PANW
Palo Alto Networks, Inc.
PANW offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
VZ
Verizon Communications Inc.
VZ has the edge over PANW overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger modeled upside.
PANW Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
PANW's revenue, cash flow and balance sheet are currently strong, and its profitability is stable.
VZ Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Under pressure |
VZ's profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable, but its balance sheet is under pressure.
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.
VZ PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 8.3x | $32.43 | -30% |
| Forward | 9x | $46.55 | — |
| Fair | 11x | $43.63 | -6.3% |
| Current | 12x | $46.55 | — |
| Expensive | 14x | $56.75 | +22% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
VZ has the edge over PANW in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
PANW Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for PANW, but weaker profitability.
VZ Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Stable | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect VZ's earnings to grow and its profitability to improve, with its revenue holding steady.
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's earnings per share have fallen from their peak: $0.40 over the past year, against $3.85 in late 2024.
VZ Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $5.19 | +32% |
| Q3 2026 | $3.93 | -16% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.85 | -10% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.11 | -2.1% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.06 | -1.9% |
| Q3 2025 | $4.68 | +103% |
| Q2 2025 | $4.29 | +61% |
| Q1 2025 | $4.20 | +57% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.14 | +51% |
VZ has the edge over PANW on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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 has the edge over VZ on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| 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.
VZ Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $34.3B | +1.5% |
| Q2 2026 | $34.3B | -0.7% |
| Q1 2026 | $34.4B | +2.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $36.4B | +2% |
| Q3 2025 | $33.8B | +1.5% |
| Q2 2025 | $34.5B | +5.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $33.5B | +1.5% |
| Q4 2024 | $35.7B | +1.6% |
VZ's revenue has held roughly level: $34.3B last quarter, up 1.5% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 25% | +1.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 21% | -2.7 points |
| Q1 2026 | 24% | +0.1 points |
| Q4 2025 | 14% | -7.1 points |
| Q3 2025 | 24% | +6.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 24% | -0.2 points |
| Q1 2025 | 24% | +1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 21% | +19 points |
VZ has the edge over PANW on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
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.
VZ Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $11.5B | +2.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $10.4B | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $8B | +2.6% |
| Q4 2025 | $9.1B | -13% |
| Q3 2025 | $11.3B | +14% |
| Q2 2025 | $9B | -5.4% |
| Q1 2025 | $7.8B | +9.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $10.4B | +20% |
VZ's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $39B over the past year, up 1.5% from the year before.
PANW Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -4.6% | -37M shares |
| 1 year | +7.7% | +54.7M shares |
| 3 years | +12% | +79.4M shares |
| 5 years | +32% | +186M shares |
| Available history | +32% | +184M shares |
PANW has 764M diluted shares, up 7.7% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q3 2025 | — |
| Q2 2025 | — |
| Q1 2025 | — |
| Q4 2024 | — |
| Q3 2024 | — |
| Q2 2024 | $500M |
| Q1 2024 | — |
VZ Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -10M shares |
| 1 year | -1.7% | -72M shares |
| 3 years | -1.3% | -55M shares |
| 5 years | +0.4% | +17M shares |
| Available history | +0.5% | +21M shares |
VZ has the edge over PANW on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $500M |
| Q2 2026 | $1B |
| Q1 2026 | $2.5B |
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 VZ on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
VZ Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 3.3x | Elevated |
| Q2 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 2.9x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.8x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 3.0x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 3.0x | Elevated |
| Q4 2024 | 3.0x | Elevated |
VZ's net debt is about 3.3 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from 2.8 years a year ago.
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).
VZ Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 50.9 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 44.6 | Neutral |
VZ's weekly RSI is 51 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 45 (neutral).
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.
VZ PE vs Communication Services Sector
| Metric | VZ | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 12x | 16x | 28% below |
| PE % | 58 | 26 | 32 pts above |
VZ has the edge over PANW on valuation relative to its sector.
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 pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8- and 20-week averages, but 77% above its 200-week average.
VZ Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $45.1 | 3.1% above |
| 20 week MA | $46.3 | 0.5% above |
| 50 week MA | $46.1 | 1.1% above |
| 100 week MA | $44.2 | 5.4% above |
| 200 week MA | $41.4 | 12% above |
VZ has the edge over PANW on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
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 VZ on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
VZ Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $61.5 | $58.8 | -4.4% |
| 2021 | $58.8 | $52.7 | -10% |
| 2022 | $52.7 | $38.4 | -27% |
| 2023 | $38.4 | $37.7 | -1.8% |
| 2024 | $37.7 | $39.9 | +5.9% |
| 2025 | $39.9 | $40.5 | +1.4% |
| 2026 YTD | $40.5 | $46.6 | +15% |
VZ has finished lower in four of the last six years. It's up 15% so far in 2026.