Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW) earnings on September 1, 2026

PANW price around the earnings

328.48

Change: -9.3%

Start of the measured window End of the measured window

321.48 341.17 360.87 380.56 362.09

September 1, 2026 September 2, 2026

Price: green if it ends above the starting price; red if it ends below
Start of the measured window
End of the measured window
Market open
No trading (market closed)
Starting price

Price series around the event

Prior thesis

Prior outlook: Pessimistic Outcome: Accurate

Thesis published: 2026-09-01, 19:51 UTC
Results released: 2026-09-01, 20:07 UTC

Analysts maintain strong buy ratings with a strong recent quarterly earnings beat record, yet the stock price has fallen below key support and trend strength has turned negative, creating a pessimistic outlook.

Context analyzed before publication

Playbook: The stock dropped below $379 support with negative 14d trend strength, despite strong 30d gains. Recent news on inflation and sector weakness is adding pressure.
Trend: Expert outlook swung sharply negative

Analysts

Drivers

Analysts Positive
Analysts maintain a strong 'buy' mean of 1.65 across 50 opinions. However, the implied upside to target price is limited at +1.0%, and the scenario points pessimistic.

Evidence

Analyst consensus: Buy
Consensus average (1-5): 1.65
Analysts covering the stock: 50
Average price target: 364.01
Lowest price target: 201
Highest price target: 475
Upside to price target: 1%
Revenue growth: 31.1%
Forward EPS: 4.11
Trailing EPS: 1.15
Analyst moves in the last 60 days: 10

Strong buy: 11
Buy: 33
Hold: 9
Sell: 1
Strong sell: 1

Strong buy: 11
Buy: 33
Hold: 9
Sell: 1
Strong sell: 1

August 25, 2026 · JP Morgan: Maintains rating (Overweight → Overweight)
August 24, 2026 · Benchmark: Maintains rating (Buy → Buy)
August 20, 2026 · BMO Capital: Maintains rating (Outperform → Outperform)
August 19, 2026 · Mizuho: Maintains rating (Outperform → Outperform)
August 19, 2026 · Stifel: Maintains rating (Buy → Buy)
August 19, 2026 · UBS: Maintains rating (Neutral → Neutral)
August 19, 2026 · Truist Securities: Maintains rating (Buy → Buy)
August 19, 2026 · Cantor Fitzgerald: Maintains rating (Overweight → Overweight)
August 17, 2026 · TD Cowen: Maintains rating (Buy → Buy)
August 17, 2026 · Wells Fargo: Maintains rating (Overweight → Overweight)

News and sentiment

Drivers

News & sentiment Negative
Recent headlines highlight 'Inflation Fears Boost Bond Yields' and 'Software Retreats', indicating macro headwinds are negatively impacting the sector and stock price. The scenario points pessimistic.

Evidence

Sentiment

Sentiment: Constructive
Mention volume: High
Normalized volume: 99%

News

Sources (4)

Palo Alto Stock Drops as Inflation Fears Boost Bond Yields (opens in a new tab) — Benzinga
Stock Market Today: S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq 100 Futures Drop After Trump Says Iran Is ‘Totally Defeated’, Brent Tops $92 — CBRS, PXS, PANW, DELL in Focus (UPDATED) (opens in a new tab) — Benzinga
Broadcom Could Swing $139 Billion In Value After Earnings (opens in a new tab) — Benzinga
Palo Alto Networks Q4 Preview: Stock Near Highs, Analysts See Record Revenue and Even Higher Share Price (opens in a new tab) — Benzinga

Technicals

Drivers

Technical Negative
Despite the strong recent trend strength (+15.11%), the stock's last price of $359.68 is below its nearest support at $379.28, indicating a recent technical breakdown. The trajectory score has declined to -12.6, and the scenario points pessimistic.

