Ken Xie on networking and security convergence
From Fortinet Inc ($FTNT) Q1 2026 Earnings Call · · Castify Earnings Call
“The convergence of networking and security, uh approach Fortinet has lead for 26 years, is accelerating in the AI era. Customers are adopting Fortinet platform with secure networking, unified SASE, secure operation built on single FortiOS operating system, enabling expanding across many use cases.”
On , Ken Xie, Co-Founder, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at Fortinet Inc, spoke about networking and security convergence during Fortinet Inc ($FTNT) Q1 2026 Earnings Call on Castify Earnings Call.
About Ken Xie
Ken Xie, co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Fortinet, discussed the company's first quarter 2026 financial results on a May 7, 2026 earnings call, reporting that billings grew 31%, total revenue increased 20%, and product revenue grew 41%. Xie stated that the company generated a record $1 billion in free cash flow and raised its full-year guidance across all top-line metrics. He attributed the results to "strong execution and broader based demand" and said the convergence of networking and security, which he described as Fortinet's approach for 26 years, is "accelerating in the AI era." On the call, Xie commented on the AI data center opportunity, stating that customers not building their own AI infrastructure are "most afraid of traffic flows and shadow AI." He described a "hybrid approach" to deployment, saying it is "never 100% on the cloud, never 100% on the edge." Xie also addressed pricing policy, saying the company does not use cost increases "to increase margin" but instead adjusts prices to "maintain the healthy margin." He noted that some competitors "cannot come up the new function quick enough" and must use "multiple solution to meet one" Fortinet solution.