Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. TENB scored 56.5, FTNT scored 62.3 — FTNT leads.
Compare another set
TENB
Tenable Holdings, Inc.
Software - Infrastructure · Quality-Growth
56.5
$41.59 · $4.6B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
5.8
FTNT leads
FTNT
Fortinet, Inc.
Software - Infrastructure · Quality-Growth
62.3
$194.75 · $142.9B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
Fastest growthFTNT+18.8%
Strongest balance sheetFTNT0.36
Highest qualityFTNT91 / 100
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
TENB
stronger →← stronger
FTNT
63
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
91
72
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
90
40
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
29
FTNT is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
TENB
FTNT
$264mC
FCF
$3.2bB
+9.9%B
Rev
+18.8%B+
2.12D
D/E
0.36B
4.4xB
P/S
—
1.33B
PEG
2.08C
—
P/E
68.8xC
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
TENB
FTNT
2% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
124% above
~8%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~33%/yr
-10%
1-yr DCF upside
-63%
-2%
5-yr DCF upside
-55%
+10%
10-yr DCF upside
-41%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
TENB
Why this score
Buying back stock
FTNT
Why this score
Buying back stock
Durable high returns
The companies
TENBTenable Holdings, Inc.
Software - Infrastructure · $41.59 · beta 1.01
Why now
Software - Infrastructure · market cap $4.6b. 5% off the 52-week high of $43.67. 20 sell-side analysts rate this a Hold with a mean 1-yr target of $35.35 (implying -15% upside).
Moat
Free cash flow runs well ahead of reported net income, mostly because of stock-based pay ($180m) — a real cost to shareholders, paid in shares rather than cash. Software economics — recurring revenue, embedded customer workflows, and high gross margin all compound the moat once a base account is won. Switching costs are the lever.
Risk
D/E 2.12 is elevated — limits strategic flexibility and raises refinancing exposure if rates stay higher for longer. Net margin 0.6% is thin — operating leverage cuts both ways; input-cost inflation or pricing pressure hits the bottom line first. ROE 3% is below the long-run sustainable threshold of ~10% — capital efficiency would need to improve for the equity base to compound at the market rate.
FTNTFortinet, Inc.
Software - Infrastructure · $194.75 · beta 1.04
Why now
Software - Infrastructure · market cap $142.9b. Trading near 52-week high of $194.95 — momentum setup, limited technical margin of safety. Revenue growing +19%, comfortably above the S&P median. 36 sell-side analysts rate this a Hold with a mean 1-yr target of $164.32 (implying -16% upside).
Moat
Net margin 28% sits well above the S&P median (~11%) — suggests structural pricing advantage or cost discipline competitors can't quickly close. FCF converts 151% of net income, helped by cash released from working capital ($532m) that doesn't repeat every year. $142.9b market cap gives the company enough scale to absorb fixed costs that subscale competitors can't, without yet being so large that growth has to come from acquisition.
Risk
Trailing P/E 68.8x prices in sustained high growth — any quarter that disappoints triggers sharp re-rating. Trading within 0% of the 52-week high — limited technical margin of safety; a momentum reversal would test conviction. P/S 19.0x embeds aggressive forward growth — disappointing top-line guidance would compress the multiple hard.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where TENB and FTNT diverge
On the headline score the gap is 5.8 points in favor of FTNT. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.
QualityTENB 63.1 · FTNT 91.4FTNT +28.3
GrowthTENB 71.7 · FTNT 89.7FTNT +18.0
ValueTENB 39.7 · FTNT 29.4TENB +10.3
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is FTNT or TENB the better stock?
FTNT scores higher: FTNT 62.3, TENB 56.5 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do FTNT and TENB differ most?
The widest gap is quality, where FTNT leads by 28 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. Neither name sweeps: they trade the lead across the three pillars, so the comparison is a trade-off rather than one being better on every measure.
How are FTNT and TENB scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.