Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) Releases Q2 2026 Earnings Guidance

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) issued an update on its second quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 0.720-0.760 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 0.680. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.8 billion-$1.9 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.8 billion. Fortinet also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 3.100-3.160 EPS.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on FTNT. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target (up from $85.00) on shares of Fortinet in a research report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Fortinet from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Fortinet in a report on Friday, February 6th. Compass Point set a $100.00 target price on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Monday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $85.00 price target on shares of Fortinet in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Hold rating and four have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fortinet currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.59.

Fortinet Stock Up 5.1%

FTNT traded up $5.49 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $113.46. 4,733,386 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,564,245. The firm has a market cap of $83.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.92. Fortinet has a 12-month low of $70.12 and a 12-month high of $113.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $82.97 and a 200 day moving average of $81.98.

Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The software maker reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.73 billion. Fortinet had a net margin of 27.49% and a return on equity of 149.52%. The firm’s revenue was up 20.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. Fortinet has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.720-0.760 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.160 EPS. Analysts predict that Fortinet will post 2.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Fortinet

In other news, VP Michael Xie sold 2,478 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.89, for a total value of $220,269.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 9,927,517 shares in the company, valued at approximately $882,456,986.13. This represents a 0.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Ken Xie sold 5,355 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.90, for a total transaction of $476,059.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 52,978,004 shares in the company, valued at $4,709,744,555.60. This trade represents a 0.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 17.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Key Fortinet News

Here are the key news stories impacting Fortinet this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Blowout Q1 results — Fortinet delivered a hefty double beat on revenue and EPS, raised FY and Q2 guidance, reported 20% revenue growth, strong billings and record operating/free cash flow. This is the core driver of the rally. Barchart: Earnings Story
• Positive Sentiment: Company release and presentation: management raised FY26 revenue and EPS guidance and highlighted product (41% Y/Y) and billings (31% Y/Y) strength — confirms recurring and product momentum behind the beat. GlobeNewswire: Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: AI and data‑center traction cited on the call — analysts and the company pointed to AI-driven security demand and data-center wins as sustainable drivers, reducing fears that hyperscale AI will commoditize security spend. Yahoo: AI Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher targets — several firms raised price targets and at least one upgraded to Buy (BTIG, Rosenblatt), reflecting optimism on upside from billings, margin leverage and buyback/capital allocation optionality. MSN: BTIG Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst positioning — multiple firms raised price targets but kept Neutral/Hold ratings (Susquehanna, UBS, Piper, Scotiabank), signaling confidence in results but caution on valuation after the move. Benzinga: Analyst Notes
• Neutral Sentiment: Market context: other software/cloud earnings (Datadog, JFrog, Snowflake) are influencing flow into cybersecurity names; some rotation into high‑quality security stocks is broadening the rally. Benzinga: Sector Flow
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sales — filings show the CEO and a VP sold shares (combined ~\$700k), which can be interpreted as cautious near-term insider activity even if legally routine. AmericanBankingNews: Insider Sale – CEO AmericanBankingNews: Insider Sale – VP
• Negative Sentiment: Conflicting/defensive analyst stances — some firms left underweight/underperform ratings despite higher targets (JPMorgan, Mizuho), highlighting valuation risks after the post‑earnings surge. Benzinga: Mixed Ratings
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC and other analysts maintained Holds or noted mixed views — the street remains split between growth/AI tailwinds and a stretched valuation multiple. Globe & Mail: RBC Hold

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FTNT. GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Fortinet by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 515 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co grew its position in shares of Fortinet by 1.2% during the third quarter. Fiduciary Trust Co now owns 10,823 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Fortinet by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 4,888 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. L2 Asset Management LLC raised its position in Fortinet by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 2,992 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in Fortinet by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 7,269 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.71% of the company’s stock.

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.