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Palo Alto Networks

PANW.NE
58
Software - Infrastructure · Technology
Price
C$42.46
+0.78 (+1.87%)
Market Cap
C$340.03B
Exchange
CBOE CA
Winston Score
58
Winston is curious
A decent business — some strong pillars, some weaker.
Data as of Aug 9, 2026 · filings through Apr 30, 2026

Share count rising — dilution

+40.9% over 4y

The company has issued more shares over this period, which dilutes each existing shareholder’s stake.

Diluted shares outstanding: 5.78B (2021) → 8.15B (2025)

Palo Alto Networks makes cybersecurity software and tools that protect businesses from hackers and online threats. Its main products include firewalls, cloud security platforms, and AI-powered threat detection tools sold under brands like Prisma and Cortex. It serves large enterprises, government agencies, and healthcare organizations — essentially any big organization that needs to defend its computer networks and data.

The company earns most of its revenue through subscriptions and support contracts, which create recurring income that grows as customers add more services over time. Palo Alto Networks operates globally, with the United States as its largest market, and reported a market cap above $300 billion, making it one of the largest pure-play cybersecurity companies in the world. Its main competitive advantage is its "platformization" strategy — pushing customers to consolidate multiple security tools onto its single platform rather than buying from many vendors — though the risk is that larger tech companies like Microsoft continue expanding their own competing security offerings.

Winston Score History

Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+32.3% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Revenue accelerating

EPS Growth

-129.5% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Earnings declining

R&D Spend

$2.0B/ year

Rising (+10% vs prior year)

21.5% of revenue

In line with sector average (15%)

Investing heavily in future products and technology

Insider Activity

91.4%ownership

Insiders own a meaningful stake in the company

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$7.8B cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Revenue accelerating

Palo Alto Networks grew revenue 32% year-over-year and the growth rate is speeding up. That's the kind of momentum growth investors look for — the question is whether margins can follow.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

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Quality

Gross Margin
67.6%
Premium pricing power — 67.6% gross margin
Operating Margin
-9.8%
Losing money on operations — -9.8%
ROCE
-1.0%
Weak — -1.0% return on capital

Negative ROIC means the business is losing money on every dollar invested in it.

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Growth

Sales YoY
+20.3%
Fast-growing sales (+20.3% YoY)
EPS YoY
+202.6%
Earnings growing fast (+202.6% YoY)

Earnings growing 25%+ a year. The compounder zone.

EPS Consistency
3/8 quarters
Earnings rarely grow — volatile business

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Cash Flow

Cash Conversion
497%
Turns 497% of profit into real cash
FCF Margin
35.5%
Converts sales into free cash efficiently (35.5%)

Free cash flow margin above 20%. Out of every $100 in sales, more than $20 is real cash they keep.

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Stability

Debt / Equity
0.05
Conservative — low debt load (0.05)
Interest Cover
9171.11x
Comfortably covers interest (9171.1x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)
78.5x
Expensive — P/E 78.5

P/E over 35. The market is pricing in heavy, sustained growth.

P/E vs Forward
+59.1
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (78.5 → 19.3)

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Dividends

Not applicable for this business.
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