Fortinet management check
FTNT · Information Technology · Systems Software · CEO Ken Xie
Filings as of
7 good · 0 to watch · 0 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Good
Have owners done well?
Beat its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $267, against $258 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Good
Does pay follow performance?
Pay rose and fell with returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.60 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.6% of net income$11.5m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $1.9bn of net income.
- Good
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 763 years of payThe CEO holds 53,133,854 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 763 years of pay. Light activity: no buys, $79.9m sold in six months. 44 of 44 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -1.5% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 4.1% of revenue in the latest year.
- Good
Is leadership stable?
8 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: Ken Xie. 8 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Information Technology.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 54 | 33 | |
| Pay for performance | 80 | 87 | |
| CEO cost | 67 | 35 | |
| Skin in the game | 100 | 47 | |
| Dilution | 69 | 56 | |
| Stable leadership | 85 | 85 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Systems Software, by management score. Fortinet is 10th of 73 in its sector.
- 63FTNTFortinet79
- 212MSFTMicrosoft68
- 346GENGen Digital58
- 351PANWPalo Alto Networks58
- 378CRWDCrowdStrike56
- 459NOWServiceNow43
- 485TWLOTwilio30
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed April 29, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Ken Xie | $11.5m | $1.1m | $5.7m | $267 | $258 | $1.9bn |
| 2024 | Ken Xie | $13.1m | $37.7m | $6.0m | $442 | $301 | $1.7bn |
| 2023 | Ken Xie | $16.3m | $21.5m | $6.6m | $274 | $221 | $1.1bn |
| 2022 | Ken Xie | $14.2m | −$15.2m | $4.5m | $229 | $133 | $857.3m |
| 2021 | Ken Xie | $14.2m | $84.7m | $4.9m | $337 | $207 | $606.8m |
Its other key measures: Revenue, Operating Income, Relative TSR.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Ken Xie (PRESIDENT & CEO) held 53,133,854 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Aug 3, 2026, roughly $8.7bn at that filing's price.
Light activity: no buys, $79.9m sold in six months. 44 of 44 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- SoldKen XiePRESIDENT & CEO · 10b5-1 plan$50.1mAug 3, 2026
- SoldJohn WhittleCHIEF OPERATING OFFICER · 10b5-1 plan$28.1mSep 15, 2026
- SoldMichael XieVP, ENGINEERING & CTO · 10b5-1 plan$1.3mAug 3, 2026
- SoldChristiane OhlgartChief Financial Officer · 10b5-1 plan$358kSep 24, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- May 15, 2025Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Feb 6, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 22, 2025Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Nov 12, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 24, 2024Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Feb 23, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 18, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 1, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 2, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 26, 2022Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: Jun 16, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $6.5bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 105% of net income, and $1.2bn of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $3.3bn | $4.4bn | $5.3bn | $6.0bn | $6.8bn |
| Net income | $606.8m | $857.3m | $1.1bn | $1.7bn | $1.9bn |
| Stock-based pay | $207.9m | $217.3m | $249.0m | $257.9m | $279.5m |
| Buybacks | $741.8m | $2.0bn | $1.5bn | $600k | $2.3bn |
| Dividends | — | — | — | — | — |
| Diluted shares | 835m | 805m | 788m | 772m | 765m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.