Palo Alto Networks, Inc.

PANW Technology Software Infrastructure

Palo Alto Networks, Inc.’s revenue for fiscal 2026 (year ended July 2026) was $11.5 billion, up 24.5% from fiscal 2025.

Revenue
+34.5%
EPS
−192.1%
Free cash flow
+34.3%

Quarter to July 2026, against a year earlier

319.01 4.34 +1.38%
Market cap
$257.6B
P/E
597×
Fwd P/E
232×
Dividend yield
—
F-score
3/9
Altman Z
7.45
Beneish M
−2.56
Dividend safety
n/a

Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) valuation and DCF model

What the price implies · reverse DCF

At $319.01 the price implies free cash flow after share-based pay growing 27.4% a year for ten years.

Free cash flow after share-based pay grew 30.0% a year over the last ten years, 37.2% over the last five. The price asks for close to its ten-year rate. The industry’s median company is priced for 20.5%.

In July 2017 the price assumed 17.8% a year; Palo Alto Networks, Inc. went on to grow free cash flow after share-based pay 29.3% a year to FY2026.

Price implies
27.4%
Last 5 years, reported
37.2%
Last 10 years, reported
30.0%
Industry median implies
20.5%

The headline discounts the last twelve months’ free cash flow after share-based pay at 9.0% for ten years and grows it 2.5% a year after that, the same for every company, so the figure compares across the market (how a reverse DCF works).

The other way round · DCF
The price needs
27.4% a year for ten years
$319.01
today’s price
Its base case
25.0% a year for five years, then 15.0%
$190.58
40.3% below today’s price

Both are growth in free cash flow after share-based pay, discounted at 9.0%, with 2.5% a year after year ten.

Base case on its own ten-year record Palo Alto Networks, Inc.’s own growth, carried forward

Its assumptions

Powerpack lets you start from a scenario and type over any of them.

The base case’s inputs, which Powerpack lets you change
1 · Cash flow to equity
the four quarters to July 2026, from the 10-Q and 10-K filings, before share-based pay

Yearly growth in cash flow. It usually slows as the company matures.

Today’s price implies free cash flow after share-based pay growing 27.4% a year for ten years.

2 · Rates

Cost of equity is the yearly return shareholders require, typically 8–11%. Terminal growth is growth forever after year 10, usually near long-run inflation, 2–3%.

3 · Per share

Diluted shares outstanding. Net debt, under Advanced inputs, is taken off before dividing.

Advanced inputs
negative is net cash
new shares the cash flow does not pay for

Against Palo Alto Networks, Inc.’s own cost of capital: risk-free 4.3% + beta 0.97 × equity premium 4.5% = 8.7% cost of equity; weighted, 8.7%.

Use 8.7%
Equity value $142.22b ▼ below market cap $238.06b
Base case value per share $190.58 equity value ÷ 746.25m shares
Current price $319.01 market price per share
Below today’s price 40.3% downside at the base case’s assumptions

How we got there$45.29b 10 years of cash to equity+$95.63b terminal value+$1.30b net cash=$142.22b equity value÷746.25m shares=$190.58 per share

Valuation against its own history

Today’s multiple against its 5- and 10-year averages and the industry median (Software Infrastructure).

Multiple Current 5Y avg 10Y avg vs 10Y avg Industry median vs industry 10Y range
P/E 596.98× 307.63× 307.63× 94% above 24.43× 2344% above
P/FCF 57.62× 42.69× 34.21× 68% above 17.94× 221% above
P/B 8.62× 19.15× 44.64× 81% below 2.88× 200% above
EV/EBITDA 109.14× 83.91× 81.20× 34% above 14.51× 652% above
EV/Sales 20.54× 15.61× 11.77× 74% above 2.91× 607% above
114.61×269.69×424.77×579.86×10Y avg 307.63×20232024202520262026

PANW trades at 596.98× P/E, against a 10-year average of 307.63× (range 40.29×–626.09×). That is dearer than 75% of the last 4 year-end readings; re-rating to the average implies $164.39 per share.

Every growth rate on this page is the business’s — its cash flow, FFO or dividend — never its share price’s. A discounted-cash-flow model is only as good as its assumptions. Figures from the 10-K and 10-Q filings. Not investment advice.