Stock Analysis on Net

Palo Alto Networks Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Cash Flow Statement 
Quarterly Data

The cash flow statement provides information about a company cash receipts and cash payments during an accounting period, showing how these cash flows link the ending cash balance to the beginning balance shown on the company balance sheet.

The cash flow statement consists of three parts: cash flows provided by (used in) operating activities, cash flows provided by (used in) investing activities, and cash flows provided by (used in) financing activities.

Palo Alto Networks Inc., consolidated cash flow statement (quarterly data)

US$ in millions

Microsoft Excel
3 months ended: Oct 31, 2025 Jul 31, 2025 Apr 30, 2025 Jan 31, 2025 Oct 31, 2024 Jul 31, 2024 Apr 30, 2024 Jan 31, 2024 Oct 31, 2023 Jul 31, 2023 Apr 30, 2023 Jan 31, 2023 Oct 31, 2022 Jul 31, 2022 Apr 30, 2022 Jan 31, 2022 Oct 31, 2021 Jul 31, 2021 Apr 30, 2021 Jan 31, 2021 Oct 31, 2020 Jul 31, 2020 Apr 30, 2020 Jan 31, 2020 Oct 31, 2019
Net income (loss) 334 254 262 267 351 358 279 1,747 194 228 108 84 20 3 (73) (94) (104) (119) (145) (142) (92) (59) (75) (74) (60)
Share-based compensation for equity-based awards 370 354 326 320 294 269 264 272 271 254 271 283 266 240 247 265 259 230 233 226 206 174 166 168 150
Deferred income taxes 9 92 (125) (179) (137) (215) (127) (1,691) 7 3 3
Depreciation and amortization 89 84 88 88 84 76 74 69 64 69 72 70 71 73 71 70 69 69 69 65 58 61 53 48 44
Gain related to facility exit (3)
Amortization of deferred contract costs 126 137 119 115 110 121 110 109 106 116 101 99 97 101 89 86 86 90 74 69 66 83 61 55 56
Amortization of debt issuance costs 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 36 36 35 35 27 16 16 16
Change in fair value of contingent consideration liability (13) (156) 4 10 6
Reduction of operating lease right-of-use assets 18 17 16 16 16 15 15 14 12 13 12 13 12 17 12 12 13 12 12 11 10 13 13 11 10
Amortization of investment premiums, net of accretion of purchase discounts (7) (6) (9) (11) (15) (14) (16) (16) (15) (18) (20) (16) 2 3 3 4 4 4 3 3 3 (2) (1) (3)
Repayments of convertible senior notes attributable to debt discount
Accounts receivable, net 1,622 (1,014) (454) (363) 1,486 (903) 181 (482) 1,050 (1,020) (165) (40) 904 (902) (288) (140) 428 (474) (97) 16 382 (368) (110) (41) 84
Financing receivables, net 125 89 113 (21) 11 (453) (369) (44) (407) (246) (74) (12)
Deferred contract costs (82) (227) (135) (115) (79) (204) (126) (96) (63) (181) (98) (93) (60) (202) (106) (87) (64) (206) (94) (82) (59)
Prepaid expenses and other assets (33) 21 (21) 93 (4) (181) 1 (8) 54 (101) (91) (50) (29) (42) (26) (73) (164) (36) (62) (38) (201) (67) (82) (59)
Accounts payable (2) (12) 85 (63) 97 6 (68) 48 37 (37) 2 (1) 18 (8) 22 38 (15) 27 (6) (18) 10 (6) (15) (3)
Accrued compensation (210) 100 15 137 (200) 169 (67) 119 (217) 204 (51) 124 (192) 96 35 79 (180) 178 (9) 71 (135) 147 (10) 49 (110)
Accrued and other liabilities (53) 113 34 95 (94) 157 28 234 (34) 4 35 (86) (28) (17) 20 (27) (23) 36 (7) (37) (20) 7 (15) (7) (25)
Deferred revenue (522) 1,175 311 169 (417) 1,313 349 372 146 1,207 535 374 186 1,135 410 291 134 649 213 198 137 440 146 182 126
Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of effects of acquisitions 845 245 (53) (69) 800 (98) (71) 186 893 (257) (117) 158 767 86 38 137 260 5 (4) 98 250 35 (62) 87 13
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by operating activities 1,437 767 367 290 1,159 155 250 (1,057) 1,332 186 324 610 1,217 520 463 576 693 445 423 507 627 393 245 381 285
Net cash provided by operating activities 1,771 1,021 629 557 1,510 513 529 690 1,526 414 432 695 1,237 524 390 483 589 326 278 365 535 334 170 307 225
Purchases of investments (1,401) (875) (1,089) (1,072) (660) (1,065) (475) (1,157) (855) (999) (742) (1,607) (2,113) (975) (241) (616) (439) (465) (382) (283) (830) (885) (12) (9) (274)
Proceeds from sales of investments 30 367 185 354 291 455 70 127 305 91 375 15 485 160 7 246 36 94 37 3 310 1
Proceeds from maturities of investments 474 386 455 385 369 488 556 350 458 1,308 505 651 348 402 315 177 225 395 311 336 198 246 451 623 632
Business acquisitions, net of cash and restricted cash acquired (2) (555) 1 (500) (611) (19) (186) (20) (17) (147) (405) (225) (388) (129) (66)
Purchases of property, equipment, and other assets (84) (86) (68) (47) (44) (47) (37) (35) (37) (37) (31) (38) (40) (39) (38) (81) (35) (27) (27) (32) (30) (32) (86) (49) (47)
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities (983) (762) (518) (381) (544) (169) 113 (1,326) (129) 363 88 (1,165) (1,320) (472) 43 (274) (230) (2) (208) (384) (886) (668) 275 436 245
Repayments of convertible senior notes (383) (151) (112) (319) (200) (662) (126) (46) (1,692) (1) (1)
Payments for debt issuance costs
Proceeds from borrowings on convertible senior notes, net 1,979
Proceeds from issuance of warrants 203
Purchase of note hedges (371)
Repurchases of common stock (500) (67) (250) (23) (342) (550) (328) (350) (500) (1,000) (198)
Proceeds from sales of shares through employee equity incentive plans 130 10 203 37 121 24 116 58 86 60 130 1 68 78 59 58 45 47 1 36
Payments for taxes related to net share settlement of equity awards (1) (1) (5) (156) (21) (4) (3) (4) (16) (3) (2) (2) (14) (11) (11) (9) (20) (7) (6) (6) (10) (6) (5) (7) (5)
Payments of contingent consideration liability (121)
Payment of deferred consideration related to prior year business acquisition (1)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities 8 (374) 47 (232) (220) (179) (1,049) (73) (42) (1,635) 128 (251) 31 (353) 66 (559) 39 (336) (299) (5) (465) 1,806 (959) (6) (167)
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash 796 (116) 158 (56) 746 165 (407) (708) 1,355 (858) 648 (721) (52) (302) 499 (350) 398 (12) (228) (25) (816) 1,472 (515) 737 303

