Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The network technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.06, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.94 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a return on equity of 17.60% and a net margin of 12.96%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.37 earnings per share. Palo Alto Networks updated its FY 2026 guidance to 3.770-3.790 EPS and its Q4 2026 guidance to 0.960-0.980 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Palo Alto Networks’ conference call:

• Record Q3 results exceeded every guided metric, with NGS ARR reaching $8.13 billion and organic NGS ARR growing 28% year over year after adjusting for recent acquisitions.
• Network security posted its strongest quarter in years, driven by nearly 40% year-over-year growth in next-generation firewall bookings and early AI data center demand.
• SASE and Prisma AIRS were major growth drivers, with SASE ARR up 40% to $1.6 billion and Prisma AIRS scaling to over 300 customers as AI security demand accelerated.
• XSIAM and observability continued to scale, with Cortex XSIAM surpassing $600 million in ARR and Chronosphere topping $300 million in ARR, both benefiting from rising telemetry and AI-driven demand.
• CyberArk integration appears to be ahead of plan, with management saying profitability synergies are running 3-6 months ahead of schedule and that roughly 1,000 cross-org go-to-market engagements are already underway.

Palo Alto Networks Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:PANW opened at $297.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $242.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 164.19, a PEG ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $195.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $184.31. Palo Alto Networks has a 12-month low of $139.57 and a 12-month high of $302.95.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $220.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Citizens Jmp reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Benchmark raised their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $200.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-five have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Palo Alto Networks

In related news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 62,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.65, for a total transaction of $16,270,119.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 235,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $61,037,002.95. This represents a 21.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Nikesh Arora purchased 68,085 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $146.87 per share, for a total transaction of $9,999,643.95. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer owned 343,394 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,434,276.78. This trade represents a 24.73% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 94,760 shares of company stock worth $21,660,063. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Palo Alto Networks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PANW. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Palo Alto Networks in the third quarter valued at $33,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Ankerstar Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Palo Alto Networks during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. 79.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Palo Alto Networks

Here are the key news stories impacting Palo Alto Networks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Palo Alto Networks beat fiscal Q3 estimates, reporting EPS of $0.85 versus $0.79 expected and revenue of $3.0 billion versus $2.94 billion expected, with sales up 31.1% year over year. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised FY2026 and Q4 guidance well above Wall Street forecasts, reinforcing confidence in accelerating demand and stronger profitability ahead. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Management said AI-related security concerns are driving more customer engagement, with CEO Nikesh Arora saying meeting requests have surged as enterprises prepare for new AI risks. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment also improved, with JPMorgan and Baird raising price targets to $300, which supports the view that the post-earnings rally may have more room if execution holds. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Palo Alto also completed its acquisition of Portkey, an AI gateway provider, which could strengthen its AI-security platform over time, though the near-term financial impact is unclear. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: An insider sale by the chief accounting officer may create a small overhang, but it appears minor compared with the company’s strong operating results. Article Title

Palo Alto Networks Company Profile

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is a cybersecurity company founded in 2005 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. The firm develops a broad suite of security products and services designed to prevent successful cyberattacks and protect enterprise networks, clouds, and endpoints. Built around a platform strategy, its offerings target threat prevention, detection, response and governance across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

The company’s product portfolio includes next?generation firewalls as a core on?premises capability, alongside cloud?delivered security services and software for securing public and private clouds.