NKE vs PANW: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of NIKE, Inc. and Palo Alto Networks, Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-04-22.
NIKE, Inc. · Consumer Cyclical
$42.62
+45.5% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B+
VS
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. · Technology
$174.96
+15.2% upside to fair value
Grade B
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
NKE has more upside to fair value
(+45.5%).
NKE trades at a lower forward P/E
(27.9x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
NKE |
PANW |
| Current Price |
$42.62 |
$174.96 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$62.00 |
$201.61 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+45.5%
|
+15.2%
|
| Market Cap |
$63.0B |
$119.2B |
| Forward P/E |
27.9x
|
94.9x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
20.7x
|
52.4x
|
| Price / Sales |
1.4x
|
12.1x
|
| Price / FCF |
19.4x
|
29.3x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
-9.8%
|
+14.9%
|
| Gross Margin |
42.7%
|
73.5%
|
| Operating Margin |
8.0%
|
14.4%
|
| Return on Equity |
24.4%
|
15.5%
|
| Dividend Yield |
3.8% |
0% |
| FCF Yield |
5.2%
|
3.41%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Strong Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Nike is the world's largest athletic footwear and apparel company with $46.3B in FY2025 revenue, operating across 190+ countries with the Nike, Jordan, and Converse brands. The stock trades near its 9-year low at $42.62 after an 11% single-day crash following a Q3 FY2026 earnings report that showed 35% net income decline and weak Q4 guidance calling for a further 2-4% revenue decline. FY2025 reve…
Palo Alto Networks is a leading cybersecurity company specializing in AI-driven cloud security platforms, subscription services, and hardware products. The company benefits from a durable competitive moat driven by its platform transformation under CEO Nikesh Arora, with over 50% of revenue from high-margin subscription services growing at 25.6% year-over-year in fiscal 2024. Despite a premium va…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
NKE |
PANW |
| Zone Low |
$44.00 |
$151.21 |
| Zone High |
$50.00 |
$171.37 |
| In Buy Zone? |
Yes
|
No
|