NetApp, Inc. vs PALO ALTO NETWORKS, INC, two Computer Hardware stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
NetApp's balance sheet is a mature company's tool, 1.84 turns of debt against buyback-thinned equity funding a 6.1% free-cash yield and a dividend; Palo Alto's carries no debt at all but a 0.86 current ratio, deferred-revenue billing doing the financing a lender otherwise would. The income statements are a generation apart: NetApp converts storage into a 27.3% operating margin today, Palo Alto runs security revenue at a negative 6.1% operating line while its 248.9 times multiple prices the platform consolidation it is still buying. Gross margins nearly match, 70.1% and 67.6%. NetApp is run for the cash it returns, Palo Alto for the estate it is assembling, and the ten-fold multiple gap is the market agreeing with both managements at once.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | NTAP | PANW |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $152.40 | $303.60 |
| Market cap | $30.5B | $243.2B |
| Sector | Computer Hardware | Computer Hardware |
| Stage | Mature | Growth |
| Implied growth (priced in) | +17.3% | — |
| P/E | 24.0 | 248.8 |
| P/B | 22.56 | 8.79 |
| P/S | 4.40 | 22.93 |
| EV/EBITDA | 17.0 | 217.2 |
| Revenue growth | +5.2% | +19.4% |
| Gross margin | 70.1% | 67.5% |
| Operating margin | 27.3% | -6.1% |
| Net margin | 18.4% | 8.0% |
| Return on equity | 94.5% | 3.0% |
| Return on assets | 11.9% | 1.8% |
| Return on invested capital | 34.0% | 2.9% |
| FCF yield | 6.1% | 1.6% |
| Dividend yield | 1.4% | — |
| Debt / equity | 1.84 | 0.00 |
| Current ratio | 1.44 | 0.86 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 2.97 | 6.28 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 4 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.