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Fortinet Reports Strong Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results

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Raises 2026 revenue guidance to 20% year over year growth

Highlights

  • Revenue grew 20% year over year to $2.08 billion
  • Product revenue grew 37% year over year to $765 million
  • Billings grew 29% year over year to $2.34 billion1
  • GAAP operating margin of 34%
  • Non-GAAP operating margin of 38%1
  • GAAP earnings per share of $0.86
  • Non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.911
  • Operating cash flow of $946 million
  • Free cash flow of $865 million1
  • Share repurchase authorization increased by $1.2 billion; remaining authorization of $2 billion

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct. 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Fortinet® (Nasdaq: FTNT), a global cybersecurity leader driving the convergence of networking and security, today announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026.

"We are very pleased with our excellent third quarter results, which reflect strong execution and broad-based demand across our entire portfolio, allowing us to raise our 2026 billings guidance for the third time this year,” said Ken Xie, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fortinet. "Our strong momentum is driven by our continued leadership in the AI era. As AI introduces entirely new attack surfaces, Network Security remains the critical foundation of AI Security. Powered by our single FortiOS operating system and proprietary FortiASIC technology, our unified platform approach secures critical AI infrastructure while delivering industry-leading performance and a significantly lower total cost of ownership.”

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Recent Business Highlights

  • Announced the new FortiGuard Inline AI Security Service, delivering AI-specific inspection and guardrails to FortiGate customers through a cloud-delivered service, enabling organizations to gain deeper visibility into AI activity and stop AI threats and data exposure through the Fortinet solutions they already use.
  • Announced the FortiLink SASE service, giving organizations a simpler way to secure small branch office, remote facilities, and other distributed locations without requiring a dedicated on-site firewall. By connecting local networks to FortiSASE, organizations can protect and manage wired and wireless devices through a simplified, cloud-delivered service while managing networking and security from a single console.
  • Selected by NVIDIA as a top OpenShell Reference Architecture Partner to Secure AI.
  • Oracle and Fortinet announced a collaboration to help enterprises securely accelerate AI adoption, combining OCI Enterprise AI with FortiAIGate to protect and govern AI applications and agents at scale while maintaining visibility and control.
  • Selected by Microsoft to join its Sovereign Partner Ecosystem based on Fortinet’s sovereign solution strength, to together deliver trusted sovereign AI security solutions to highly regulated industries.
  • Recognized as a Leader in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Hybrid Mesh Firewall and positioned highest for Ability to Execute for the second consecutive year.

Guidance

For the fourth quarter of 2026, Fortinet currently expects:

  • Revenue in the range of $2.155 billion to $2.245 billion
  • Billings in the range of $2.775 billion to $2.925 billion
  • Non-GAAP gross margin in the range of 78.0% to 80.0%
  • Non-GAAP operating margin in the range of 35.5% to 37.5%
  • Diluted non-GAAP net income per share in the range of $0.93 to $0.95, assuming a non-GAAP effective tax rate of 18%. This assumes a diluted share count of 741 million to 745 million.

For the fiscal year 2026, Fortinet currently expects:

  • Revenue in the range of $8.125 billion to $8.215 billion
  • Service revenue in the range of $5.150 billion to $5.170 billion
  • Billings in the range of $9.568 billion to $9.718 billion
  • Non-GAAP gross margin in the range of 79.7% to 80.3%
  • Non-GAAP operating margin in the range of 36.5% to 37.5%
  • Diluted non-GAAP net income per share in the range of $3.54 to $3.58, assuming a non-GAAP effective tax rate of 18%. This assumes a diluted share count of 741 million to 743 million.

These statements are forward looking and actual results may differ materially. Refer to the Forward-Looking Statements section below for information on the factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements.

Our guidance with respect to non-GAAP financial measures excludes stock-based compensation, amortization of acquired intangible assets, gain on intellectual property matters, a gain from an escrow settlement and a tax adjustment required for an effective tax rate on a non-GAAP basis, which differs from the GAAP effective tax rate. We have not reconciled our guidance with respect to non-GAAP financial measures to the corresponding GAAP measures because certain items that impact these measures are uncertain or out of our control or cannot be reasonably predicted. Accordingly, a reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the corresponding GAAP measures is not available without unreasonable effort.

