---
title: "The stock Palo Alto Networks paid CyberArk with nearly doubled, $165 at closing to $326 now"
description: "The annual report shows the real accounting price was $21.1 billion, paid in shares valued at $165.07 that now trade at $326.36. That lifts former CyberArk holders and dilutes Palo Alto shareholders straight into a Nov. 18 print that must justify $14.8 billion of goodwill."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Security"
published: 2026-11-11T17:06:28.302Z
modified: 2026-11-11T17:06:28.302Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/the-stock-palo-alto-networks-paid-cyberark-with-nearly-doubled-165-at-closing-to-326-now
language: en
keywords: "Palo Alto Networks, CyberArk, M&A, Cybersecurity, Earnings"
---

# The stock Palo Alto Networks paid CyberArk with nearly doubled, $165 at closing to $326 now

> The annual report shows the real accounting price was $21.1 billion, paid in shares valued at $165.07 that now trade at $326.36. That lifts former CyberArk holders and dilutes Palo Alto shareholders straight into a Nov. 18 print that must justify $14.8 billion of goodwill.

[Palo Alto Networks](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/palo-alto-networks)' CyberArk deal closed at $21.1 billion, not the $25 billion announced, and the stock it paid with has since nearly doubled, making former CyberArk holders the biggest winners of the deal [1]. Identity security is the business of managing digital identities and permissions, and that is the platform Palo Alto paid for. The real price sits in Palo Alto's own annual report, and only Israel's CTech has written the numbers up [1]. They matter this week because Palo Alto reports its first full CyberArk quarter on Nov. 18 [2].

The mechanics are simple. Each CyberArk shareholder got [$45 in cash plus 2.2005 Palo Alto shares](https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/hy11rj2wrgx) [1]. Palo Alto issued about 112 million shares, which its accounts valued at $165.07 each when the deal closed on Feb [1]. 11, 2026 [1].

At Tuesday's close of $326.36, the same block is worth about $36.6 billion, and the stock portion alone is worth about $718 per former CyberArk share, against roughly $408 at closing [1]. Holders who sold in February left most of that on the table; holders who kept it doubled it in nine months. That is the payoff of being paid in shares near the buyer's own valuation low.

*Chart: **The stock CyberArk holders took has nearly doubled the deal's value** Column chart: CyberArk deal value of $25 billion announced, $21.1 billion at closing and $36.6 billion on Nov 10, 2026*

*Value of the CyberArk acquisition: the $25 billion announced price, the $21.1 billion accounting consideration at the Feb 11, 2026 closing, and the same consideration at the Nov 10, 2026 close of $326.36. Source: Palo Alto Networks annual report, via CTech. [1]*

## The cost lands on Palo Alto shareholders

The acquisitions [lifted the share count by about 19%](https://seekingalpha.com/article/4956330-palo-alto-networks-34-percent-growth-thats-really-15-percent-at-84x-earnings), and most of the recent revenue acceleration is the acquired revenue, not the base business growing faster [3]. CyberArk and Chronosphere, an observability company Palo Alto acquired in January, together brought in $930 million of revenue and a $797 million operating loss in their first partial period, while adding $14.8 billion of goodwill [1]. The assumed CyberArk convertible notes alone produced a $620 million accounting loss last fiscal year [1].

## Nov. 18 is the test

The [Next-Generation Security ARR guide of $9.54 to $9.56 billion](https://www.tikr.com/blog/zscaler-sinks-11-in-a-week-as-security-stocks-slide-dan-ives-sees-budgets-potentially-double) is where the identity platform either earns its goodwill or starts costing it [2]. Palo Alto reports Nov. 18, and [Zscaler](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/zscaler), a rival in cloud security, reports Dec [2]. 2 as a second read on the same spending line [2]. The stock is down about 22% in a month, so each week of drift moves this paper value by billions [1]. Watch the ARR line, not the headline beat: it is the only number that prices what Palo Alto actually bought.

What you can do with this: when a deal is paid in stock, read the buyer's annual report, not the announcement. The announced price is a marketing figure; the filed consideration, the share count and the goodwill are the real ones, and they are what the next quarter has to justify.

## Takeaway

Palo Alto's CyberArk deal closed at $21.1 billion in stock valued at $165.07 a share; that stock now trades at $326.36, making the consideration worth about $36.6 billion, and the Nov. 18 Next-Generation Security ARR print decides whether $14.8 billion of goodwill holds up.

## Sources

1. [CTech (Calcalist), Palo Alto's $25 billion CyberArk deal was worth $21 billion at closing. The shares are now worth $37 billion, 11 November 2026](https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/hy11rj2wrgx)
2. [TIKR, Zscaler Sinks 11% in a Week as Security Stocks Slide. Dan Ives Sees Budgets "Potentially Double", 10 November 2026](https://www.tikr.com/blog/zscaler-sinks-11-in-a-week-as-security-stocks-slide-dan-ives-sees-budgets-potentially-double)
3. [Seeking Alpha, Palo Alto Networks: 34% Growth That's Really 15%, At 84x Earnings, 22 October 2026](https://seekingalpha.com/article/4956330-palo-alto-networks-34-percent-growth-thats-really-15-percent-at-84x-earnings)


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The stock Palo Alto Networks paid CyberArk with nearly doubled, $165 at closing to $326 now — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/the-stock-palo-alto-networks-paid-cyberark-with-nearly-doubled-165-at-closing-to-326-now