IT vs. PANW: Gartner vs. Palo Alto Networks Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Gartner (IT) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Gartner (IT) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW) both fall under the Software & Services industry group, but IT is classified in IT Services while PANW is classified in Software.

Company profile comparison for Gartner (IT) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW)
Profile Item	IT	PANW
Name	Gartner Inc.	Palo Alto Networks, Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Information Technology	Information Technology
GICS Industry Group	Software & Services	Software & Services
GICS Industry	IT Services	Software
GICS Sub-Industry	IT Consulting & Other Services	Systems Software
Market Capitalization	11.99 billion USD	256.86 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	October 5, 1993	July 20, 2012
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

PANW

GSPC

Gartner (IT) vs. Palo Alto Networks (PANW), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Gartner (IT) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Gartner (IT) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Gartner (IT) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW)
Metric	IT	PANW
Total Return (1Y)	-17.60%	53.99%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	-22.07%	39.16%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-10.95%	30.80%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

PANW

GSPC

Gartner (IT) vs. Palo Alto Networks (PANW), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Gartner (IT) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Gartner (IT) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW)
Metric	IT	PANW
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	58.29%	51.34%
Beta (5Y)	0.95	1.00
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-77.21%	-36.01%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.14M	6.03M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

IT and PANW are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Gartner (IT) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW)
Metric	IT	PANW
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.38	0.97
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.54	1.49

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Gartner (IT) at 365.76% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than Palo Alto Networks (PANW) at 1.74%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

IT

Software & Services industry group

365.76%

IT: 365.76%
Max: 53.85%
Q3: 17.90%
Median: 6.59%
Q1: -9.59%
Min: -50.52%

PANW

Software & Services industry group

1.74%

Max: 53.85%
Q3: 17.90%
Median: 6.59%
PANW: 1.74%
Q1: -9.59%
Min: -50.52%

Gartner (IT) vs. Palo Alto Networks (PANW): A comparison of their ROE against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Both Gartner (IT) at 14.81% and Palo Alto Networks (PANW) at 2.67% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

IT

Software & Services industry group

14.81%

Max: 41.17%
Q3: 15.28%
IT: 14.81%
Median: 4.63%
Q1: -5.42%
Min: -33.17%

PANW

Software & Services industry group

2.67%

Max: 41.17%
Q3: 15.28%
Median: 4.63%
PANW: 2.67%
Q1: -5.42%
Min: -33.17%

Gartner (IT) vs. Palo Alto Networks (PANW): A comparison of their net margin against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Gartner (IT) at 18.58% operates in the top operating margin quartile, ahead of Palo Alto Networks (PANW) at 5.40%, which runs around its industry’s norm.

IT

Software & Services industry group

18.58%

Max: 46.89%
IT: 18.58%
Q3: 17.64%
Median: 8.73%
Q1: -2.13%
Min: -30.45%

PANW

Software & Services industry group

5.40%

Max: 46.89%
Q3: 17.64%
Median: 8.73%
PANW: 5.40%
Q1: -2.13%
Min: -30.45%

Gartner (IT) vs. Palo Alto Networks (PANW): A comparison of their operating margin against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Gartner (IT) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW)
Metric	IT	PANW
ROE (TTM)	365.76%	1.74%
ROA (TTM)	11.33%	1.40%
Net Margin (TTM)	14.81%	2.67%
Operating Margin (TTM)	18.58%	5.40%
Gross Margin (TTM)	70.18%	70.38%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Palo Alto Networks (PANW) at 24.50% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Gartner (IT) at 3.67% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

Gartner (IT) vs. Palo Alto Networks (PANW): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Gartner (IT) at -39.69% and Palo Alto Networks (PANW) at -75.00% post bottom-quartile EPS growth versus peers, pointing to weaker earnings momentum than typical rivals.

