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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: What is the main stock valuation driver for Constellation Software, and can you please provide a sense of the trend? For example, if it’s free cash flow, then please provide the annual percentage change for each of the past three years, as well as the year-on-year percentage change for the discreet fourth quarter - 3 mos - of 2025 (since Q1 2026 is not yet available).

Additionally, has the compression in PE ratios of software companies translated into more acquisitions for CSU and acquisitions at more advantageous valuations?
Read Answer Asked by Al on May 06, 2026
Q: Hello 5i,
Please rank the above stocks for growth over the next 2 years.
Thank you
Dave
Read Answer Asked by Dave on May 06, 2026
Q: This has a 4% weighting, and I have held it mostly for income purposes since retirement in 2018. I have never been really compelled to be overly worried about its dividend payouts at different levels, quarterly. However, the last payout was very low at 0.0957. Can you see why it was such a drop, and if it indicates a change in their payout plans? As always, thanks for your fine service.
Read Answer Asked by James on May 05, 2026
Q: Palantir seems to be lagging many other tech names recently. What is your view on Palantir and do you see this as a buying opportunity? Or are their other names you prefer?

Thanks
Tim
Read Answer Asked by Timothy on May 05, 2026
Q: I know similar questions have been asked, however, when benchmarking 3-5yr potential of these how would you rank?
Read Answer Asked by Chris on May 05, 2026
Q: Hello team,

If I believe that in the upcoming age of AI, Security & Sovereignty is about moving beyond "antivirus" and looking at how a nation or an organization protects its physical and digital independence. In the era dominated by AI and space, no matter how advanced or important, any entity may be rendered crippled/useless, if they can be hijacked, shut down, or dictated by outside forces.

In such a world, the Security & Sovereignty pillar is the strategic framework that protects Strategic Autonomy. It ensures that critical infrastructure—from satellite constellations to the power grid—can operate independently and securely regardless of geopolitical tensions or cyber-kinetic warfare.

That said, which two company will be the compatible pair for this theme? I have listed some of their pros and cons below, but I am interested in what you think about this thesis and what will be your picks when you also factor in their financials, valuation, and execution risks/strengths. Please mention if you have better ideas outside these five.

Thank you for taking the time & effort to help us understand the complex world of investing one question at a time.

1. Zscaler (ZS)
The Pros: 50% haircut, P/S of roughly 7.5x, 70-80% gross margins, profitable, massive cash flow; built for the cloud; the “Zero Trust Exchange” makes the network invisible to unauthorized users.
The Cons: Struggling Sales Execution and Platform Competition (larger tech conglomerates are now offering "good enough" security bundles for free.)

2. Leonardo (FINMY)
The Pros: Massive Backlog (€46.6 billion), Sovereign Protection through the "Michelangelo Dome”; Credit Strength; defense and space wings are soaring.
The Cons: Political Risk (based in Italy); Civilian Aerostructures Drag (2028 breakeven)

3. CrowdStrike (CRWD)
The Pros: Market dominance, Falcon platform is the "must-have" tool for Fortune 500 CISOs; The "Flywheel" Effect: Every new customer adds data to their AI, creating a powerful competitive moat.
The Cons: Valuation Friction with a forward P/E over 90x, zero room for error; Saturating Market forcing it to move into Log Management/Identity, where fierce competition is worse

4. Palo Alto Networks (PANW)
The Pros: Platformization Power, offering a "Unified Security Fabric" which allows companies to replace 10 different vendors with one Palo Alto contract; Software Pivot: from "Hardware Firewalls" to "Software-as-a-Service," accounting for a growing portion of their revenue.
The Cons: Integration Complexity due to aggressive acquisitions; Margin Dilution by offering "free transition periods" to customers suppressing short-term cash flow meaningfully.

5. SentinelOne (S)
The Pros: Pure AI Heritage, their "Purple AI" was built from the ground up to be autonomous, requiring fewer human security analysts; Disruption Potential: a "hungry underdog," winning contracts by undercutting on price and demonstrating faster/better detection speeds.
The Cons: Path to Profitability still long despite crossing the $1 billion revenue mark recently; Volatility: prone to wild 20%–30% swings on even minor guidance adjustments
Read Answer Asked by Saeed on May 05, 2026
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