Palo Alto Networks vs Zscaler (PANW vs ZS)
Side by side from their SEC filings: revenue, margins, growth, returns and valuation, plus short interest, insider activity and institutional ownership.
Palo Alto Networks is the larger company by revenue ($11.5B vs $3.4B) and market value ($343.5B vs $34.6B). Zscaler has grown revenue faster over the last 4 fiscal years (+207.3% cumulative vs +108.7%). Palo Alto Networks runs the higher operating margin (6.1% vs -4.0%).
About Palo Alto Networks
Palo Alto Networks Inc provides cybersecurity solutions to enterprises, organizations, service providers, and government entities. Its main products include network security platforms such as Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), next-generation firewalls, and cloud-delivered security services that protect users, networks, clouds, and endpoints. The company also offers AI-powered security operations and threat intelligence services to help customers detect, prevent, and respond to cyber threats.
About Zscaler
Zscaler, Inc. provides cloud-native cybersecurity solutions designed to secure users, devices, applications, and workloads through a Zero Trust Exchange platform. Its main products include Zscaler Internet Access, which secures access to external applications and internet destinations, and Zscaler Private Access, which provides secure access to internal applications. The company serves large enterprises and government agencies across various industries worldwide, helping them protect data and accelerate digital transformation.
Head to head (PANW FY2026 vs ZS FY2026)
| Metric | PANWFY2026 | ZSFY2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $11.48B | $3.35B |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | 24.5% | 25.4% |
| Gross margin | 70.4% | 76.8% |
| Operating margin | 6.1% | -4.0% |
| Net margin | 2.7% | -1.9% |
| Net income | $307.0M | $-63.2M |
| Diluted EPS | $0.40 | $-0.39 |
| FCF margin | 35.8% | 25.4% |
| ROE | 1.1% | -2.4% |
| Long-term debt / equity | — | — |
| Market cap | $343.49B | $34.61B |
| P/E | 1024.2× | — |
Fundamentals are from each company’s SEC filings (PANW FY2026, ZS FY2026). ROE is net income over fiscal-year-end equity; long-term debt / equity counts non-current term debt only. P/E and market cap are derived from stored market prices, last retrieved on a rolling basis and typically within the past week.
Five-year trend (as reported)
| Revenue | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PANW | $5.50B | $6.89B | $8.03B | $9.22B | $11.48B |
| ZS | $1.09B | $1.62B | $2.17B | $2.67B | $3.35B |
Peer standing
Where each company ranks among the 625 Technology companies, on the same scale. Each figure is ranked only against peers that report it. Percentiles describe position in the distribution, not a rating.
| Metric | PANW | ZS |
|---|---|---|
| Gross margin | 70.4%74th percentile of 508 | 76.8%85th percentile of 508 |
| Operating margin | 6.1%59th percentile of 562 | -4.0%34th percentile of 562 |
| Net margin | 2.7%51st percentile of 575 | -1.9%38th percentile of 575 |
| FCF margin | 35.8%95th percentile of 542 | 25.4%84th percentile of 542 |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | +24.5%78th percentile of 616 | +25.4%78th percentile of 616 |
| ROE | 1.1%45th percentile of 543 | -2.4%38th percentile of 543 |
| Short interest (days to cover) | 3.02d39th percentile of 621 | 1.47d16th percentile of 621 |
Short interest
| FINRA settlement data | PANW | ZS |
|---|---|---|
| Shares sold short | 21.9M | 6.5M |
| Change vs prior settlement | +2.1% | +2.3% |
| Days to cover | 3.02 | 1.47 |
| As of settlement | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-15 |
Source: FINRA Consolidated Short Interest. FINRA is the owner and source of the FINRA-supplied data; republishing or redistributing it is not permitted. Not presented as a percentage of float. No FINRA endorsement of this product is implied.
Insider activity (last 90 days)
| Form 4 activity (codes P/S) | PANW | ZS |
|---|---|---|
| Buys | 0 | 0 |
| Sells | 26 ($20.7M) | 31 ($6.4M) |
Non-derivative purchases (code P) and sales (code S) reported on SEC Form 4, which may be open-market or private (grants, exercises and tax withholding excluded). For context, about 15% of covered companies saw any reported insider purchase (code P) in a 90-day window.
Held by the same investors
5 tracked 13F managers hold both Palo Alto Networks and Zscaler as of their latest quarterly filings: AQR Capital Management, Citadel Advisors, D. E. Shaw, Gotham Asset Management, Millennium Management. See which superinvestors hold your own portfolio with the smart money checker.
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Data sourced from SEC EDGAR. Figures are as-reported and may be unaudited or restated; verify against the source filings before relying on them. Comparisons are descriptive (higher or lower on a reported figure), not a rating or a recommendation. Informational only. Not investment advice.