Conference Call Details

Fortinet will host a conference call today at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time (4:30 p.m. Eastern Time) to discuss the earnings results. A live webcast of the conference call and supplemental slides will be accessible from the Investor Relations page of Fortinet’s website at https://investor.fortinet.com and a replay will be archived and accessible at https://investor.fortinet.com/events-and-presentations.

Fourth Quarter 2026 Conference Participation Schedule:

  • BMO Technology and Innovation Leaders ConferenceNovember 12, 2026
  • UBS Global Technology and AI ConferenceDecember 2, 2026
  • Barclays Global Technology Conference

    December 9, 2026

Members of Fortinet’s management team are expected to present at these conferences and discuss the latest company strategies and initiatives. Fortinet’s conference presentations are expected to be available via webcast on the company’s website. To access the most updated information, pre-register and listen to the webcast of each event, please visit the Investor Presentation & Events page of Fortinet’s website at https://investor.fortinet.com/events-and-presentations. The schedule is subject to change.

About Fortinet (www.fortinet.com)

Fortinet (Nasdaq: FTNT) is a driving force in the evolution of cybersecurity and the convergence of networking and security. Our mission is to secure people, devices and data everywhere, and today we deliver cybersecurity everywhere our customers need it with the largest integrated portfolio of over 50 enterprise-grade products. Over one million lifetime customers trust Fortinet’s solutions, which are among the most deployed, most patented and most validated in the industry. The Fortinet Training Institute, one of the largest and broadest training programs in the industry, is dedicated to making cybersecurity training and new career opportunities available to everyone. Collaboration with esteemed organizations from both the public and private sectors, including Computer Emergency Response Teams ("CERTs”), government entities, and academia, is a fundamental aspect of Fortinet’s commitment to enhance cyber resilience globally. FortiGuard Labs, Fortinet’s elite threat intelligence and research organization, develops and utilizes leading-edge machine learning and AI technologies to provide customers with timely and consistently top-rated protection and actionable threat intelligence. Learn more at https://www.fortinet.com, the Fortinet Blog or FortiGuard Labs.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding any indications related to future growth and market share gains, our strategy going forward, and guidance and expectations around future financial results, including guidance and expectations for the fourth quarter and full year 2026, and any statements regarding our market opportunity and market size, and business momentum. Although we attempt to be accurate in making forward-looking statements, it is possible that future circumstances might differ from the assumptions on which such statements are based such that actual results are materially different from our forward-looking statements in this release. Important factors that could cause results to differ materially from the statements herein include the following: general economic risks, including those caused by economic challenges, a possible economic downturn or recession and the effects of inflation or stagflation, changing interest rates or reduced information technology spending; supply chain challenges; negative impacts from global conflicts and their related macroeconomic effects; competitiveness in the security market; the dynamic nature of the security market and its products and services; specific economic risks worldwide and in different geographies, and among different customer segments; uncertainty regarding demand and increased business and renewals from existing customers; sales execution risks, including risks in connection with the timing and completion of large strategic deals; uncertainties around continued success in sales growth and market share gains; uncertainties in market opportunities and the market size; actual or perceived vulnerabilities in our supply chain, products or services, and any actual or perceived breach of our network or our customers’ networks; longer sales cycles, particularly for larger enterprise, service providers, government and other large organization customers; the effectiveness of our salesforce and failure to convert sales pipeline into final sales; risks associated with successful implementation of multiple integrated software products and other product functionality risks; risks associated with integrating acquisitions and changes in circumstances and plans associated therewith, including, among other risks, changes in plans related to product and services integrations, product and services plans and sales strategies; sales and marketing execution risks; execution risks around new product development and introductions and innovation; litigation and disputes and the potential cost, distraction and damage to sales and reputation caused thereby or by other factors; cybersecurity threats, breaches and other disruptions; market acceptance of new products and services; the ability to attract and retain personnel; changes in strategy; risks associated with management of growth; lengthy sales and implementation cycles, particularly in larger organizations; technological changes that make our products and services less competitive, including advances in artificial intelligence; risks associated with the adoption of, and demand for, our products and services in general and by specific customer segments, including those caused by competition and pricing pressure; excess product inventory for any reason, including those caused by the effects of inflation and changing interest rates in certain geographies and the war in Ukraine, tensions between China and Taiwan or conflicts in the Middle East; risks associated with business disruption caused by natural disasters and health emergencies such as earthquakes, fires, power outages, typhoons, floods, health epidemics and viruses, and by manmade events such as civil unrest, labor disruption, international trade disputes, international conflicts such as the war in Ukraine, tensions between China and Taiwan or conflicts in the Middle East, terrorism, wars, and critical infrastructure attacks; tariffs, trade disputes and other trade barriers, and negative impact on sales based on geo-political dynamics and disputes and protectionist policies, including the impact of any future shutdowns of the U.S. government; and the other risk factors set forth from time to time in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC”), copies of which are available free of charge at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or upon request from our investor relations department. All forward-looking statements herein reflect our opinions only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation, and expressly disclaim any obligation, to update forward-looking statements herein in light of new information or future events.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We believe that the presentation of non-GAAP financial information provides important supplemental information to management and investors regarding financial and business trends relating to our financial condition and results of operations. For further information regarding why we believe that these non-GAAP measures provide useful information to investors, the specific manner in which management uses these measures, and some of the limitations associated with the use of these measures, please refer to the "Explanation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section of this press release.

