CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD - Free Report) is one of the stocks most watched by Zacks.com visitors lately. So, it might be a good idea to review some of the factors that might affect the near-term performance of the stock.
Shares of this cloud-based security company have returned +8.1% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +0.6% change. The Zacks Security industry, to which CrowdStrike belongs, has gained 9% over this period. Now the key question is: Where could the stock be headed in the near term?
Although media reports or rumors about a significant change in a company's business prospects usually cause its stock to trend and lead to an immediate price change, there are always certain fundamental factors that ultimately drive the buy-and-hold decision.
Revisions to Earnings EstimatesHere at Zacks, we prioritize appraising the change in the projection of a company's future earnings over anything else. That's because we believe the present value of its future stream of earnings is what determines the fair value for its stock.
Our analysis is essentially based on how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to take the latest business trends into account. When earnings estimates for a company go up, the fair value for its stock goes up as well. And when a stock's fair value is higher than its current market price, investors tend to buy the stock, resulting in its price moving upward. Because of this, empirical studies indicate a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and short-term stock price movements.
For the current quarter, CrowdStrike is expected to post earnings of $0.29 per share, indicating a change of +26.1% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -1.4% over the last 30 days.
The consensus earnings estimate of $1.23 for the current fiscal year indicates a year-over-year change of +32.3%. This estimate has changed +0.3% over the last 30 days.
For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $1.57 indicates a change of +27.2% from what CrowdStrike is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has changed +0.1%.
Having a strong externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, offers a more conclusive picture of a stock's price direction in the near term, since it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. Due to the size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, CrowdStrike is rated Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:
12 Month EPS
Projected Revenue GrowthWhile earnings growth is arguably the most superior indicator of a company's financial health, nothing happens as such if a business isn't able to grow its revenues. After all, it's nearly impossible for a company to increase its earnings for an extended period without increasing its revenues. So, it's important to know a company's potential revenue growth.
In the case of CrowdStrike, the consensus sales estimate of $1.44 billion for the current quarter points to a year-over-year change of +23.2%. The $5.94 billion and $7.23 billion estimates for the current and next fiscal years indicate changes of +23.5% and +21.6%, respectively.
Last Reported Results and Surprise HistoryCrowdStrike reported revenues of $1.39 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +25.6%. EPS of $0.28 for the same period compares with $0.18 a year ago.
Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.36 billion, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +1.7%. The EPS surprise was +2.8%.
The company beat consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters. The company topped consensus revenue estimates each time over this period.
ValuationWithout considering a stock's valuation, no investment decision can be efficient. In predicting a stock's future price performance, it's crucial to determine whether its current price correctly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects.
While comparing the current values of a company's valuation multiples, such as price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), with its own historical values helps determine whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of the reasonability of the stock's price.
The Zacks Value Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which pays close attention to both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics to grade stocks from A to F (an A is better than a B; a B is better than a C; and so on), is pretty helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.
CrowdStrike is graded F on this front, indicating that it is trading at a premium to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.
Bottom LineThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about CrowdStrike. However, its Zacks Rank #3 does suggest that it may perform in line with the broader market in the near term.
CrowdStrike Holdings NASDAQ: CRWD has entered into a strategic partnership with Cerebras Systems NASDAQ: CBRS. CrowdStrike will pair Cerebras’s industry-leading artificial intelligence (AI) inference speed with its proprietary Falcon AI Detection and Response (AIDR) platform for enterprises building and deploying AI at scale.
CrowdStrike Today
$183.60 +0.18 (+0.10%)
As of 12:20 PM Eastern
This is a fair market value price provided by Massive. Learn more.
52-Week Range$85.68▼
$217.50Price Target$183.85
It’s already been a headline-making summer for CrowdStrike. In June, the company announced a four-for-one stock split. CRWD shares began trading at their split-adjusted price on July 2. The company has also announced an expansion of its strategic partnership with Schwarz Digits. The two companies are launching a multi-year roadmap to bring the Falcon platform to European enterprises on Schwarz Digits’ sovereign cloud.
