NetApp (NTAP)
Information Technology · $34.6B market cap · SEC CIK 0001002047
ahead of 67% of the S&P 500 · #27 of 73 in Information Technology
Next reports on Dec 1, 2026, with analysts expecting $2.65 in earnings per share.
52-week range $93.69 to $240.87. 27% below its 52-week high and 88% above its low.
The case for NTAP
- Generated $1.9B of free cash flow in FY2026, 27% of revenue.
- Earns 114% on shareholder equity, a figure flattered by a small equity base.
- Revenue growing 12.2% year over year.
- Earnings per share up 25.2%.
- Pays a 2.6% dividend while you wait.
- Gross margin of 71% absorbs cost shocks.
The case against
- Priced at 23× book value. Very little hard asset backing here.
- Swings harder than the market (beta 1.55).
What the score is made of
Each factor is half a curve over reported figures and half a rank among the other Information Technology companies (momentum is judged against fixed thresholds only), and the five are blended by weight. The score is where that blend places it in the S&P 500. It describes the last filing and the current price. It is not a forecast.
| Valuewhat you pay for the earnings and cash, against the growth you get | 64 |
|---|---|
| Growthhow fast revenue and earnings are moving, this year and over five | 44 |
| Profitabilityhow much of the revenue becomes profit, and how much of that is cash | 76 |
| Momentumhow the price has behaved lately | 57 |
| Stabilityhow violently it moves, what it owes and what it pays you | 59 |
- Each factor except momentum is half fixed thresholds, half rank among the 73 Information Technology companies.
The financials
Revenue growth
Is the business growing? Yes
| Last 12 months | +12.2% |
|---|---|
| Over 5 years | +3.8% a year |
| FY2026 revenue | $6.9B (+5%) |
Free cash flow
Is it generating real cash? Yes, plenty
| FY2026 free cash flow | $1.9B |
|---|---|
| Of revenue | 27% |
| Of profit | 146% |
Profit margins
Is profitability improving? Yes, improving
| Gross margin | 71% |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | 25% |
| Net margin, FY25 → FY26 → now | 18.0% → 18.4% → 19.2% |
Debt vs. cash
Is the balance sheet healthy? Yes, the debt is manageable
| Cash | $2.1B |
|---|---|
| Long-term debt | $2.5B |
| Net debt | $417M |
| Years to repay | 1.2 yrs |
Valuation
Is the stock price reasonable? Yes, it looks cheap
| P/E | 24.4× |
|---|---|
| Fair P/E for its growth | 27× |
| P/FCF | 18.5× |
| Forward P/E | 18.9× |
| EV / EBITDA | 17.5× |
At 24.4× earnings it trades close to the 27× that 10% a year of growth plus a 2.6% dividend would justify. At 18.5× free cash flow it trades below that same mark.
The financials, five years deep
Pulled from NetApp's XBRL filings on SEC EDGAR. Italic rows are worked out from the others.
| FY2026 | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | |||||
| Revenue | $6.9B | $6.6B | $6.3B | $6.4B | $6.3B |
| Change on the year | +5% | +5% | −1% | +1% | — |
| Free cash flow | |||||
| Free cash flow | $1.9B | $1.3B | $1.5B | $868M | $985M |
| Of revenue | 27% | 20% | 24% | 14% | 16% |
| Profit margins | |||||
| Gross margin | 70.7% | 70.2% | 70.7% | 66.2% | 66.8% |
| Operating margin | 24.2% | 20.3% | 19.4% | 16.0% | 18.3% |
| Net margin | 18.4% | 18.0% | 15.7% | 20.0% | 14.8% |
| Debt vs. cash | |||||
| Cash | $2.1B | $2.7B | $1.9B | $2.3B | $4.1B |
| Long-term debt | $2.5B | $2.5B | $2.0B | $2.4B | $2.4B |
| Net cash (debt) | −$417M | $257M | −$89.0M | −$73.0M | $1.7B |
What NetApp says it does
Overview NetApp, Inc. (NetApp, we, us, or the Company), headquartered in San Jose, California, is a global leader in Intelligent Data Infrastructure. Since our founding in 1992, we have transformed from a pioneering storage hardware provider into a software-driven, cloud-centric data infrastructure company. Our flagship ONTAP® data management software, together with a comprehensive portfolio of all-flash, hybrid-flash, and cloud-native solutions, forms the backbone of digital transformation for thousands of enterprises worldwide. NetApp empowers organizations to manage, protect, and leverage data across on-premises, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments. We are well positioned to enable Intelligent Data Infrastructure for our customers and help them realize the full promise of artificial intelligence (AI) providing solutions that connect, protect, and activate data across every data environment—on-premises, in the cloud, and at the…