F5 Inc (FFIV) stock analysis
F5 Inc (FFIV) clears 3 of this site's 8 mechanical value filters, 6 of 8 Buffett-style checks and 3 of 5 Lynch-style checks. At $450.08 it trades 56.8% above this site's neutral DCF value (a margin of safety of -56.8%). Its earnings quality rates Strong and it returns +1.0% to shareholders net of dilution. Figures are as of October 23, 2026, from SEC filings and market data refreshed weekly; this is educational analysis, not investment advice.
Data as of October 23, 2026. Refreshed weekly from SEC filings and market data.
What does F5 do?
F5, Inc. sells software and appliances that manage, speed up and secure application traffic for large companies and cloud services.
Brands and businesses it owns
- BIG-IP
- NGINX
- Shape Security
What stands out about F5?
- The share price implies 19.5% yearly growth. At $450.08, FFIV's free cash flow of $16.80 per share would have to grow 19.5% a year, fading to 2.5% by year 10, for this site's DCF (10% discount rate) to match the price. This site's baseline starts at 8%, so the price asks for more growth than the baseline. Change the assumptions.
- Misses 3 of the 8 value filters. It fails Trailing P/E < 25 (35.74), PEG Ratio < 1.5 (4.15) and Price/Sales < 7 (7.85); the other 3 pass and 2 were not evaluated. See every filter.
- Strongest against peers: debt / equity. At 0.00 (peer median 1.03) it ranks 1st of 10 among telecom & communications stocks this site tracks. See the ranking.
- Weakest against peers: revenue growth. At 9.4% (peer median 10.0%) it ranks 7th of 10 among telecom & communications stocks this site tracks. See the ranking.
- Earnings quality: Strong · 1 watch. Beneish M-score −2.61 · accruals −4.3% of assets · 145% of profit arrived as cash · stock comp 7.5% of revenue · share count −1.3% a year. From the latest 10-K (year to Sep 2025). See the Earnings Quality Screener.
How has F5's share price moved?
The interactive price chart needs JavaScript.
Is F5 undervalued? The value diligence check
Every value-investing signal this site computes for this stock, gathered in one place: the same real numbers from the tools below, not a new score.
- Margin of safety (DCF) -56.8%
- P/E vs. its own history 35.7x · near the expensive end Real range: 23.1x–37.3x over 5 years (net income per diluted share from each fiscal year's 10-K, paired with the real closing price at that fiscal year-end).
- Wall St. analyst rating Buy · 3.65/5 20 analysts this month: 3 strong buy, 8 buy, 8 hold, 1 sell, 0 strong sell (Finnhub).
- Altman Z″-Score (bankruptcy risk) 4.98 · Safe zone
- Earnings quality (is the profit real?) Strong · 1 watch Beneish M-score −2.61 · accruals −4.3% of assets · 145% of profit arrived as cash · stock comp 7.5% of revenue · share count −1.3% a year. From the latest 10-K (year to Sep 2025) - see the Earnings Quality Screener for how each check is scored.
- Shareholder yield (cash back to owners) +1.0% net Latest fiscal year (2025): dividends 0.0% + buybacks 1.9% − stock comp 0.9%, as a share of today's market cap. Over 14 years its split-adjusted share count fell 28%. See Shareholder Yield Leaders.
- Capital needed to grow (See's test) $30.84 per $1 of new profit · Capital-hungry Operating profit $567M → $633M, capital needed $208M → $2.2B, 2016–2025 (3-year averages); return on capital now 28% before tax. Buffett's See's Candies needed $0.42 per $1 of new profit, FlightSafety $3.20, a typical grower about $5. See Capital-Light Compounders.
- PEG (growth at a reasonable price) 4.15 · Well above fair P/E 35.7× ÷ 8.6% a year of growth behind it. 394th lowest of 447 stocks with a usable PEG. Lynch's fair value is a PEG of 1; a very high PEG usually means almost no growth, a very low one a profit spike. See PEG Ratio Ranking.
- Compounder lenses (4) 1 of 4 · misses capital-light, cash back, price Capital-light growth: not cleared (profit grew 1.1×, under 2×); Profit is real: cleared; Cash to owners: not cleared (+0.9% a year net); Fair price (PEG): not cleared (PEG 4.15, over 1.5). See Compounders at a Fair Price, which also lets you move the PEG bar.
