Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) used its investor briefing at Accelerate 2026 to reiterate its long-term strategy around “convergence” in cybersecurity, leaning on a single operating system, custom silicon, and an expanding platform approach that management said positions the company to outgrow its markets while maintaining profitability.
AI, convergence, and a single operating system
Founder, Chairman and CEO Ken Xie told attendees that artificial intelligence is a “tailwind” for the company, arguing that AI-driven computing and agentic workloads increase east-west traffic and accelerate the convergence of networking and security. Xie emphasized Fortinet’s approach of integrating capabilities into a single operating system, FortiOS, rather than relying on acquired, separate operating systems for SD-WAN, network security, or SASE.
Supply chain dynamics and pricing actions
Management said it believes current supply chain conditions are creating competitive opportunities. Xie pointed to Fortinet’s inventory management and manufacturing control, stating the company is still able to ship products while some competitors are “starting out of the stock,” which he said can open “white space” for competitive displacement.
During Q&A, CFO Christiane Ohlgart addressed customer behavior amid higher input costs and pricing. She said the company had not yet seen a slowdown, adding that some customers cannot wait for new hardware tied to new projects, while others could potentially delay purchases if they have existing equipment. Sales leaders said they were seeing some customers ask about delivery, while others were pulling forward purchases to avoid higher prices.
Ohlgart provided additional detail on the company’s firewall pricing changes:
- List price changes went into effect on March 2, with prior quotes remaining valid for 30 days (through the end of March).
- She said the increases ranged from about 5% to 20% for select products, not across the full portfolio.
Growth pillars: secure networking, unified SASE, and SecOps
Vice President of Investor Relations Anthony Luscri outlined Fortinet’s go-to-market focus across three pillars: secure networking, unified SASE, and security operations (SecOps). Luscri said Fortinet expects to grow 12% or above over its reaffirmed three- to five-year model and said the company sees a combined opportunity of over $300 billion across these markets. He added that the company holds less than 20% share in fragmented segments, creating cross-sell and upsell potential.
Luscri also described tailwinds including the convergence of networking and security, customer consolidation of point products, and an evolving threat landscape driven by hybrid/multi-cloud and distributed enterprise environments. He cited Fortinet holding a 55% unit market share in firewalls as of 2026.
Ohlgart reiterated the company’s “Rule of 45” framework and said Fortinet expects mid-term product revenue growth of 10% to 15%. She noted the company’s diversification across customer sizes, industries, and geographies, and said it has been moving upmarket, citing a 14% CAGR over the last three years for deals greater than $1 million.
Product and platform updates highlighted at Accelerate
Ohlgart and EVP of Product Management Robert May discussed new product and packaging announcements. Ohlgart said Fortinet announced FortiOS 8.0, describing it as bringing new AI-related security features across the portfolio, improvements for SASE integration, new SD-WAN features, and OT-related capabilities. May said the announcements reflect “AI for security” across the portfolio, including agentic AI capabilities and new functionality aimed at replicating security operations center (SOC) analyst workflows.
May also highlighted:
- New SD-WAN bundle packaging with integrated management components and a SASE starter pack aimed at making adoption and rollouts easier.
- Expansion of public cloud SASE capabilities into the sovereign SASE lineup.
- Quantum-safe updates in FortiOS 8.0, including enhancements covering the management plane and expanded data-plane use cases such as remote access and SSL deep inspection.
On FortiOS 8.0 adoption, May said there is no hardware prerequisite for the release, and he described a typical upgrade pattern where early adopters move first, followed by another wave tied to new hardware shipments, with others adopting more slowly based on internal processes.
OT, sovereign SASE, and AI as “early innings” opportunities
Luscri described OT security as an area with multiple tailwinds, including the growth of connected devices, IT/OT convergence, regulatory compliance needs, and modernization cycles for legacy equipment. He said the OT business has been over $1 billion for Fortinet and has been growing 20% or more, based on prior commentary. In Q&A, executives also noted a partnership with Armis, describing FortiGate being used as a collector for OT visibility and calling the partnership “early days.”
On sovereign SASE, Luscri said Fortinet’s model is built on FortiOS and enables localized services at about one-third the cost of competing solutions, with success cited in public sector and service provider markets, particularly in Europe and the Middle East where data localization can be mandated. Xie said he expects sovereign SASE could eventually be larger than cloud-based SASE and argued competitors that depend on cloud providers lack sovereign and on-premises options.
Fortinet also discussed AI’s impact internally. Ohlgart said AI is helping slow headcount growth in customer support through AI enablement, while the company continues to invest in sales headcount to maintain customer engagement. Executives said Fortinet is developing internal AI tools to help sales and enablement and noted existing internal tools used by employees to support sales and customer support interactions.
Ohlgart closed by reiterating the company’s focus on investing in innovation—including AI, quantum, and OT—while returning capital to shareholders. She said Fortinet repurchased $471 million in the quarter discussed, had $1.3 billion remaining in authorization, and has returned $9 billion since its IPO.
About Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT)
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.
