LITE
Lumentum Holdings Inc.
LITE has the edge over PANW overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger valuation.
PANW
Palo Alto Networks, Inc.
PANW trails on the overall score without a compensating advantage in the available component scores.
LITE Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
LITE's revenue, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its profitability is stable.
PANW Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
PANW's revenue, cash flow and balance sheet are currently strong, and its profitability is stable.
LITE PE Valuation
LITE has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
PANW PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 48x | $19.37 | -94% |
| Forward | 74x | $323 | — |
| Fair | 117x | $46.90 | -85% |
| Expensive | 344x | $138 | -57% |
| Current | 807x | $323 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
PANW's PE is in its expensive range at 807x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 74x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
LITE Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Limited | |
| Moderate |
LITE has the edge over PANW on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
PANW Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for PANW, but weaker profitability.
LITE Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $29.10 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$89.47 | -5589% |
| Q2 2026 | -$92.96 | -25224% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.54 | +$12.02 |
| Q4 2025 | $3.40 | +$11.12 |
| Q3 2025 | $1.63 | +$9.94 |
| Q2 2025 | $0.37 | +$8.49 |
| Q1 2025 | -$6.48 | -$1.22 |
| Q4 2024 | -$7.72 | -$3.77 |
LITE has swung to a loss: it lost $89.47 per share over the past year, after a profit the year before.
PANW Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $4.34 | +985% |
| Q3 2026 | $0.40 | -75% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.21 | -32% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.80 | +0.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.57 | -59% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.60 | -56% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.77 | -49% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.79 | -44% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.85 | +333% |
PANW has the edge over LITE on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
LITE Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.3B | +137% |
| Q2 2026 | $1B | +109% |
| Q1 2026 | $808.4M | +90% |
| Q4 2025 | $665.5M | +65% |
| Q3 2025 | $533.8M | +58% |
| Q2 2025 | $480.7M | +56% |
| Q1 2025 | $425.2M | +16% |
| Q4 2024 | $402.2M | +9.7% |
LITE has the edge over PANW on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 29% | +27 points |
| Q2 2026 | 28% | +30 points |
| Q1 2026 | 22% | +31 points |
| Q4 2025 | 9.7% | +23 points |
| Q3 2025 | 1.3% | +26 points |
| Q2 2025 | -1.8% | +42 points |
| Q1 2025 | -8.9% | +22 points |
| Q4 2024 | -13% | +16 points |
LITE has the edge over PANW on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
PANW Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $3.4B | +34% |
| Q2 2026 | $3B | +31% |
| Q1 2026 | $2.6B | +15% |
| Q4 2025 | $2.5B | +16% |
| Q3 2025 | $2.5B | +16% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.3B | +15% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.3B | +14% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.1B | +14% |
PANW's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $3.4B last quarter, up 34% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 5% | -15 points |
| Q2 2026 | -6.1% | -16 points |
| Q1 2026 | 15% | +4.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 12% | -0.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 20% | +8.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | 9.6% | +0.7 points |
| Q1 2025 | 11% | +7.9 points |
| Q4 2024 | 13% | +1.9 points |
PANW's operating margin was 5% last quarter, down 15 points from the same quarter a year ago.
LITE Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $37.9M | +$56.2M |
| Q2 2026 | $196.2M | +1843% |
| Q1 2026 | $79.1M | +$143.5M |
| Q4 2025 | $43.1M | +$59M |
| Q3 2025 | -$18.3M | +$16.2M |
| Q2 2025 | $10.1M | -7.3% |
| Q1 2025 | -$64.4M | -$37.8M |
| Q4 2024 | -$15.9M | +$16.6M |
LITE has the edge over PANW on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
PANW Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.3B | +34% |
| Q2 2026 | $788M | +41% |
| Q1 2026 | $384M | -25% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.7B | +15% |
| Q3 2025 | $934.5M | +101% |
| Q2 2025 | $560.4M | +14% |
| Q1 2025 | $509.4M | -22% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.5B | -1.6% |
PANW's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $4.1B over the past year, up 19% from the year before.
LITE Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.3x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 1.5x | Healthy |
| Q1 2026 | 7.9x | High |
| Q4 2025 | 21.6x | High |
| Q3 2025 | 22.7x | High |
| Q2 2025 | 27.9x | High |
| Q3 2023 | -34.7x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2023 | -7.2x | Net Cash |
LITE's net debt is about 1.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from more than 20 years a year ago.
PANW Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -1.5x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -2.3x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -1.9x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.4x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -2.2x | Net Cash |
PANW has the edge over LITE on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
LITE Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 42.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 22.8 | Neutral |
LITE's weekly RSI is 42 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 23 (neutral).
PANW Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 49.6 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 18.8 | Oversold |
PANW's weekly RSI is 50 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 19 (oversold).
LITE PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | LITE | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 28x | — |
LITE has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
PANW PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | PANW | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 807x | 28x | 2,795% above |
| PE % | 89 | 35 | 54 pts above |
PANW is trading at 807x earnings, a 2795% premium to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
LITE Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $839.3 | 26% below |
| 20 week MA | $838.6 | 26% below |
| 50 week MA | $732.7 | 15% below |
| 100 week MA | $422.7 | 48% above |
| 200 week MA | $237.9 | 163% above |
LITE has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 163% above its 200-week average.
PANW Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $365.2 | 12% below |
| 20 week MA | $355.8 | 9.3% below |
| 50 week MA | $260.9 | 24% above |
| 100 week MA | $225.6 | 43% above |
| 200 week MA | $182.3 | 77% above |
PANW has the edge over LITE on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
LITE Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $79.0 | $98.3 | +24% |
| 2021 | $98.3 | $104.5 | +6.3% |
| 2022 | $104.5 | $50.6 | -52% |
| 2023 | $50.6 | $52.4 | +3.7% |
| 2024 | $52.4 | $84.4 | +61% |
| 2025 | $84.4 | $390.8 | +363% |
| 2026 YTD | $390.8 | $624.7 | +60% |
LITE's yearly returns have swung widely, from +363% in 2025 to −52% in 2022. It's up 60% so far in 2026.
PANW Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $38.9 | $61.2 | +57% |
| 2021 | $61.2 | $93.6 | +53% |
| 2022 | $93.6 | $70.6 | -25% |
| 2023 | $70.6 | $147.4 | +109% |
| 2024 | $147.4 | $186.2 | +26% |
| 2025 | $186.2 | $188.5 | +1.2% |
| 2026 YTD | $188.5 | $322.7 | +71% |
PANW has the edge over LITE on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.