Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Issues FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Key Points

• Fortinet raised its FY 2026 EPS guidance to $3.54–$3.58, above the $3.38 analyst consensus, while revenue guidance of $8.1–$8.2 billion is broadly in line with expectations. Q4 EPS guidance is $0.93–$0.95.
• The company’s latest quarter exceeded estimates, with revenue up 20.5% year over year to $2.08 billion and EPS of $0.91 versus the $0.86 consensus. Free cash flow reached $865 million, and Fortinet expanded its share-repurchase authorization by $1.2 billion.
• Despite strong results, investors remain concerned about slower service-revenue growth, potentially weaker future margins and Fortinet’s high valuation. Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with an overall “Hold” rating and an average price target of $149.19.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Friday. The company provided EPS guidance of 3.540-3.580 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 3.380. The company issued revenue guidance of $8.1 billion-$8.2 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $8.1 billion. Fortinet also updated its Q4 2026 guidance to 0.930-0.950 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their target price on Fortinet from $195.00 to $175.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Daiwa Securities Group raised their price objective on shares of Fortinet from $115.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of Fortinet in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Fortinet from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $149.19.

Fortinet Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of Fortinet stock opened at $138.47 on Friday. Fortinet has a 1-year low of $73.55 and a 1-year high of $197.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $101.60 billion, a PE ratio of 44.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $171.64 and a 200-day moving average of $127.99.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The software maker reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.06 billion. Fortinet had a return on equity of 182.65% and a net margin of 28.96%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 20.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Fortinet will post 3.10 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Fortinet

In other news, VP Michael Xie sold 3,121 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.63, for a total value of $507,568.23. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 9,918,360 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,613,022,886.80. This represents a 0.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Ken Xie sold 161,482 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.66, for a total transaction of $26,266,662.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 52,972,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,616,486,029.52. This trade represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold a total of 221,303 shares of company stock valued at $36,164,034 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 17.60% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Fortinet

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Fortinet reported third-quarter revenue of $2.08 billion, up approximately 20.5% year over year, and adjusted EPS of $0.91, exceeding the roughly $2.06 billion revenue and $0.86 EPS consensus estimates. Product revenue rose 37% to $765 million, billings increased 29% to $2.34 billion, and operating margins reached record levels. Fortinet Reports Strong Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its outlook. Fourth-quarter adjusted EPS is projected at $0.93-$0.95, above the $0.86 consensus, while full-year 2026 EPS guidance of $3.54-$3.58 exceeds the $3.38 estimate. Full-year revenue guidance of $8.1-$8.2 billion is approximately in line with expectations.
• Positive Sentiment: Strong cash generation remains a potential support: Fortinet produced $865 million of free cash flow in the quarter and expanded its share-repurchase authorization by $1.2 billion, leaving approximately $2 billion available. Fortinet adds $1.2 billion to its buyback program
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts have reduced price targets but remain divided. TD Cowen maintained a “buy” rating with a $190 target, while Barclays, Truist, Citigroup, Stifel, Scotiabank and others lowered targets or retained neutral-to-hold ratings.
• Negative Sentiment: Service revenue grew only 13% to $1.31 billion, far below product growth. Management also lowered its service-revenue outlook, raising concerns that customers are buying security hardware for AI infrastructure but delaying related recurring-service activations. Software stocks slide after Fortinet results
• Negative Sentiment: Fourth-quarter revenue guidance implies slower growth than in the latest quarter, while pricing benefits and lower-cost inventory are expected to normalize. Investors worry about margin pressure and weaker growth at Fortinet’s premium earnings multiple.
• Negative Sentiment: The selloff has intensified broader cybersecurity-sector weakness, with commentary from Jim Cramer favoring Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike over Fortinet. Jim Cramer Says Sell Fortinet

About Fortinet

Fortinet, Inc develops cybersecurity products and services designed to protect networks, endpoints, applications, cloud environments and operational technology systems. The company's portfolio includes next-generation firewalls, secure networking products, endpoint security, web application security, email security, identity and access solutions, and security information and event management tools.

Its product offerings include FortiGate network security appliances and cloud-based firewalls, along with FortiSwitch, FortiAP and FortiExtender solutions for secure connectivity.

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