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Both partnerships highlight the significance of the Frontier AI age and the key role cybersecurity will play in it. However, CRWD stock has dipped since the Cerebras announcement, suggesting the company has yet to convince investors that its growth justifies its valuation.
The Cerebras partnership highlights a significant concern for the C-suite, providing investors with another reason besides price to include CRWD in a growth portfolio.
AI Inference Speed Could Become CrowdStrike's Biggest EdgeThe AI revolution is driven by the speed of AI inference. Higher productivity and efficiency are the positive side effects of faster AI processing, but in cybersecurity, inference speed can also determine whether a threat is stopped before it spreads.
That's the gap this partnership is designed to close. Under the agreement, CrowdStrike will run its Falcon AIDR models on Cerebras's wafer-scale CS-3 chips instead of relying solely on traditional GPU-based inference.
In exchange, Cerebras is standardizing on the Falcon platform to secure its internal operations—a detail that matters for credibility and revenue, since it puts one of the industry's most demanding AI infrastructure builders in the position of vouching for CrowdStrike by using it internally.
How the CrowdStrike-Cerebras Partnership WorksHere's a simplified version of how that partnership could play out in practice. Imagine an AI-powered attacker compromises a single cloud workload and begins moving laterally across an enterprise's network, probing for credentials and sensitive data.
This is a process that, with AI tooling on the attacker's side, can now unfold in seconds rather than the hours or days it once took. Falcon AIDR is built to detect that kind of behavioral anomaly by running large models against real-time telemetry.
The bottleneck has always been AI inference speed: a security model that takes several seconds to score a threat is already behind the attack. By shifting that inference workload onto Cerebras's infrastructure, CrowdStrike is betting it can compress the time between "anomaly detected" and "response executed" enough to intervene before lateral movement turns into data exfiltration—catching the intrusion at step two instead of step five.
Neither company has published specific benchmark figures for the latency improvement this integration delivers, so the compression is directional rather than quantified for now. But the strategic logic is consistent with where CrowdStrike has been positioning AIDR all along: as the security layer built specifically for a world where both attacks and defenses are increasingly AI-driven.
Investors Want Proof Beyond the AI StoryInvestors will have to wait until Sept. 1 for CrowdStrike to report its second-quarter earnings for the fiscal year 2027. When it does, Cerebras won’t be significant to its numbers. However, CrowdStrike was delivering strong growth before this announcement, and management hasn’t been conservative with its forecasts.
That includes subscription growth margin growth of 82% to 85% and free cash flow margin growth of 34% to 38%. To be clear, CrowdStrike has been generating strong growth in both categories. But much like Palantir Technologies NASDAQ: PLTR, investors believe that a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of over 760x already prices in years of growth.
Cerebras Systems Today
CBRS
Cerebras Systems
$203.81 -16.19 (-7.36%)
As of 12:20 PM Eastern
This is a fair market value price provided by Massive. Learn more.
52-Week Range$160.81▼
$386.34Price Target$299.30
That's likely why the stock dipped rather than rallied on the Cerebras news, even as Cerebras shares themselves jumped double digits. Partnership announcements like this one add to CrowdStrike's competitive moat and its story, but they don't move the needle on the metrics that matter most to a stock already priced for perfection.
Investors have heard the AI-native security pitch before; what they're watching for now is whether it shows up in net new annual recurring revenue (ARR) and in the margin guidance itself, not just in press releases.
But investors are rotating into enterprise cybersecurity stocks. The threat from AI isn’t constrained by capital expenditure budgets or supply chain bottlenecks. More importantly, the threat is adapting in real time. CrowdStrike was already a leader in that space, and the Cerebras partnership is another step to cementing its leadership position.
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The AI boom is creating opportunities across semiconductors, cloud computing, enterprise software, infrastructure, cybersecurity, and automation.
