Should Fortinet’s Index Exit and Partner Expansion Shift How Investors View FTNT’s Risk‑Return Profile?

• In late June 2026, Fortinet, Inc. was removed from both the Russell 1000 Defensive Index and the Russell 1000 Growth-Defensive Index, reflecting a shift in how the stock is categorized by index providers.
• At the same time, Fortinet’s ecosystem momentum remained evident, with partner Liquid Networx expanding access to Fortinet licensing and professional services through major cloud marketplaces while the company continued to highlight strong demand for its cybersecurity platform.
• We’ll now examine how Fortinet’s index removal and ongoing demand signals influence its existing investment narrative and risk-return profile.

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Fortinet Investment Narrative Recap

To own Fortinet, you need to believe its integrated security platform, growing software and services mix, and large enterprise relationships can offset pressures on hardware-driven cycles and margins. The recent removal from Russell defensive indexes may cause some technical selling but does not appear to alter the key near term catalyst around execution on SASE, AI security, and large enterprise deals, nor the main risk of post refresh product growth deceleration and ongoing investment driven margin pressure.

The most relevant recent development is Liquid Networx bringing Fortinet licensing and services to AWS and Azure Marketplaces, which reinforces the SASE and cloud platform adoption story that many see as Fortinet’s main growth lever. This aligns with analyst expectations that higher margin, recurring cloud and security services can gradually lessen reliance on appliance refresh cycles and help buffer the business against slower hardware demand or elongated sales cycles.

Yet, despite these positives, investors should be aware that Fortinet’s heavy infrastructure and sales investments could weigh on margins if...

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

Fortinet's narrative projects $9.2 billion revenue and $2.5 billion earnings by 2029. This requires 10.6% yearly revenue growth and an earnings increase of about $0.6 billion from $1.9 billion today.

Uncover how Fortinet's forecasts yield a $89.00 fair value, a 43% downside to its current price.

Exploring Other Perspectives

Some of the most optimistic analysts were penciling in about US$10.6 billion in 2029 revenue and US$3.2 billion in earnings, yet the latest index removal and hardware dependence risk show how differently you and those analysts might weigh Fortinet’s upside and potential pressure on growth and margins over time.

Explore 16 other fair value estimates on Fortinet - why the stock might be worth as much as $120.34!

Decide For Yourself

Disagree with existing narratives? Extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd, so go with your instincts.

• A great starting point for your Fortinet research is our analysis highlighting 2 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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