Palo Alto Networks vs Zscaler

Method and sources

• Revenue growth (1 year): Palo Alto Networks 24.5% (FY2026), Zscaler 25.4% (FY2026)
• Revenue growth (3-year CAGR): Palo Alto Networks 18.5% (FY2026), Zscaler 27.5% (FY2026)
• Operating margin: Palo Alto Networks 6.1% (FY2026), Zscaler −4.0% (FY2026)
• Gross margin: Palo Alto Networks 70.4% (FY2026), Zscaler 76.8% (FY2026)
• Net margin: Palo Alto Networks 2.7% (FY2026), Zscaler −1.9% (FY2026)
• FCF margin: Palo Alto Networks 35.8% (FY2026), Zscaler 25.4% (FY2026)

Latest fiscal year per company: Palo Alto Networks FY2026, Zscaler FY2026. Fiscal years end on different dates, so years are not calendar-aligned.

Both report in USD. Amounts are as filed, not converted.

Why this pair: same peer group, revenue within 4x in the same currency. Peer groups are curated by hand from each company's business as described in its own 10-K/20-F (what it sells, not its SIC code). A company can sit in more than one group. Within a group, a pair is listed when both companies report in the same currency and the larger company's latest fiscal-year revenue is at most 4x the smaller one's; each company keeps its 4 nearest peers by revenue ratio. Companies reporting in different currencies are never size-matched (amounts are not converted); a short list of obvious same-industry pairs across currencies is added by hand, with the reason, as are two direct competitor pairs outside the size rule (AMD vs NVIDIA, Intel vs NVIDIA).

Derived = calculated by Hollsteen from reported SEC values; reported = as tagged in the filing. SEC filings only, no market data.