP) figures are the company's own measures and are shown next to the official (GAAP) figures.