MA vs PANW: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Mastercard Incorporated and Palo Alto Networks, Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-05-13.
Mastercard Incorporated · Financial Services
$499.81
+5.0% upside to fair value
Grade B+
High Quality
VS
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. · Technology
$174.41
-0.1% upside to fair value
Grade B
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
MA has more upside to fair value
(+5.0%).
MA trades at a lower forward P/E
(28.6x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
MA |
PANW |
| Current Price |
$499.81 |
$174.41 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$525.00 |
$174.18 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+5.0%
|
-0.1%
|
| Market Cap |
$441.6B |
$118.9B |
| Forward P/E |
28.6x
|
94.6x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
21.3x
|
52.3x
|
| Price / Sales |
13.0x
|
12.0x
|
| Price / FCF |
24.9x
|
29.2x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+15.8%
|
+14.9%
|
| Gross Margin |
83.0%
|
73.5%
|
| Operating Margin |
59.4%
|
14.4%
|
| Return on Equity |
206.1%
|
15.5%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0.6% |
0% |
| FCF Yield |
4.01%
|
3.42%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
Strong Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Mastercard is one of two global payment network duopolists alongside Visa, with structurally high margins (83% gross, 59% operating, 46% net), powerful network effects, and durable secular tailwinds from the ongoing cash-to-card and card-to-digital migration. Q1 2026 results reported April 30 showed revenue of $8.40 billion (+15.8% YoY) and EPS of $4.35 (+20.8% YoY), driven by continued cross-bor…
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is a leading global cybersecurity company specializing in AI-driven security platforms with a strong recurring revenue base exceeding 80% of total revenue. The company benefits from a high gross margin of 73.5% and solid profitability with a net margin of 13.0%, supported by accelerating revenue growth of 14.9% and earnings growth of 61.6% in the most recent quarter. Unde…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
MA |
PANW |
| Zone Low |
$393.75 |
$130.63 |
| Zone High |
$446.25 |
$148.05 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|