- Value trap check Clear
- Munger's Inversion Check 2 flags
- Standing vs. sector peers 4 of 6 measures above the median Compared with the 9 other telecom & communications stocks this site tracks: 2 in the top third, 0 in the bottom third.
How does F5 compare with its peers?
4 of 6 measures sit above the median of the 9 other telecom & communications stocks tracked here, 2 in the top third.
- P/E ratiolower is cheaper · peer median 31.2× 35.7× –6th of 9
- Free-cash-flow yieldhigher is cheaper · peer median 3.6% 3.7% –5th of 10
- Return on equityhigher is better · peer median 20% 20% –5th of 10
- Net marginhigher is better · peer median 14.3% 21.9% ✓2nd of 10
- Revenue growthhigher is better, year on year · peer median 10.0% 9.4% –7th of 10
- Debt / equitylower is safer · peer median 1.03 0.00 ✓1st of 10
Peers are the stocks this site tracks in the same sector group, not every listed competitor. The bar runs from the weakest peer (left) to the strongest (right); the tick is the middle. Measures that don't apply to a sector (cash-flow yield for banks, debt for financials) are left out.
What would Buffett & Lynch say?
Buffett's checklist is built around durable, profitable businesses bought at sensible prices, and FFIV doesn't clear enough of it yet. In its favor: FFIV is currently earning a strong return on shareholders' equity, and has kept that profitability up over five years, not just this year, carries a conservative amount of debt relative to equity, converts sales into profit at healthy margins, has grown earnings per share at a solid clip over five years, and earns many times its interest expense, so debt service isn't a worry. Where it comes up short: FFIV is trading above what a conservative discounted-cash-flow estimate says it's worth right now, and trades rich relative to owner earnings, the real cash the business could pay out.
- ROE (TTM) > 11% ✓
- ROE (5yr avg) > 11% ✓
- Debt/Equity < 0.5 ✓
- Pretax margin > 15% ✓
- EPS growth (5yr) > 7% ✓
- Interest coverage > 5x ✓
- Trading below intrinsic value (DCF) ✕
- Price vs. owner earnings < 25x ✕
- Bonus: returning capital via buybacks FY2025
Lynch looked for growth stories that weren't overpriced for that growth, and FFIV falls short of his bar. In its favor: FFIV is growing earnings at the steady 10-20% pace of a proper Stalwart, isn't over-leveraged for a company of its type, and is backing its growth up with real free cash flow. Where it comes up short: FFIV fails his signature PEG test, he'd call this pricey for the growth on offer, and is asking investors to pay a steep multiple for that growth.
- PEG < 1 ✕
- EPS growth 10%-20% ✓
- Debt/Equity < 0.6 ✓
- P/E < 27 ✕
- Price/FCF < 30 ✓
Quantitative approximations of each investor's documented approach, not endorsed by either investor or their estates - commentary, not this site's actual ranking criteria. Buffett never published a numeric checklist: only 2 of his 8 checks here trace to his own documented concepts ("owner earnings," from his 1986 shareholder letter, and "price is what you pay, value is what you get," his case against fixed P/E/P/B ceilings) - the other 6 (ROE, debt, margins, growth, interest coverage) use commonly-cited thresholds that are not numbers he himself published. The 8 hard filters below (plus the Munger check and Graham margin of safety) are this site's real, mechanical screen and are computed completely independently of the checklists above.
Berkshire Hathaway's own filing
Which of the 8 value filters does F5 pass?
- Market Cap > $25B $26.0B
- Trailing P/E < 25 35.74
- PEG Ratio < 1.5 4.15
- Price/Book < 8 6.74
- Price/Sales < 7 7.85
- EPS Growth YoY > -5% +11.4%
- vs 50-day MA (±12%) Not evaluated †
- vs 200-day MA (±12%) Not evaluated †
What is F5's margin of safety?
History tracking starts this week - check back in a future week to see how this has moved.
Where is F5 in its 52-week range?
What is the short interest in F5?
1,260,728 shares short as of 2026-09-30 (FINRA settlement date). Reported twice a month, so this only changes roughly every two weeks, not daily.
