Christiane will review our financial results for the first quarter of 2026 before providing guidance. The prepared remarks will also be posted on the quarterly earnings section of our investor relations website following today's call. Lastly, all references to growth are on a year-over-year basis unless noted otherwise. We are well pleased with our excellent first quarter result, exceeding our guidance through strong execution and broader-based demand.

Billing growth 31%, total revenue increased 20%, and the product revenue grew 41%. Non-GAAP and GAAP operating margin were very strong at 36% and 31%, with GAAP operating margin and revenue growth total together 51%, one of the highest in the industry. We also generate a record $1 billion free cash flow, highlighting the strength and durability of our business model. GAAP earnings per share increased 29%, demonstrating our commitment to strong shareholder return.

OT security accelerated in the quarter with OT billing growth over 70% as customers prioritized on protecting critical infrastructure amid heightened threats. Given our strong results and confidence in the business, we are raising our 2026 guidance. We continue to expect balanced growth, strong cash generation, recurring revenue, and shareholder-focused long-term growth capital allocation strategy while consistently deliver GAAP profitability since IPO. As AI increase the demand for security, our platform approach continue to differentiate, supported by a strong direct operation model that enable us to turn supply chain challenges into opportunity to gain market share.

What went well
  • Billings jumped 31% to $2.09B and revenue grew 20% to $1.85B, led by product revenue up 41% to $645M as customers shifted to higher-performance FortiGates, including for AI infrastructure.
  • Record first-quarter non-GAAP operating margin of 35.8% (up 160 bps) and GAAP operating margin of 31.4%; non-GAAP EPS rose 41% to $0.82 and GAAP EPS grew 29% to $0.72.
  • Record quarterly free cash flow of $1.01B (adjusted FCF $1.07B at a 58% margin, up 27%).
  • Broad pillar strength: Secure Networking billings +32%, Unified SASE +31%, SecOps +23%, and OT billings up over 70%; large-enterprise $1M+ deals and their total value each grew over 60%.
  • Fortinet raised full-year 2026 guidance across billings, revenue and service revenue on the strong start, and repurchased 10.6M shares for $827M.
What went wrong
  • Service revenue growth decelerated to 11% ($1.21B); management characterized Q1 2026 as the trough for the service-growth rate, acknowledging near-term weakness.
  • Recent pricing changes contributed a low-single-digit boost to product revenue growth, meaning some of the reported acceleration was price- rather than volume-driven.
  • The quarter's outsized growth leaned heavily on product/hardware (up 41%), raising the bar for sustaining comparable growth as the refresh cycle matures.
  • Non-GAAP gross margin was 81%, but the product mix shift remained a structural margin headwind as hardware outgrew services.

More on Fortinet, Inc.

Reported 2026-05-06 · figures from the Fortinet, Inc. Q1 2026 earnings call.

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