The cybersecurity company recorded $2.08 billion in quarterly revenue, with product revenue increasing 37% year over year to $765 million and billings rising 29% to $2.34 billion.
Fortinet has announced its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, reporting strong revenue growth and improved business performance across its portfolio.
The company reported quarterly revenue of $2.08 billion, representing a 20% increase compared with the same period last year. Product revenue climbed 37% year over year to $765 million, while billings increased 29% to $2.34 billion.
Fortinet also reported a GAAP operating margin of 34% and a non-GAAP operating margin of 38%. GAAP earnings per share stood at $0.86, while non-GAAP earnings per share reached $0.91.
Operating cash flow for the quarter was $946 million, with free cash flow of $865 million. The company also increased its share repurchase authorization by $1.2 billion, bringing the remaining authorization to $2 billion.
“We are very pleased with our excellent third quarter results, which reflect strong execution and broad-based demand across our entire portfolio, allowing us to raise our 2026 billings guidance for the third time this year,” said Ken Xie, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fortinet. “Our strong momentum is driven by our continued leadership in the AI era. As AI introduces entirely new attack surfaces, Network Security remains the critical foundation of AI Security. Powered by our single FortiOS operating system and proprietary FortiASIC technology, our unified platform approach secures critical AI infrastructure while delivering industry-leading performance and a significantly lower total cost of ownership.”
Fortinet Highlights Recent Product and Business Developments
Alongside its financial results, Fortinet outlined several recent business developments and strategic initiatives:
- FortiGuard Inline AI Security Service: Introduced a cloud-delivered service that brings AI-specific inspection and security guardrails to FortiGate customers. It is designed to improve visibility into AI activities and help prevent AI threats and sensitive data exposure through existing Fortinet infrastructure.
- FortiLink SASE: Announced a service designed to simplify security for small branch offices, remote facilities and distributed locations without requiring dedicated on-site firewalls. Organizations can connect local networks to FortiSASE and manage wired and wireless devices through a cloud-delivered service and a unified management console.
- NVIDIA partnership: Selected by NVIDIA as a leading OpenShell Reference Architecture Partner for AI security.
- Oracle collaboration: Announced a collaboration combining Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Enterprise AI with FortiAIGate to help enterprises secure and govern AI applications and agents while maintaining visibility and control.
- Microsoft Sovereign Partner Ecosystem: Selected by Microsoft to join its ecosystem, with the aim of delivering trusted sovereign AI security solutions to highly regulated industries.
- Gartner recognition: Recognized as a Leader in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Hybrid Mesh Firewall and positioned highest for Ability to Execute for the second consecutive year.
Fortinet Provides Fourth Quarter 2026 Financial Guidance
For the fourth quarter of 2026, Fortinet currently expects the following financial performance:
| Financial metric | Q4 2026 guidance |
|---|---|
| Revenue | $2.155B–$2.245B |
| Billings | $2.775B–$2.925B |
| Non-GAAP gross margin | 78.0%–80.0% |
| Non-GAAP operating margin | 35.5%–37.5% |
| Diluted non-GAAP EPS | $0.93–$0.95 |
The earnings-per-share outlook assumes a non-GAAP effective tax rate of 18% and a diluted share count of 741 million to 745 million.
Full-Year 2026 Financial Outlook
Fortinet also provided its updated expectations for fiscal year 2026:
| Financial metric | FY 2026 guidance |
|---|---|
| Revenue | $8.125B–$8.215B |
| Service revenue | $5.150B–$5.170B |
| Billings | $9.568B–$9.718B |
| Non-GAAP gross margin | 79.7%–80.3% |
| Non-GAAP operating margin | 36.5%–37.5% |
| Diluted non-GAAP EPS | $3.54–$3.58 |
The full-year earnings-per-share projection assumes a non-GAAP effective tax rate of 18% and a diluted share count of 741 million to 743 million.
Fortinet noted that these projections are forward-looking statements and actual results may differ materially. Its non-GAAP guidance excludes certain items, including stock-based compensation, amortization of acquired intangible assets, gains related to intellectual property matters and escrow settlements, and tax adjustments.
The company stated that it has not reconciled its non-GAAP guidance with corresponding GAAP measures because certain influencing items are uncertain, outside its control or cannot be reasonably predicted.
Fortinet Schedules Investor Conference Participation
Fortinet hosted its third-quarter earnings conference call on October 28, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time (4:30 p.m. Eastern Time). The live webcast, supplemental slides and replay are available through the company’s Investor Relations website and its Events and Presentations page.
The company also announced its planned participation in the following technology and investor conferences during the fourth quarter of 2026:
- BMO Technology and Innovation Leaders Conference: November 12, 2026
- UBS Global Technology and AI Conference: December 2, 2026
- Barclays Global Technology Conference: December 9, 2026
Fortinet management is expected to present at these events and discuss the company’s strategies and initiatives. Presentations are expected to be available through webcasts on Fortinet’s website. The conference schedule remains subject to change.