PANW: Cybersecurity Giant Down 33% on AI Fears
Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) has been caught in the crossfire of the enterprise software selloff, falling 33% from its 52-week high of $223.61 to $148.92. The cybersecurity leader, with a $103.8 billion market cap, is trading well below its 50-day moving average of $174.96 and 200-day average of $191.50 — a technical breakdown that has spooked momentum investors. Yet beneath the share price carnage lies a business that is accelerating. Q2 FY2026 revenue hit $2.594 billion with net income of $432 million, the company's best quarter in both absolute and margin terms. Free cash flow for FY2025 reached $3.47 billion, up 12% year-over-year, and the balance sheet holds $3.79 billion more cash than debt. The disconnect between Palo Alto's operational execution and its stock price reflects a broader market narrative: fear that AI will commoditise enterprise software. But in cybersecurity, AI is more likely to expand the addressable market than shrink it. The cybersecurity market is projected to double to $300 billion by 2030, and PANW is positioning its platform to be the AI-native security operating system for enterprises.