Inside this report, you’ll find 10 companies positioned to benefit as artificial intelligence moves from hype to real-world deployment and becomes a core growth driver for corporate America.
NVDA stock is moving. See the chart and price action here. “For my first post, I’m sharing a letter @NVIDIA signed on why open models matter,” Huang wrote. “AI will transform every industry, power every company, and be built by every country. Open models strengthen safety and cybersecurity, accelerate innovation and diffusion, and enable sovereignty. The world needs both frontier closed models and frontier open models.”
A 20-Plus Company CoalitionThe coalition draws a direct parallel between today’s open-weight AI debate and the rise of open-source software in the 1980s, arguing that open models expand economic access by letting startups, universities and public institutions build on advanced AI without training frontier-scale models from scratch.
The letter also makes a counterintuitive security case: rather than open weights creating national security risk, the signers argue that concentrating advanced AI inside a handful of closed models creates a “single point of failure” that’s harder to test, audit, or defend.
Broader access, they contend, lets more researchers hunt for vulnerabilities and strengthen defenses against AI-powered cyberattacks.
The letter also pushes back on efforts to restrict a widely used AI training technique. Distillation — using one model’s outputs to help train or improve another — is described as a “natural process” in AI development rather than “misappropriation,” with the signers urging that legitimate IP concerns be handled through targeted legal frameworks instead of blanket restrictions on the technique.
Part Of A Bigger Push?Huang’s debut post lands just two days after he told Axios in an exclusive interview that Chinese open-source models like Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3 are “excellent” and should be usable by American companies, dismissing fears that they could displace U.S. labs as “zero possibility.”
Taken together, the two moves look like a coordinated push from Nvidia just as Washington debates whether to restrict open-weight AI models — a fight with direct implications for how much compute, and how many chips, get sold in the years ahead.
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This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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Key Takeaways Cerebras will power Falcon AIDR with wafer-scale inference for real-time threat detection.The deal expands Cerebras into cybersecurity and strengthens its enterprise AI infrastructure position.First-quarter revenues rose 94% to $193.4 million, while 2026 core guidance increased to $855-$865 million. Cerebras Systems (CBRS - Free Report) announced on Thursday (July 22) that it has inked a partnership with CrowdStrike (CRWD - Free Report) , under which the latter will leverage CBRS’ wafer-scale inference technology to help power Falcon AI Detection and Response (AIDR). This will enable larger AI security models to operate at machine speed for real-time threat detection. At the same time, Cerebras has standardized on the CrowdStrike Falcon platform to secure its own operations, underscoring the strategic nature of the collaboration.
Cerebras’ latest partnership with CrowdStrike marks another important validation of its high-speed AI inference platform and expands its presence into one of the fastest-growing enterprise AI markets — cybersecurity. The partnership reinforces Cerebras’ strategy of targeting latency-sensitive AI inference workloads, where response time directly impacts business outcomes. The company has emphasized that “fast tokens are more valuable tokens” because speed improves productivity and enables new AI applications, which are necessary for cybersecurity applications.
The CrowdStrike collaboration broadens Cerebras’ customer base beyond frontier AI model developers into enterprise software. This diversification complements the company’s recently announced multi-year OpenAI agreement worth more than $20 billion and its Amazon Web Services partnership, which are already driving strong commercial momentum. In the first quarter of 2026, revenues increased 94% year over year to $193.4 million, including 178% growth in cloud and other services revenues, reflecting accelerating adoption of Cerebras’ inference platform. CBRS raised its 2026 core revenue guidance to $855-$865 million, indicating 69% year-over-year growth at the midpoint.
The CrowdStrike partnership strengthens Cerebras’ positioning as an enterprise AI infrastructure provider rather than solely a hardware vendor. Cloud and services revenues are becoming an increasingly important growth driver for the company. Remaining performance obligations reached approximately $25 billion at the end of first-quarter, largely supported by long-term AI infrastructure contracts. The addition of cybersecurity to CBRS’ portfolio of inference use cases expands the company’s addressable market, thereby driving top-line growth over the long term.
