Palo Alto Networks founder Nir Zuk retires, Lee Klarich named CTO as outlook tops forecasts

Palo Alto Networks has announced that founder Nir Zuk has retired as chief technology officer and stepped down from the board, closing a chapter that began with the company’s launch nearly two decades ago. Longtime product leader Lee Klarich has been appointed CTO and joins the board.

The leadership changes arrived alongside guidance for fiscal 2026 that surpassed Wall Street expectations. Palo Alto Networks projected annual revenue of about 10.48 to 10.53 billion dollars and adjusted earnings of 3.75 to 3.85 dollars a share. The outlook reflects continued demand for the company’s cloud, platform and AI driven security offerings, according to management.

For the fiscal fourth quarter ended 31 July, revenue rose 16 percent to 2.54 billion dollars. Adjusted earnings were 95 cents a share, above analyst estimates. On a GAAP basis, profit was 253.8 million dollars, compared with 357.7 million dollars a year earlier. Shares gained about 5 percent in after hours trading following the report.

The company also highlighted identity security as a strategic pillar, pointing to its planned 25 billion dollar acquisition of CyberArk to deepen capabilities across its platform.

Zuk, widely credited with popularising the next generation firewall, said he leaves confident in the company’s trajectory. Klarich, who joined in 2006 and became chief product officer in 2017, now leads technology strategy as Palo Alto Networks pursues growth in AI enabled security.

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