FORTINET, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(Unaudited, in millions)

  September 30,

2026

  December 31,

2025

ASSETS      
CURRENT ASSETS:      
Cash and cash equivalents $ 3,750.6     $ 2,495.3  
Short-term investments   1,048.4       1,087.2  
Accounts receivable-net   1,461.0       1,691.2  
Inventory   591.2       399.5  
Prepaid expenses and other current assets   256.8       227.0  
Total current assets   7,108.0       5,900.2  
LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS   519.4       339.7  
PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT-NET   1,729.5       1,619.0  
DEFERRED CONTRACT COSTS   815.4       735.5  
DEFERRED TAX ASSETS   1,306.9       1,314.9  
GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS-NET   348.1       354.7  
OTHER ASSETS   115.5       125.2  
TOTAL ASSETS $ 11,942.8     $ 10,389.2  
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY      
CURRENT LIABILITIES:      
Accounts payable $ 430.3     $ 230.8  
Accrued liabilities   380.3       354.6  
Accrued payroll and compensation   315.9       312.9  
Current portion of long-term debt   –       499.7  
Deferred revenue   3,961.0       3,636.0  
Total current liabilities   5,087.5       5,034.0  
DEFERRED REVENUE   3,973.4       3,479.8  
LONG-TERM DEBT   497.1       496.6  
OTHER LIABILITIES   138.0       141.3  
Total liabilities   9,696.0       9,151.7  
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES      
STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY:      
Common stock   0.7       0.7  
Additional paid-in capital   1,959.7       1,770.1  
Accumulated other comprehensive loss   (32.4 )     (25.4 )
Retained earnings (accumulated deficit)   318.8       (507.9 )
Total stockholders’ equity   2,246.8       1,237.5  
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY $ 11,942.8     $ 10,389.2  

FORTINET, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

(Unaudited, in millions, except per share amounts)

  Three Months Ended   Nine Months Ended
  September 30,

2026

  September 30,

2025

  September 30,

2026

  September 30,

2025

REVENUE:              
Product $ 765.0     $ 559.3     $ 2,183.1     $ 1,527.3  
Service   1,313.4       1,165.6       3,792.8       3,367.3  
Total revenue   2,078.4       1,724.9       5,975.9       4,894.6  
COST OF REVENUE:              
Product   272.6       180.7       714.7       496.5  
Service   164.9       151.0       492.0       443.2  
Total cost of revenue   437.5       331.7       1,206.7       939.7  
GROSS PROFIT:              
Product   492.4       378.6       1,468.4       1,030.8  
Service   1,148.5    

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