Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Updates Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) updated its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 0.590-0.630 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 0.620. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.7 billion-$1.8 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.7 billion. Fortinet also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 2.940-3.000 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Fortinet from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $85.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered Fortinet from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $86.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Fortinet in a report on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank cut Fortinet from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Fortinet in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.48.

Fortinet Trading Down 2.7%

NASDAQ:FTNT traded down $2.19 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $78.93. 12,671,872 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,860,309. The company’s 50 day moving average is $80.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.08. Fortinet has a twelve month low of $70.12 and a twelve month high of $114.82. The company has a market capitalization of $58.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The software maker reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. Fortinet had a return on equity of 118.27% and a net margin of 28.58%.Fortinet’s revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. Fortinet has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 0.590-0.630 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 2.940-3.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Fortinet will post 2.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael Xie sold 343,106 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total transaction of $27,935,690.52. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 10,210,282 shares in the company, valued at approximately $831,321,160.44. The trade was a 3.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ken Xie sold 175,737 shares of Fortinet stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total transaction of $14,308,506.54. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 51,396,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,184,693,666.70. This trade represents a 0.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 17.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Fortinet

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat: Fortinet reported $0.81 EPS vs. $0.74 consensus and revenue of $1.91B vs. ~$1.86B estimate — a classic earnings catalyst that drove an initial rally. Zacks: FTNT Surpasses Q4
• Positive Sentiment: Stronger commercial metrics: billings grew ~18% to $2.37B, product revenue +20% and unified SASE billings surged ~40% — supports recurring‑revenue growth narrative. Financial Post: Q4 & FY Results
• Positive Sentiment: Raised FY‑2026 outlook: company set EPS guidance of $2.94–3.00 vs. street ~2.79 — the stronger full‑year guide is a constructive sign for longer‑term earnings. (Company guidance reported in earnings release.) FTNT Press Release / Slide Deck
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 guide mixed: Fortinet set Q1 EPS of $0.59–0.63 (vs. consensus ~0.62) and revenue band overlapping estimates — not a clean beat on the near‑term quarterly guide, leaving room for investor debate.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst prep and previews ahead of print were constructive but cautious (Jefferies noted a modest beat potential but flagged 2026 uncertainty). Jefferies Preview
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: CEO Ken Xie and VP Michael Xie sold large blocks (combined tens of millions of dollars) — sizable insider sales often sap near‑term sentiment even when insiders retain big stakes. Ken Xie SEC Filing Michael Xie SEC Filing
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades / growth reassessment: several firms pared 2026 expectations (including a Scotiabank downgrade), which pressured the stock as investors marked down forward growth. Yahoo: Downgrades & Reassessments

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in Fortinet during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fortinet during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Fortinet in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Fortinet in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in Fortinet during the 3rd quarter valued at about $101,000. 83.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Fortinet Company Profile

Fortinet, Inc (NASDAQ: FTNT) is a multinational cybersecurity company that develops and delivers integrated security solutions for enterprise, service provider and government customers worldwide. Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, the company was co‑founded by Ken Xie and Michael Xie. Ken Xie serves as chairman and chief executive officer, and the company operates through a global sales, channel and services organization to support customers across the Americas, EMEA and Asia‑Pacific.

Fortinet’s product portfolio centers on network security appliances and software, with its FortiGate next‑generation firewalls and the FortiOS operating system forming a core platform.