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Is FTNT Stock Worth Buying at a Premium P/S or Should Investors Wait?
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Key Takeaways
Fortinet raised 2026 revenue, billings and EPS guidance after strong second-quarter results.
Fortinet's AI-security platform expansion and Virtue AI deal strengthen its growth strategy.
FTNT has gained 985 YTD, outpacing peers as billings and AI-security demand accelerate.
Fortinet (FTNT - Free Report) has emerged as one of the strongest performers in the cybersecurity space this year, and the question facing investors today is whether its premium sales multiple still leaves room to buy, or whether it makes sense to wait on the sidelines for a cheaper entry point.
Fortinet is currently trading at a rich forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio of 13.16, well above the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s average of 6.1, a premium that immediately raises the question of whether the stock is still worth buying today or whether investors should instead wait for a cheaper entry point. The company also carries a Zacks Value Score of F, a reminder that shares are priced for continued execution rather than for a bargain.
Yet a close look at the underlying growth engines behind that premium suggests the near-term case still leans toward buying, since the fundamentals supporting the multiple appear durable rather than borrowed from the past, dependent on a single product cycle, or purely a function of favorable market sentiment.
Fortinet's second-quarter 2026 results showed revenues climbing 26% year over year to $2.05 billion, with product revenues surging 52% and billings expanding 33%, and management used that strength to raise guidance across every major metric rather than simply celebrate a beat.
For full-year 2026, the company now expects revenues to be in the range of $8.02 billion to $8.18 billion, billings between $9.35 billion and $9.55 billion, and non-GAAP earnings per share of $3.41 to $3.47, with a non-GAAP operating margin target of 35% to 37%.
Management also pointed to service revenue growth improving through the back half of 2026 as newly deployed products generate attached subscriptions for FortiCare support and FortiGuard threat intelligence services, while price increases are expected to add a high single-digit contribution to second-half billings and further support margin expansion.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings stands at $3.40 per share, implying 23.19% year-over-year growth, reinforcing that Wall Street's own profit expectations are tracking the durability management itself is guiding toward. This combination of raised guidance and steadily broadening margin strength gives investors a fundamental reason to look past the premium multiple and focus squarely on the trajectory management is charting for the remainder of 2026.
AI Innovation & Expanding Client Wins Strengthen the Platform
Fortinet's product roadmap through the third quarter of fiscal 2026 has leaned heavily into securing the emerging AI era, a theme management is treating as a durable, multi-year demand driver rather than a passing trend. In August 2026, the company expanded its FortiEndpoint platform with new capabilities that bring AI visibility and control, native data security, endpoint risk scoring and FortiAI-assisted operations into a single agent, console and license, extending the consolidation strategy previewed earlier at Fortinet Accelerate 2026. That followed the broader rollout of FortiSOC, a unified, cloud-delivered security operations platform powered by agentic AI that consolidates SIEM, SOAR, threat intelligence and identity-based detection into one experience, reducing the tool sprawl that has historically slowed enterprise security teams.
In September 2026, Fortinet moved to acquire Virtue AI, an innovator in AI runtime protection and automated AI validation, advancing its broader Security for AI strategy and adding continuous assurance capabilities for organizations operating autonomous AI systems at enterprise scale. The company is also hosting its 2026 SASE Summit on Sept. 15, bringing together customers, Gartner analysts and industry leaders to address AI-era security and networking strategy, underscoring how central AI-driven demand has become to Fortinet's client engagement and sales pipeline heading into year-end.
Share Price Movement and Competitive Landscape
Fortinet shares have rallied 98% in the year-to-date period, outperforming the Zacks Security industry and the broader Computer and Technology sector's growth of 71.1% and 18.5%, respectively. Fortinet competes against Palo Alto Networks (PANW - Free Report) , Qualys (QLYS - Free Report) and Cisco (CSCO - Free Report) , and while Palo Alto Networks remains its closest platform rival, Qualys competes more narrowly in vulnerability management, and Cisco brings scale advantages in enterprise networking, none has matched Fortinet's share-price momentum this year.
Against Palo Alto Networks, Qualys and Cisco, Fortinet's integrated, AI-native Security Fabric stands out as a differentiator supporting that run. Investors should still buy FTNT despite its premium valuation because raised guidance and margin expansion suggest earnings can grow into the multiple. Investors should also look past the sharp year-to-date share-price surge because it has been driven by accelerating billings and broadening AI-security demand, not by speculative sentiment alone.
FTNT Outperforms Competitors YTD
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Conclusion
Taken together, Fortinet's raised full-year guidance, expanding AI-security product suite and steady stream of platform-driven client engagement suggest the fundamentals underpinning its premium valuation are strengthening rather than stretching thin. While a forward price-to-sales ratio of 13.16 demands continued execution from management, the durability of billings growth, expanding operating margins and broadening AI-driven security demand together give near-term investors a reasonable, fundamentals-based case to buy FTNT now rather than wait for a meaningful pullback, which, given the current pace of product innovation and successive guidance raises, may not materialize anytime soon while the underlying growth story remains firmly intact and competitively differentiated. Fortinet currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
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Is FTNT Stock Worth Buying at a Premium P/S or Should Investors Wait?
