Free cash flow
Fortinet Free cash flow increased by 74.3% to $1.01B in Q1 2026 compared to the prior quarter. Year-over-year, this metric grew by 26.3%, from $796.80M to $1.01B. Over 4 years (FY 2021 to FY 2025), Free cash flow shows an upward trend with a 16.6% CAGR. This is a positive signal — higher values indicate stronger performance for this metric.
Analysis
How to read this metric
An increase suggests strong operational efficiency and the ability to self-fund future innovation or return capital to shareholders, while a decrease may indicate heavy capital expenditure cycles or declining operational profitability.
Detailed definition
Free cash flow represents the cash generated by a company after accounting for cash outflows to support operations and m...
Peer comparison
High-growth semiconductor and AI infrastructure peers typically prioritize reinvestment, so free cash flow margins are often compared against R&D intensity and capital expenditure requirements of industry rivals.
cf_free_cash_flowHistorical Data
| Q2 '21 | Q3 '21 | Q4 '21 | Q1 '22 | Q2 '22 | Q3 '22 | Q4 '22 | Q1 '23 | Q2 '23 | Q3 '23 | Q4 '23 | Q1 '24 | Q2 '24 | Q3 '24 | Q4 '24 | Q1 '25 | Q2 '25 | Q3 '25 | Q4 '25 | Q1 '26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | $394.70M | $329.80M | $215.50M | $273.50M | $283.50M | $395.20M | $497.20M | $647.20M | $438.30M | $481.10M | $164.80M | $608.50M | $318.90M | $571.80M | $380.00M | $796.80M | $284.10M | $567.50M | $577.40M | $1.01B |
| QoQ Change | — | -16.4% | -34.7% | +26.9% | +3.7% | +39.4% | +25.8% | +30.2% | -32.3% | +9.8% | -65.7% | +269.2% | -47.6% | +79.3% | -33.5% | +109.7% | -64.3% | +99.8% | +1.7% | +74.3% |
| YoY Change | — | — | — | — | -28.2% | +19.8% | +130.7% | +136.6% | +54.6% | +21.7% | -66.9% | -6.0% | -27.2% | +18.9% | +130.6% | +30.9% | -10.9% | -0.8% | +51.9% | +26.3% |
Free cash flow at Other Companies
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Fortinet's free cash flow?
- Fortinet (FTNT) reported free cash flow of $1.01B in Q1 2026.
- How has Fortinet's free cash flow changed year-over-year?
- Fortinet's free cash flow increased by 26.3% year-over-year, from $796.80M to $1.01B.
- What is the long-term trend for Fortinet's free cash flow?
- Over 4 years (2021 to 2025), Fortinet's free cash flow has grown at a 16.6% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), from $1.20B to $2.23B.
- What does free cash flow mean?
- The cash a company has left over after paying for its operating expenses and capital investments.