Stronger Bet Than Fortinet Stock: TOST Delivers More

FTNT: Fortinet logo
FTNT
Fortinet

TOST is Fortinet’s peer in Systems Software industry that has:

1) Lower valuation (P/OpInc) compared to Fortinet stock
2) But higher revenue and operating income growth

This disconnect between valuation and performance could mean that you are better off buying TOST stock vs. FTNT stock

Key Metrics Compared

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Metric FTNT TOST
P/OpInc* 48.9x 40.4x
LTM OpInc Growth 14.2% 191.2%
3Y Avg OpInc Growth 27.5% 131.6%
LTM Revenue Growth 15.7% 23.4%
3Y Avg Revenue Growth 14.6% 29.0%

OpInc = Operating Income, P/OpInc = Price To Operating Income Ratio

But do these numbers tell the full story? Read Buy or Sell FTNT Stock to see if Fortinet still has an edge that holds up under the hood. As a quick background, Fortinet (FTNT) provides broad, integrated, and automated cybersecurity solutions worldwide, including FortiGate security hardware/software and FortiSwitch secure switching products for reliable network connectivity.

This is just one approach to evaluate investments. Trefis High Quality Portfolio evaluates much more, and is designed to reduce stock-specific risk while giving upside exposure

Is The Mismatch In Stock Price Temporary

One way to check if Fortinet stock is expensive now versus the other tickers would be to see how these metrics compared across companies exactly a year ago. Specifically, if there has been a marked reversal in the trend for Fortinet in the last 12 months, then there is a chance that the current mismatch is likely to reverse. On the other hand, a persistent underperformance in revenue and operating income growth for Fortinet would reinforce the conclusion that the stock is expensive compared to its peers, but may not revert soon

Key Metrics Compared 1 Yr Prior

Metric FTNT TOST
P/OpInc* 36.2x 80.9x
LTM OpInc Growth 15.6% 406.7%
3Y Avg OpInc Growth 29.6% 184.3%
LTM Revenue Growth 14.2% 24.1%
3Y Avg Revenue Growth 15.5% 31.3%

OpInc = Operating Income

Additional Metrics To Consider

Metric FTNT TOST
P/S 15.2x 2.3x
Market Cap (Current) $ 108.2 Bil $ 14.7 Bil
LTM Revenue $ 7.11 Bil $ 6.45 Bil
LTM Opinc $ 2.21 Bil $ 364.00 Mil
LTM Op Margin 31.1% 5.6%

OpInc = Operating Income

Alternate buying based on valuation, while attractive, needs to be evaluated carefully from multiple angles. Such multi-factor analysis is exactly how we construct Trefis portfolio strategies. If you want upside with a smoother ride than an individual stock, consider the High Quality portfolio, which has outperformed its benchmark – a combination of the S&P 500, Russell, and S&P midcap index.