Should Fortinet's (FTNT) Expanded Buyback and New Client Adoption Signal Renewed Investor Confidence?

• On August 21, 2025, Fortinet announced a US$1 billion increase to its equity buyback authorization, extending the total program to US$9.25 billion and pushing the buyback duration out to February 28, 2027.
• At the same time, Tepper Sports & Entertainment revealed its adoption of Fortinet’s Security Fabric solutions, highlighting demand for unified cybersecurity platforms in complex, high-density environments like professional sports operations.
• We’ll examine how Fortinet’s expanded buyback plan signals management’s confidence amid recent analyst margin concerns and sector competition.

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Fortinet Investment Narrative Recap

To own Fortinet stock today, an investor needs to believe that the company’s integrated security platform, ongoing innovation, and large customer base are enough to drive continued growth despite intensifying competition and questions about future hardware demand. The recent US$1 billion buyback expansion highlights management's confidence but does not materially change the core near-term catalyst, the ongoing hardware refresh cycle, and it doesn’t eliminate the most pressing risk: potential deceleration in product revenue after the current upgrade wave peaks.

One recent milestone that aligns closely with these trends is Tepper Sports & Entertainment’s deployment of Fortinet’s Security Fabric across its sports and entertainment operations. This underscores the company’s momentum in landing complex, enterprise-scale clients and the relevance of its unified SASE and firewall offerings as organizations seek more streamlined, comprehensive cybersecurity solutions.

However, looking ahead, investors should pay particular attention to the risk that once the product refresh cycle is complete, new hardware demand could slow and...

Read the full narrative on Fortinet (it's free!)

Fortinet's outlook anticipates $9.2 billion in revenue and $2.4 billion in earnings by 2028. This projection assumes a 13.1% annual revenue growth rate and a $0.5 billion increase in earnings from the current $1.9 billion.

Uncover how Fortinet's forecasts yield a $91.10 fair value, a 14% upside to its current price.

Exploring Other Perspectives

Simply Wall St Community members submitted 28 fair value estimates for Fortinet, ranging widely from US$79.73 to US$111.23 per share. With this diversity of views, consider how the hardware upgrade cycle’s duration could shape both future revenue and longer-term market confidence.

Explore 28 other fair value estimates on Fortinet - why the stock might be worth as much as 39% more than the current price!

Build Your Own Fortinet Narrative

Disagree with existing narratives? Create your own in under 3 minutes - extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd.

• A great starting point for your Fortinet research is our analysis highlighting 4 key rewards that could impact your investment decision.
• Our free Fortinet research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate Fortinet's overall financial health at a glance.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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