What could go wrong with F5? Munger's inversion check
"Invert, always invert." Instead of reasons to buy, these are reasons to hesitate, not a verdict, and not everything worth knowing about a business.
- Margin of safety, even in the bull case +7%
- Short interest under 5% of float 2.2%
- Passes most of the 6 fundamental filters 3/6 passed
- Price run-up backed by value, not just momentum +100% off 52wk low
- Debt/equity stable since 2019 0.00 → 0.14
Doesn't cover circle of competence, management quality, or accounting concerns: those need judgment, not data.
How much have F5 shareholders gained per year?
Earnings growth per share plus dividend.
An earnings-based proxy, not a stock-price total return - it doesn't capture multiple expansion/contraction or reinvested dividends. EPS from FFIV's own 10-K filings; dividend yield is the current trailing yield on today's price, from the same weekly fetch as the rest of this site.
What do F5's 10-year financials show?
From FFIV's own 10-K filings (SEC EDGAR): up to the last 10 fiscal years. Press any year's bars for the exact figures.
Frequently asked questions about F5
What kind of company is F5?
F5, Inc. sells software and appliances that manage, speed up and secure application traffic for large companies and cloud services. Brands and businesses it owns include BIG-IP, NGINX and Shape Security. This site groups it with Communications stocks.
Is F5 trading above or below its DCF value?
At $450.08, FFIV trades 56.8% above this site's neutral DCF value of $286.96 per share, a margin of safety of −56.8%. That DCF projects free cash flow for 10 years, with growth starting at 8% and fading to 2.5%, discounted at 10%; it is one set of assumptions, not a forecast. Test your own in the Intrinsic Value Calculator.
How many of this site's 8 value filters does F5 pass?
FFIV passes 3 of 8. It passes Market Cap > $25B ($26.0B), Price/Book < 8 (6.74) and EPS Growth YoY > -5% (+11.4%). It misses Trailing P/E < 25 (35.74), PEG Ratio < 1.5 (4.15) and Price/Sales < 7 (7.85). vs 50-day MA (±12%) and vs 200-day MA (±12%) were not evaluated, because the moving-average checks only run on stocks that clear the fundamentals first. The 8-filter list shows every stock that passes all of them.
What growth is F5's share price pricing in?
At $450.08, FFIV's free cash flow of $16.80 per share would have to grow 19.5% a year, fading to 2.5% by year 10, for this site's DCF (10% discount rate) to match the price. This site's baseline starts at 8%, so the price asks for more growth than the baseline. Change the assumptions.
Are F5's reported earnings reliable?
This site's earnings-quality check rates FFIV Strong · 1 watch. Beneish M-score −2.61 · accruals −4.3% of assets · 145% of profit arrived as cash · stock comp 7.5% of revenue · share count −1.3% a year. From the latest 10-K (year to Sep 2025). Concerns: stock-based compensation (on watch). The five checks are the Beneish M-score (manipulation risk), accruals, cash conversion, stock-based compensation and share dilution; the Earnings Quality Screener shows how each is graded.
When does F5 report earnings next?
F5's next earnings report is expected on October 27, 2026 after the market closes, with analysts expecting earnings of $4.34 per share. Dates come from the Finnhub earnings calendar and can move. In its last 4 quarters it beat the estimate 4 times, by an average of +13.6%.
Where do these numbers come from?
- Financial statements: F5's 10-K annual report for the year ended Sep 30, 2025, filed Nov 25, 2025 (filing index). Every earlier year in the 10-year financials comes from the company's older 10-K filings, all listed on SEC EDGAR.
- Prices and market data: quotes, P/E and analyst ratings from Finnhub; daily price history and the 52-week range from Twelve Data, both refreshed weekly. Short interest comes from FINRA, reported twice a month.
- How to check a figure: click any number in the card above to see its exact source, and read the Editorial Standards for every rule behind the checks.
About this F5 Inc analysis
This page shows every value-investing check the site runs on F5 Inc (FFIV) in one place: the 8 mechanical filters, the Buffett and Lynch checklists, a margin of safety from a disclosed DCF, earnings quality, shareholder yield and how it ranks against its sector peers. The numbers come from SEC filings and public market data, refreshed weekly, and the same rules apply to every stock on the stock list. See Editorial Standards for the sources and the rules, or run your own filters in the stock screener.