PANW vs XOM: Which Is the Better Buy?

Side-by-side comparison of Palo Alto Networks, Inc. and Exxon Mobil Corporation β€” fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals. Updated 2026-05-01.
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. Β· Technology
$174.41
-0.1% upside to fair value
Grade B High Quality
VS
Exxon Mobil Corporation Β· Energy
$154.46
-40.5% upside to fair value
Grade C
QuantHub Verdict
PANW has more upside to fair value (-0.1%). XOM trades at a lower forward P/E (23.2x). These are model outputs β€” not personalized investment advice. See all research β†’
Valuation & Fundamentals
Metric PANW XOM
Current Price $174.41 $154.46
Fair Value Estimate $174.18 $91.87
Upside to Fair Value -0.1% -40.5%
Market Cap $118.9B $642.0B
Forward P/E 94.6x 23.2x
EV / EBITDA 52.3x 10.3x
Price / Sales 12.0x 2.0x
Price / FCF 29.2x 27.2x
Revenue Growth YoY +14.9% -1.3%
Gross Margin 73.5% 21.7%
Operating Margin 14.4% 10.5%
Return on Equity 15.5% 11.0%
Dividend Yield 0% 0%
FCF Yield 3.42% 3.68%
Analyst Consensus Strong Buy Buy
Investment Thesis
PANW β€” Palo Alto Networks, Inc.
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…
XOM β€” Exxon Mobil Corporation
Exxon Mobil Corporation operates as a global integrated oil and gas company with significant operations in upstream, energy products, chemical products, and specialty products segments. The company benefits from a highly experienced management team with decades of internal tenure, led by CEO Darren Woods. Despite strong cash flow generation and operational scale, Exxon is currently overvalued, tr…
Accumulation Zones
Metric PANW XOM
Zone Low $130.63 $68.90
Zone High $148.05 $78.09
In Buy Zone? No No
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