Cerebras Faces Tough CompetitionCerebras is facing stiff competition from the likes of CoreWeave (CRWV - Free Report) and Broadcom (AVGO - Free Report) in the AI infrastructure domain.
CoreWeave is pursuing one of the industry's largest AI infrastructure expansions. In partnership with NVIDIA, the company plans to build more than 5 gigawatts (GW) of AI factory capacity by 2030 while adopting multiple generations of NVIDIA AI platforms. It also recently expanded its European footprint through new AI cloud deployments in Stockholm, Sweden, powered by renewable energy, and signed a $21 billion long-term AI infrastructure agreement with Meta.
Broadcom has been benefiting from rising AI revenues, driven by strong demand for XPUs. AI semiconductor revenues reached a record $10.8 billion in the fiscal second quarter, suggesting a 143% year-over-year surge. Broadcom expects it to rise to $16 billion in the fiscal third quarter, indicating more than 200% year-over-year growth. AVGO’s management disclosed that AI semiconductor bookings exceeded $30 billion during the fiscal second quarter, nearly three times quarterly AI shipments. Remaining Performance Obligations reached $164.6 billion, including commitments under new custom AI accelerator contracts. These agreements provide exceptional long-term revenue visibility.
CBRS’ Share Price Performance, Valuation & EstimatesCerebras shares have jumped 15.3% in the past month, outperforming the broader Zacks Business Services sector’s return of 2.7%.
CBRS Stock’s Price Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Cerebras stock is trading at a forward 12-month price/sales of 24.62X, higher than its median of 24.22X. CBRS has a Value Score of D.
CBRS’ Valuation
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 loss is pegged at 89 cents per share, narrower than the loss of $1.14 per share over the past 30 days.
Cerebras currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Artificial intelligence (AI) isn't the only catalyst powering the broader market to new heights. Investor euphoria for high-profile stock splits has also provided a tailwind for Wall Street.
Though stock splits come in two varieties (forward and reverse), investors have flocked to companies undertaking forward splits, which make shares more nominally affordable for retail investors. AI cybersecurity solutions provider CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD -1.16%) became the latest high-flying company to split its shares three weeks ago. But something even more "magnificent" may be waiting in the wings, courtesy of Meta Platforms (META -2.45%).
Image source: Getty Images.
CrowdStrike keeps stock-split euphoria rolling in 2026 In early June, CrowdStrike's board announced the company's first-ever stock split: a 4-for-1 forward split set to take place after the close of trading on July 1.
Like most forward splits, CrowdStrike was attempting to accommodate everyday investors who aren't able to purchase fractional shares through their broker. But its split was about far more than making its shares more nominally affordable. It was evidence that the company's AI-powered cybersecurity strategy is firing on all cylinders.
-- Fiscal.ai (@fiscal_ai) June 4, 2026 CrowdStrike's Falcon security platform is considerably nimbler than on-premises security solutions, resulting in faster detection and response to potential threats. Though its software-as-a-service solutions aren't the cheapest, CrowdStrike's gross retention rate has been planted in the high-90% range.
Furthermore, CrowdStrike has demonstrated that it's mastered the add-on sale. More than half of its clients had purchased at least six cloud modules as of the end of the fiscal first quarter (April 30), with 25% buying eight or more. Juicy subscription software margins have propelled CrowdStrike's stock to an all-time high.
Image source: Getty Images.
The logical case for a Meta Platforms stock split Social media titan Meta Platforms is the only member of the "Magnificent Seven" that's never conducted a stock split. But with its shares hovering between roughly $500 and $800 over the trailing two years, it's fair to question if its nominally high share price has become a hindrance to some retail investors.
