F5 was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Washington, US. It is a leading American technology company specializing in application security, multi-cloud management, online fraud prevention and application delivery networking. F5 provides solutions to ensure application availability, performance, and security for enterprises globally. With net sales from services (54.8%) and products (45.2%). Geographically, sales are distributed across the US (52.8%), Americas (3.3%), Europe/Middle East/Africa (26.9%) and Asia/Pacific (17%).

F5 has unlocked gigascale AI infrastructure by integrating its BIG-IP Next for Kubernetes solution with NVIDIA BlueField-4 DPUs, enabling high-performance traffic management and zero-trust security for massive AI workloads. This partnership delivers up to 30% higher token generation capacity and 800 Gb/s multi-tenant networking speeds, significantly reducing CPU overhead while improving scalability and security. The joint solution empowers businesses to accelerate deployment of complex AI models, optimizes GPU utilization, and addresses stringent data sovereignty needs for regulated industries.

Long-term growth trajectory

F5 posted decent performance over FY 22-25, achieving a revenue CAGR of 4.6%, reaching $3.1bn in FY 25, driven by growth in security and AI-focused products, a strong shift to subscription-based software, and surging systems revenue. EBIT registered a CAGR of 22.4%, reaching $766m, with margins expanding from 15.5% to 24.8%.

In comparison, VeriSign. Inc., a local peer, reported a revenue CAGR of 5.5% over FY 21-24, reaching $1.6bn in FY 24. EBIT grew at CAGR of 6.9% to $1.1bn, with margin expanding by 266bp to 68.0%.

Optimistic analyst views

Over the past 12 months, the company's stock delivered negative returns of approximately 3.2%. In comparison, VeriSign’s stock delivered higher returns of around 36.0% over the same period.

F5 is currently trading at a P/E of 22.6x, based on the FY 26 estimated EPS of USD 10.6, which is lower than its 3-year historical average of 25.0x and VeriSign’s P/E of 26.0x. The company is currently trading at an EV/EBIT multiple of 11.3x, based on FY 26 estimated EBIT of $1.1bn, which is slightly higher than its 3-year historical average of 11.3x but lower than that of VeriSign (20.1x).

F5 is monitored by 12 analysts, with one having a 'Buy' rating and 11 having 'Hold' ratings for an average target price of $291.5, implying 20.8% potential from its current market price.

Consensus expects an EBIT CAGR of 2.3% to $1.1bn, with margins contracting by 40bp to 34.8% over FY 25-27 and a net profit CAGR of 0.1% to $694m. Meanwhile, for VeriSign, analysts estimate an EBIT CAGR of 7.3% and a net profit CAGR of 7.0% over FY 24-26.

Overall, F5 demonstrates strong growth potential through its innovative AI infrastructure solutions and robust performance in security and subscription-based products. Despite recent challenges, F5's strategic partnerships and optimistic analyst views suggest a promising long-term trajectory for the company. However, the company faces cybersecurity, financial, operational, reputational and regulatory risks after a major 2025 cyberattack, impacting customer trust, revenue forecasts, market perception, and increasing scrutiny on security vulnerabilities.