Home Compare GWRE vs PANW
Stock Comparison · Structural lead, mixed market

Guidewire Software vs Palo Alto Networks: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Guidewire Software holds the cleaner structural position, with profitability as the main driver and growth adding further support. Palo Alto Networks still has the edge on growth, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. In the market, Palo Alto Networks carries the stronger setup — intact trend against Guidewire Software's broken trend. That leaves a split case: the structural lead stays with Guidewire Software, but the market is not currently confirming it.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the Russell 1000 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-08-16

The comparison is mainly decided in profitability, with the rest of the profile carrying less weight. Guidewire Software, Inc. leads by 14 points on the overall comparison score.

Trajectory Similarity
0.73
Similar
Peer-set rank: #14
within Guidewire Software, Inc.'s functional peer set

This pair is matched through long-term financial trajectory similarity within the selected peer universe.

This level of similarity signals a strong structural match, even though some dimensions still separate the two companies.

Most of the shared profile comes through investment intensity and revenue growth trajectory.

Similarity drivers
investment intensityrevenue growth trajectory
How to read the score
0.85–1.00 · Very similar0.70–0.84 · Similar0.55–0.69 · Moderately similarbelow 0.55 · Loose match
Peer-Relative Score
GWRE
Guidewire Software, Inc.
50
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000
vs
PANW
Palo Alto Networks, Inc.
36
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.

Dimension spread: GWRE vs PANW Profitability 75 25 Stability 69 75 Valuation 24 10 Growth 30 51 GWRE PANW
Gap Ranking
#1 Profitability +50
#2 Growth +21
#3 Valuation +14
#4 Stability +6
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for GWRE and PANW Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer GWREPANW Relative valuation Structural strength

The setup is mixed: neither company clearly combines the stronger profile with the more supportive price setup.

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where GWRE and PANW each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY GWRE Elevated · near norm 0th 50th 100th 23 pct gap PANW Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 76th 99th
Today GWRE sits in the upper portion of its own 5-year history (76th percentile), while PANW sits higher in its own history (99th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, GWRE is at a historically more favourable entry position than PANW. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger — peer-relative analysis is a separate question addressed above.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Profitability
Guidewire Software, Inc. ranks near the top of the group on profitability; Palo Alto Networks, Inc. sits in the weaker half.
Growth
On growth, Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is positioned higher in the group, while Guidewire Software, Inc. is closer to the middle.
Profitability — Dominant Gap
GWRE
75
PANW
25
Gap+50in favour of GWRE

The profitability lead is mainly driven by a 10.7-point operating margin advantage.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

On the market side, Palo Alto Networks carries the stronger trend while Guidewire Software's trend has broken — the market setup does not confirm the structural advantage.

What this means for the comparison

Profitability settles the comparison, while pricing and growth keep the broader setup from looking fully aligned.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the GWRE vs PANW comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

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Other comparisons with conflicting dimension signals

Explore how GWRE and PANW each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.