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Cybersecurity Platform Subscription & Support Gross Margin

measures gross profit from cybersecurity subscription and support revenue as a percentage of that revenue.

By Lee BaileyPublished Oct 1, 2026
Research context

See what supports this page, how current it is, and where comparable or historical context is available.

Research date
Oct 1, 2026Use the dated article and cited sources for the definition, examples, and stated limitations.
Operating-model context
10 connected conceptsPart of the reviewed Cybersecurity Platform Economics; issuer definitions remain distinct where disclosed.
Company examples
1 reviewed companyRelationships reflect supported examples, not a normalized cross-company KPI ranking.
  1. Cloud delivery and acquisitions affect recurring-service margin
  2. Recurring revenue share does not guarantee margin expansion
  3. Part of the Cybersecurity Platform Economics
  4. See It in Company Research
  5. Continue Research

Cybersecurity platform subscription and support gross margin measures subscription and support gross profit as a percentage of subscription and support revenue.

Palo Alto Networks reported a 69.2% subscription and support gross margin in fiscal 2026, down from 72.5% in fiscal 2025.

Cloud delivery and acquisitions affect recurring-service margin

The company cited higher acquisition-related intangible amortization and increased cloud-based offering costs as major sources of pressure.

That makes the metric useful for testing whether recurring revenue growth is converting into gross profit efficiently.

Recurring revenue share does not guarantee margin expansion

Subscription and support represented 80.1% of fiscal 2026 revenue even as their gross margin declined.

Read it with subscription and support revenue mix and support revenue growth.

Primary source: Palo Alto Networks fiscal 2026 Form 10-K.

Part of the Cybersecurity Platform Economics

Connects next-generation recurring contract scale, contracted backlog, product and recurring revenue mix, gross-margin conversion, and adjusted cash generation across a cybersecurity platform.

Browse the full operating model in Company Analysis →
Where this concept fits
  • Gross profit and cash conversionCurrent relationship
    Product and subscription/support gross margins show cost conversion across different delivery models, while adjusted free cash flow margin measures issuer-defined cash generation after specified adjustments.
    Adjusted FCF MarginProduct Gross MarginSubscription & Support Gross MarginCurrent concept
  • Recurring contract scale and backlog
    NGS ARR and its growth rate capture the issuer-defined recurring run rate, while RPO growth captures contracted revenue obligations under a different accounting perimeter.
    NGS ARRNGS ARR GrowthRPO Growth
  • Product and recurring revenue mix
    Product, subscription, and support growth show how recognized revenue is distributed across hardware/software licenses and recurring service streams, while subscription and support revenue mix shows the weight of recurring revenue in the platform model.
    Product Revenue GrowthSubscription Revenue GrowthSubscription & Support MixSupport Revenue Growth

See It in Company Research

These companies are examples of how the concept is reported or discussed in public filings. Definitions can differ by issuer; these links open company research rather than a normalized metric comparison.

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Compare cybersecurity platform economics

Compare recurring-service gross margin while separating cloud delivery and acquisition-related cost pressure.

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