Key Takeaways
Fortinet (FTNT - Free Report) has emerged as one of the strongest performers in the cybersecurity space this year, and the question facing investors today is whether its premium sales multiple still leaves room to buy, or whether it makes sense to wait on the sidelines for a cheaper entry point.
Fortinet is currently trading at a rich forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio of 13.16, well above the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector’s average of 6.1, a premium that immediately raises the question of whether the stock is still worth buying today or whether investors should instead wait for a cheaper entry point. The company also carries a Zacks Value Score of F, a reminder that shares are priced for continued execution rather than for a bargain.
Yet a close look at the underlying growth engines behind that premium suggests the near-term case still leans toward buying, since the fundamentals supporting the multiple appear durable rather than borrowed from the past, dependent on a single product cycle, or purely a function of favorable market sentiment.
FTNT’s P/S Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Forward-Looking Guidance Signals Sustained Momentum
Fortinet's second-quarter 2026 results showed revenues climbing 26% year over year to $2.05 billion, with product revenues surging 52% and billings expanding 33%, and management used that strength to raise guidance across every major metric rather than simply celebrate a beat.
For full-year 2026, the company now expects revenues to be in the range of $8.02 billion to $8.18 billion, billings between $9.35 billion and $9.55 billion, and non-GAAP earnings per share of $3.41 to $3.47, with a non-GAAP operating margin target of 35% to 37%.
Management also pointed to service revenue growth improving through the back half of 2026 as newly deployed products generate attached subscriptions for FortiCare support and FortiGuard threat intelligence services, while price increases are expected to add a high single-digit contribution to second-half billings and further support margin expansion.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings stands at $3.40 per share, implying 23.19% year-over-year growth, reinforcing that Wall Street's own profit expectations are tracking the durability management itself is guiding toward. This combination of raised guidance and steadily broadening margin strength gives investors a fundamental reason to look past the premium multiple and focus squarely on the trajectory management is charting for the remainder of 2026.
Fortinet, Inc. Price and Consensus
Fortinet, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Fortinet, Inc. Quote
AI Innovation & Expanding Client Wins Strengthen the Platform
Fortinet's product roadmap through the third quarter of fiscal 2026 has leaned heavily into securing the emerging AI era, a theme management is treating as a durable, multi-year demand driver rather than a passing trend. In August 2026, the company expanded its FortiEndpoint platform with new capabilities that bring AI visibility and control, native data security, endpoint risk scoring and FortiAI-assisted operations into a single agent, console and license, extending the consolidation strategy previewed earlier at Fortinet Accelerate 2026. That followed the broader rollout of FortiSOC, a unified, cloud-delivered security operations platform powered by agentic AI that consolidates SIEM, SOAR, threat intelligence and identity-based detection into one experience, reducing the tool sprawl that has historically slowed enterprise security teams.
In September 2026, Fortinet moved to acquire Virtue AI, an innovator in AI runtime protection and automated AI validation, advancing its broader Security for AI strategy and adding continuous assurance capabilities for organizations operating autonomous AI systems at enterprise scale. The company is also hosting its 2026 SASE Summit on Sept. 15, bringing together customers, Gartner analysts and industry leaders to address AI-era security and networking strategy, underscoring how central AI-driven demand has become to Fortinet's client engagement and sales pipeline heading into year-end.
Share Price Movement and Competitive Landscape
Fortinet shares have rallied 98% in the year-to-date period, outperforming the Zacks Security industry and the broader Computer and Technology sector's growth of 71.1% and 18.5%, respectively. Fortinet competes against Palo Alto Networks (PANW - Free Report) , Qualys (QLYS - Free Report) and Cisco (CSCO - Free Report) , and while Palo Alto Networks remains its closest platform rival, Qualys competes more narrowly in vulnerability management, and Cisco brings scale advantages in enterprise networking, none has matched Fortinet's share-price momentum this year.
Against Palo Alto Networks, Qualys and Cisco, Fortinet's integrated, AI-native Security Fabric stands out as a differentiator supporting that run. Investors should still buy FTNT despite its premium valuation because raised guidance and margin expansion suggest earnings can grow into the multiple. Investors should also look past the sharp year-to-date share-price surge because it has been driven by accelerating billings and broadening AI-security demand, not by speculative sentiment alone.
FTNT Outperforms Competitors YTD
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Conclusion
Taken together, Fortinet's raised full-year guidance, expanding AI-security product suite and steady stream of platform-driven client engagement suggest the fundamentals underpinning its premium valuation are strengthening rather than stretching thin. While a forward price-to-sales ratio of 13.16 demands continued execution from management, the durability of billings growth, expanding operating margins and broadening AI-driven security demand together give near-term investors a reasonable, fundamentals-based case to buy FTNT now rather than wait for a meaningful pullback, which, given the current pace of product innovation and successive guidance raises, may not materialize anytime soon while the underlying growth story remains firmly intact and competitively differentiated. Fortinet currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.