Gartner (IT) vs. Palo Alto Networks (PANW): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Gartner (IT) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW)
Metric	IT	PANW
Revenue Growth (YoY)	3.67%	24.50%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	5.87%	18.54%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-39.69%	-75.00%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-1.05%	-14.50%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Gartner (IT) at 0.91 and Palo Alto Networks (PANW) at 0.87 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

IT

Software & Services industry group

0.91

Max: 5.11
Q3: 2.77
Median: 1.67
Q1: 1.01
IT: 0.91
Min: 0.03

PANW

Software & Services industry group

0.87

Max: 5.11
Q3: 2.77
Median: 1.67
Q1: 1.01
PANW: 0.87
Min: 0.03

Gartner (IT) vs. Palo Alto Networks (PANW): A comparison of their current ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Only one side’s leverage can be read here: Palo Alto Networks (PANW) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09 against its industry range, while Gartner (IT) reports no figure this period.

IT

Software & Services industry group

Max: 2.52
Q3: 1.13
Median: 0.40
Q1: 0.07
Min: 0.00
IT: --

PANW

Software & Services industry group

0.09

Max: 2.52
Q3: 1.13
Median: 0.40
PANW: 0.09
Q1: 0.07
Min: 0.00

Gartner (IT) vs. Palo Alto Networks (PANW): IT does not report debt-to-equity ratio, so it has no value marker; PANW is benchmarked against the Software & Services industry group.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Gartner (IT) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW)
Metric	IT	PANW
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.91	0.87
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	0.09
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.18	-0.32

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Neither Gartner (IT) nor Palo Alto Networks (PANW) pays a dividend this period — they may reinvest, use buybacks, or simply not return cash through dividends.

IT

Software & Services industry group

0.00%

IT: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

PANW

Software & Services industry group

0.00%

PANW: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Gartner (IT) vs. Palo Alto Networks (PANW): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Neither Gartner (IT) nor Palo Alto Networks (PANW) pays a dividend this period — they may reinvest, use buybacks, or simply not return cash through dividends.

IT

Software & Services industry group

0.00%

IT: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

PANW

Software & Services industry group

0.00%

PANW: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Gartner (IT) vs. Palo Alto Networks (PANW): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Gartner (IT) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW)
Metric	IT	PANW
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Gartner (IT) at 13.62 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while Palo Alto Networks (PANW) at 784.60 trades above its peer range — a wide earnings-valuation gap relative to industry peers.

IT

Software & Services industry group

13.62

Max: 112.94
Q3: 60.32
Median: 32.91
Q1: 18.77
IT: 13.62
Min: 6.69

PANW

Software & Services industry group

784.60

PANW: 784.60
Max: 112.94
Q3: 60.32
Median: 32.91
Q1: 18.77
Min: 6.69

Gartner (IT) vs. Palo Alto Networks (PANW): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Gartner (IT) at 1.86 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while Palo Alto Networks (PANW) at 22.37 prices above its industry range — a wide gap in sales valuation between them.

IT

Software & Services industry group

1.86

Max: 17.91
Q3: 8.78
Median: 4.25
Q1: 2.23
IT: 1.86
Min: 0.02

PANW

Software & Services industry group

22.37

PANW: 22.37
Max: 17.91
Q3: 8.78
Median: 4.25
Q1: 2.23
Min: 0.02

Gartner (IT) vs. Palo Alto Networks (PANW): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Gartner (IT) reports a negative P/B ratio of -348.81, meaning negative book equity — the multiple itself is not meaningful for valuation. Meanwhile Palo Alto Networks (PANW) reports 9.30, ranking against industry peers normally.

IT

Software & Services industry group

-348.81

Max: 16.63
Q3: 8.50
Median: 4.30
Q1: 1.92
Min: -3.90
IT: -348.81

PANW

Software & Services industry group

9.30

Max: 16.63
PANW: 9.30
Q3: 8.50
Median: 4.30
Q1: 1.92
Min: -3.90

Gartner (IT) vs. Palo Alto Networks (PANW): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Gartner (IT) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW)
Metric	IT	PANW
P/E Ratio (TTM)	13.62	784.60
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.86	22.37
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	-348.81	9.30
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	8.90%	1.65%