Based on: 10-Q (reporting date: 2025-10-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2025-07-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2025-04-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2025-01-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-10-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2024-07-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-04-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-01-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-10-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-07-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-04-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-01-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-10-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-07-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-04-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-01-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-10-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-07-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-04-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-01-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2020-10-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2020-07-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2020-04-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2020-01-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2019-10-31).


The cash flow statement reveals a volatile pattern of cash generation and usage over the observed period. Initially, the company experienced net losses, impacting cash from operations. However, a significant shift occurred in late 2022 and into 2023, with net income turning positive and substantially increasing, leading to a corresponding improvement in cash flow from operating activities.

A notable trend is the consistent and substantial share-based compensation expense, which consistently adds back to net income in calculating cash flow from operations. Depreciation and amortization also consistently contribute to this adjustment, though at a lower magnitude. Deferred income taxes show significant fluctuations, particularly a large negative impact in early 2024.

Operating Activities
Cash provided by operating activities demonstrated a substantial increase beginning in the October 2022 period, peaking in July 2025. Prior to this, operating cash flow was often constrained by net losses. Fluctuations in accounts receivable, deferred revenue, and accrued liabilities significantly impacted operating cash flow throughout the period. Specifically, large swings in deferred revenue are observed, contributing to both positive and negative impacts on cash flow.
Investing Activities
Investing activities are characterized by significant outflows, primarily related to purchases of investments and property, equipment, and other assets. Proceeds from maturities of investments provide a partial offset, but net cash used in investing activities remains consistently negative. Business acquisitions also represent a notable cash outflow, particularly in the earlier periods and again in late 2024/early 2025. A large outflow related to purchases of investments occurred in July 2020.
Financing Activities
Financing activities exhibit considerable variability. Significant inflows were observed in 2020 due to proceeds from borrowings on convertible senior notes. Repurchases of common stock represent a consistent cash outflow, though the magnitude varies. Proceeds from sales of shares through employee equity incentive plans provide a recurring, though smaller, inflow. Repayments of convertible senior notes also contribute to cash outflow. A substantial net cash outflow occurred in the financing activities in the January 2025 period.

The period from October 2023 through July 2025 demonstrates a marked improvement in overall cash flow, driven by increased profitability and, to a lesser extent, positive adjustments within operating activities. However, significant investment and financing activities continue to influence the overall cash position. The large negative impact from deferred income taxes in January 2024 warrants further investigation.

Changes in operating assets and liabilities, net of acquisitions, show considerable fluctuation, indicating significant working capital management activity. Accounts receivable, in particular, exhibits large swings, suggesting potential challenges in collecting payments or changes in sales terms. The trend in prepaid expenses and other assets also shows considerable volatility.