As of mid-July, nearly 29% of the company's outstanding shares were held by everyday investors. Though CEO Mark Zuckerberg is the largest shareholder and decision-maker, 29% is a relatively large retail investor presence. If shares become more nominally affordable, Zuckerberg can likely count on more retail investors piling in.
Today's Change
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Additionally, a stock split might put Meta Platforms on the S&P Dow Jones Indices' radar for future inclusion in the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI -0.94%). Although the Dow is a share-price-weighted index, Meta's nearly $650 current share price may be a bit much. A 2-for-1 or 3-for-1 split would make it ideal for future inclusion in one of Wall Street's most prominent health barometers.
Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, Meta's operating trajectory suggests its share price will head even higher. The company's social media assets are commanding exceptional ad pricing power, fueled in part by the integration of generative AI into Meta's advertising platforms. Meanwhile, Zuckerberg's company is rapidly expanding its AI data center infrastructure and planning to lease some of its compute capacity.
All signs point to Meta Platforms as the next logical stock-split stock on Wall Street.
Many top cybersecurity firms experienced noteworthy rallies throughout Q2 2026, a welcome shift after a period of stagnation for much of the last year up until that time. Companies may be navigating AI upheaval more successfully—Anthropic's Project Glasswing appears to be a model for how traditional cybersecurity companies can partner with AI providers in a mutually beneficial way.
On top of this, earnings across the industry have picked up, the result of increased opportunities for attacks on cloud operations and other market-wide vulnerabilities. The takeaway for many investors is that the second half of 2026 could be an opportunity for cybersecurity companies to further distinguish themselves, with various sub-sectors proving ripe for growth and share prices across the sector showing resilience even while a broader AI sell-off has dampened results elsewhere. Cybersecurity exchange-traded funds (ETFs) can help to capture this momentum.
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A (Relatively) Low-Cost Way of Drilling Down on Cybersecurity NamesWisdomTree Cybersecurity Fund Today
WCBR
WisdomTree Cybersecurity Fund
$36.62 -1.03 (-2.74%)
As of 07/22/2026 03:59 PM Eastern
52-Week Range$22.49▼
$41.14Assets Under Management$106.91 million
With returns of more than 35% year to date (YTD), the WisdomTree Cybersecurity Fund NASDAQ: WCBR is an information technology fund with a specific focus on companies involved in the cybersecurity space. Its basket is fairly narrow, as the fund holds only 33 positions. However, even the largest allocation—to industry leader CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. NASDAQ: CRWD—is only about 7.7%. This makes the basket a way to gain access to a moderately evenly-weighted collection of the biggest and most successful global cybersecurity companies trading today.
WCBR is not the largest cybersecurity ETF by any means. Indeed, its $111 million in managed assets and similarly modest trading volume suggest that many investors overlook this fund. Still, with an expense ratio of 0.45%, this is actually one of the most modestly priced funds in this thematic area. On top of that, its performance is on par with, or even better than, that of other funds with higher annual fees.
The Original Cybersecurity ETF Remains CompetitiveAmplify Cybersecurity ETF Today
HACK
Amplify Cybersecurity ETF
$106.04 -1.86 (-1.72%)
As of 07/22/2026 04:10 PM Eastern
52-Week Range$69.66▼
$115.50Dividend Yield0.06%
Assets Under Management$2.70 billion
With more than 11 years of trading history, the Amplify Cybersecurity ETF NYSEARCA: HACK is the oldest cybersecurity-focused fund currently available to domestic investors. As a sign of this fund's longevity, it has one of the largest asset bases of any ETF in a similar theme, although at $2.8 billion, its assets under management remain quite modest compared to many larger funds in the broader ETF universe. This ETF also has an average trading volume about five times that of WCBR, which may increase its appeal to investors looking for stability and liquidity.