Evidence

Price when the context was analyzed: 381.99
Average true range (ATR): 5%
Distance to 52-week high: -9.0%
14-day change (14d): +1.6%
30-day change (31d): +15.1%
30-day relative strength: +10.9%
QQQ change (31d): +4.2%
Nearest support: 379.28
Distance to nearest support: 0.7%
Nearest resistance: 382.56
Distance to nearest resistance: 0.2%
Volume accumulation ratio (14d / 46d): 0.69

Minor: 379.28 (0.7% away, 0.14 ATR, 4 touches)
Minor: 375.74 (1.6% away, 0.33 ATR, 6 touches)
Mid: 372.58 (2.5% away, 0.49 ATR, 9 touches)

Mid: 382.56 (0.2% away, 0.03 ATR, 6 touches)
Minor: 385.13 (0.8% away, 0.16 ATR, 8 touches)
Minor: 387.27 (1.4% away, 0.28 ATR, 5 touches)

Trends

Evidence

Average earnings surprise: +7.0%

June 2, 2026: actual EPS 0.85 vs estimate 0.8 (surprise +6.6%)
February 17, 2026: actual EPS 1.03 vs estimate 0.94 (surprise +9.9%)
November 19, 2025: actual EPS 0.93 vs estimate 0.89 (surprise +4.4%)
August 18, 2025: actual EPS 0.95 vs estimate 0.89 (surprise +7.3%)

Expected move

Drivers

Past earnings Positive
The company has beaten earnings expectations in each of the last four quarters, with an average surprise of +7.0%, showing consistent operational outperformance. However, the scenario points pessimistic.

Implied move: +6.9%
Source: Options chain

Reactions over its last 20 earnings

Median move: 6.9%
75th percentile move: 10.3%
90th percentile move: 15.1%
Up / down moves: 12 / 8
Average up move: +8.0%
Average down move: -8.2%

Monitoring and close

What Palo Alto Networks, Inc. reported

Status: Finished

Actual EPS	1.02
EPS estimate	0.98
EPS surprise	+4.1%
Revenue	$3,410 million
Revenue estimate	$3,352 million
Revenue surprise	+1.7%

Palo Alto Networks stock is falling Tuesday as software stocks retreat amid rising bond yields and oil prices. The company's Q4 results are expected after market close.

Sources (11)

Palo Alto Stock Climbs On Fiscal Q4 Earnings Beat, 2027 Outlook (opens in a new tab) — Investor's Business Daily
Palo Alto Beats Q4 Estimates, Announces Console Acquisition to Strengthen Agentic Capabilities (opens in a new tab) — Benzinga
Palo Alto Networks shares are trading higher after the company reported better-than-expected Q4 financial results and issued Q1 guidance above estimates. Also, the company issued FY27 guidance above estimates. (opens in a new tab) — Benzinga
Is Palo Alto Networks’ (PANW) AI Alliances Quietly Redefining Its Long-Term Competitive Moat? (opens in a new tab) — Simply Wall St.
Palo Alto Networks Sees FY2027 Adj EPS $4.16-$4.19 vs $4.11 Est; Sees Sales $14.100B-$14.200B vs $13.788B Est (opens in a new tab) — Benzinga
Palo Alto Networks Sees Q1 Adj EPS $0.96-$0.98 vs $0.93 Est; Sees Sales $3.300B-$3.310B vs $3.220B Est (opens in a new tab) — Benzinga
Official quarterly figures pending confirmation. — Benzinga
Palo Alto Networks Q4 Adj. EPS $1.02 Beats $0.98 Estimate, Sales $3.410B Beat $3.352B Estimate (opens in a new tab) — Benzinga
Palo Alto Networks Acquires AI-Native Platform Console; Financial Terms Undisclosed (opens in a new tab) — Benzinga
Software Stocks Just Did Something They've Done Only Three Times Before (opens in a new tab) — GuruFocus.com
Palo Alto Stock Drops as Inflation Fears Boost Bond Yields (opens in a new tab) — Benzinga

Pre-market second reading after the results

Verdict: Beat expectations

Heading into the open, results beat expectations on earnings and revenue while the price indicates -1.5% pre-market, a move below the stock's typical reaction (about 7%). Across our market history, the close held that direction 71.2% of the time in the 973 similar cases, confirming the pessimistic scenario.

How the stock reacted

Outcome: Accurate
Consolidated: -9.3%
Max favorable move (MFE): 11.2%
Max adverse move (MAE): 6.1%