Palo Alto Networks under pressure: AI acquisitions raise costs and squeeze profitability
Palo Alto Networks is among the biggest players in cybersecurity and, in recent years, has been built around a simple goal: to be a platform that covers as many security needs at once as possible. In practice, this means rapid expansion of the portfolio, a strong emphasis on automation, and increasingly also security for AI applications and AI agents. However, this strategy comes at a clear cost. Acquisitions accelerate growth and expand the addressable market, but they also bring integration costs, higher spending on development and sales, and short-term pressure on margins. That is exactly what has become the main theme around PANW shares in recent weeks.