Case 16 Fortinet

Fortinet is a global leader in cybersecurity and networking solutions which provides services for enterprises, communication and security service providers, government organizations, and small businesses. Fortinet was founded in the year 2000 by Ken Xie, the former president and CEO of NetScreen. The company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For over 20 years, Fortinet has been the driving force in the evolution of cybersecurity, networking, and security convergence. The network security solutions of the company are the most deployed, patented, and validated in the industry. The proprietary FortiOS operating system provides the foundation for the operation of FortiGate network security appliances. In 2002, Fortinet established the FortiGuard Labs as the elite cybersecurity threat intelligence and research segment of the company. FortiGuard labs maintain real-time threat intelligence and innovative prevention tactics and tools across the Fortinet Security Fabric. The company is ranked one in terms of the most security appliances shipped worldwide with more than 615,000 customers. Each day Fortinet FortiGuard Labs uses proven Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) systems to process and analyze more than 100 billion events daily related to real-time intelligence for customers. Majority of the Fortune 500 companies are customers of Fortinet. It is the only cybersecurity company that is included in the NASDAQ 100 and S&P500. The company has nearly 3X times more patents than comparable network security companies. The company focusses on providing sustainable security technologies, diversifying cybersecurity talent, and aims to promotion of sustainable business across the value chain. Fortinet is a founding member of the Cyber Threat Alliance (CTA) and the World Economic Forum (WEF) Center for Cybersecurity. Fortinet have developed product and services which analyze millions of malware samples per day and provide intelligent threat detection. The total monthly cumulative returns for the Fortinet stock during the period 2018–2022 was approximately 209% compared to the 75% return generated by market index NASDAQ Computer Index.