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Outlet profile

Palo Alto Networks

NOT A NEWS OUTLET — U.S. publicly traded cybersecurity corporation

Owned byPublicly traded on NASDAQ (ticker: PANW); no single controlling owner. Largest institutional shareholder is BlackRock (~10.4% of shares). CEO and Chairman is Nikesh Arora (since 2018). Founded by Nir Zuk, who retired from the board in August 2025.
FundingRevenue-funded corporation; trailing 12-month revenue as of July 2026 is approximately $11.5 billion, generated primarily through cybersecurity software subscriptions, hardware appliances, and cloud security services. Raised $65.7 million in pre-IPO venture funding; has been publicly traded since 2012.
On the administrationmostly neutral

Background

Palo Alto Networks was founded on March 1, 2005, by Nir Zuk, a former engineer at Check Point and NetScreen Technologies, who pioneered the concept of the next-generation firewall. The company went public on the NASDAQ in 2012 and grew rapidly through both organic development and acquisitions. In June 2018, Nikesh Arora, a former Google and SoftBank executive, became Chairman and CEO, shifting the company toward a broader platform and AI-driven security strategy. By fiscal year 2026, the company reported approximately $11.5 billion in annual revenue, establishing it as one of the largest pure-play cybersecurity firms globally. The company has significant U.S. federal government business, including a discounted OneGov agreement with the General Services Administration. Under the Trump administration's second term, Palo Alto Networks has been engaged in discussions around the administration's aggressive national cyber strategy, and the company's general counsel publicly noted support for expanded private-sector cyber operations authority. Founder Nir Zuk retired from the board in August 2025; Lee Klarich succeeded him as CTO. The company has disclosed lobbying expenditures of at least $750,000 in Q4 2025, focused on Department of Defense cybersecurity funding and resilience legislation.

Sources

  1. Palo Alto Networks Wikipedia
  2. Palo Alto Networks Ownership — TickerGate
  3. Palo Alto Networks Crunchbase Profile
  4. Palo Alto Networks Government Cybersecurity Trends 2026 — ExecutiveBiz
  5. New Trump Cyber Strategy — Bloomberg Law
  6. Palo Alto Networks Lobbying — OpenSecrets
  7. Nikesh Arora — Wikipedia
  8. Presidential Memorandum on Offensive Cyber Operations — Mayer Brown

Profile compiled 2026-09-03; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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