In other respects, though, HACK is more difficult to distinguish from its newer, smaller peer. For one thing, it has a similarly sized portfolio that has 25 distinct holdings from the U.S. market. Within this basket, individual positions represent as much as about 6.5% of the total portfolio, and investors will not be surprised to see many of the same stocks atop HACK's list as well as WCBR's.
In terms of performance, HACK has also been fairly competitive with WCBR as well, returning 34% YTD. One larger distinction, however, is the annual fee: HACK's expense ratio is considerably higher than WCBR's at 0.60%. For investors, it may come down to whether an extra 15 basis points in yearly fees is worth the convenience that potentially greater liquidity brings.
A Standout Fund Popular With TradersGlobal X Cybersecurity ETF Today
BUG
Global X Cybersecurity ETF
$38.26 -1.00 (-2.55%)
As of 07/22/2026 04:00 PM Eastern
52-Week Range$23.15▼
$42.71Dividend Yield0.03%
The Global X Cybersecurity ETF NASDAQ: BUG is a third option for investors seeking concentrated exposure to the cybersecurity industry through ETFs. BUG stands out as far and away the most actively traded of these funds, with an average trading volume several times that of HACK, despite having only about half the assets under management.
This is interesting not only because of BUG's modest asset base, but also because the fund has an expense ratio of 0.50%, which is lower than HACK's but still higher than WCBR's. Perhaps a reason that this ETF appeals is that it provides exposure to a somewhat broader list of companies, with 32 total holdings across developed markets. While HACK dedicates about two-thirds of its invested assets to large-cap stocks, BUG provides a somewhat more well-rounded approach, allocating only about 52% to large caps. A sizable portion of the ETF focuses on smaller companies, providing attractive diversification.
BUG's performance history in 2026 is not quite the same as either of the funds above, but with YTD returns of 29%, it is not far behind and remains well above the broader market. The appeal of this particular ETF, then, may lie in its high trading volume and capacity to provide somewhat more diversified access to a fast-growing industry.
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CrowdStrike (CRWD) entered a partnership with AI chipmaker Cerebras Systems (CBRS) to enhance the speed of AI-powered cybersecurity.Cerebras shares climbed abou
On CNBC’s Mad Dash segment on Wednesday, July 22, Jim Cramer credited CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD | CRWD Price Prediction) and CEO George Kurtz with calling machine-on-machine attacks before the broader market caught on. “CrowdStrike has long predicted, George Kurtz, that one day the machines would take over, the robots would attack the robots,” Cramer said.
Video Muted
Following recent security incidents involving AI companies, Cramer called machine-on-machine attacks a “watershed moment” that could increase demand for the world’s best cybersecurity solutions: “This is what’s happened in OpenAI, Hugging Face. This is a watershed moment. The machines can take over. It’s very difficult to stop.” He added, “You need certain detection and response. I know that CrowdStrike predicted this in the last quarter.“
CrowdStrike Says Cybersecurity and Frontier AI Have Collided Cramer’s framing aligns with what Kurtz told investors on the Q1 FY27 call. “In Q1, the worlds of cybersecurity and frontier AI collided: this was the Mythos moment. CrowdStrike is AI security infrastructure, critical to successful AI adoption,” Kurtz said, pointing to record net new annual recurring revenue, the QuiltWorks coalition, and AI Detection and Response (AIDR) as evidence of an inflection.
CrowdStrike posted Q1 FY27 revenue of $1.385 billion, up 25.6% year-over-year, and non-GAAP EPS of $1.10 versus the $1.0675 consensus. Net new ARR came in at $255.80 million, up 32% year-over-year, pushing total ARR to $5.51 billion. Free cash flow reached $468.5 million, up 66.76%, with a 34% free cash flow margin.
CrowdStrike Built an AI Defense Stack With OpenAI, Nvidia, and AWS Last quarter, CrowdStrike introduced and expanded products aimed at agentic and machine-generated threats. Falcon AIDR reached general availability, and CrowdStrike rolled out Agentic MDR, the Charlotte AI AgentWorks Ecosystem (built with AWS, NVIDIA, and OpenAI), and Falcon Data Security across endpoints, browsers, SaaS, cloud, and AI workflows. Project QuiltWorks pairs CrowdStrike with OpenAI and Anthropic to remediate frontier AI risk via the Falcon platform.
CrowdStrike’s customers are consolidating on their security tools. 51% of customers run 6 or more modules, 35% run 7 or more, and 25% run 8 or more. That density allows Kurtz to position CrowdStrike as an operating system for security rather than a single-point tool competing with AI-native newcomers.
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CRWD stock currently trades at $187.34 and is up 63.11% year to date and 58.77% over the past year, but has slipped 9.29% in the last week as investors digest the stock’s valuation after the four-for-one stock split with split-adjusted trading that began on July 2. The stock trades at roughly 164 times forward earnings, with an average analyst target of $189.18 across 41 buy or strong-buy ratings out of 53 covering analysts.
Palo Alto Networks Fits the Same Thesis Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) CEO Nikesh Arora said last quarter that “the latest advancements at the AI frontier have increased the level of urgency around cybersecurity, and redefined the shape of the industry for the coming years.” Palo Alto’s Next-Generation Security ARR reached $8.10 billion in Q3 FY2026, up 60% year-over-year, on $3.00 billion in revenue, up 31.1%.
Analysts are raising their price targets. Argus Research lifted its PANW target from $320 to $425 on July 21, and Capital One tagged the stock Overweight with a $421 price target. Morgan Stanley placed both CrowdStrike and Palo Alto in its Moat & Journey framework of Overweight software picks alongside Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Cloudflare (NYSE:NET), and ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW)
What to Watch Next Cramer’s point echoes what Citi’s CIO Kate Moore recently argued: cybersecurity budgets remain underfunded relative to the surface area AI is creating. The Gartner Tokyo Security Summit on July 22 drew more than 840 CISOs, with agentic AI and machine identity dominating the agenda.
Investors should watch whether that demand translates into stronger annual recurring revenue, greater adoption of security modules, and higher customer spending in upcoming earnings reports.
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CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $191.15, moving -3.7% from the previous trading session. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a gain of 0.89% for the day. Elsewhere, the Dow saw an upswing of 0.74%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq appreciated by 1.29%.
The cloud-based security company's stock has climbed by 17.55% in the past month, exceeding the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 6.6% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.63%.
Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of CrowdStrike Holdings in its upcoming earnings disclosure. On that day, CrowdStrike Holdings is projected to report earnings of $0.29 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 26.09%. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $1.44 billion, indicating a 23.19% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $1.23 per share and revenue of $5.94 billion, indicating changes of +32.26% and +23.49%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for CrowdStrike Holdings. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 2.38% rise in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. CrowdStrike Holdings is holding a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now.
Looking at valuation, CrowdStrike Holdings is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 160.94. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 50.85 for its industry.
Also, we should mention that CRWD has a PEG ratio of 5.81. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Security industry held an average PEG ratio of 3.24.
The Security industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 40, placing it within the top 17% of over 250 industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.
Key Takeaways CRWD is acquiring XM Cyber's IP, including patents & code for attack path analysis and exposure management. CRWD aims to enhance Falcon Exposure Management to identify attack paths and prioritize security risks.CRWD expects the deal to expand Falcon Flex adoption and support long-term revenue growth. CrowdStrike (CRWD - Free Report) is strengthening its Falcon platform by acquiring the intellectual property of XM Cyber. The deal includes more than 45 patents and proprietary source code related to attack path analysis and exposure management. XM Cyber customers will have the option to move to the Falcon platform through Falcon Flex over time. The deal is a part of CrowdStrike's expanded partnership with Schwarz Digits to offer the Falcon platform on STACKIT's sovereign cloud across Europe.
The acquisition enhances CrowdStrike's Falcon Exposure Management offering.Falcon Exposure Management continuously monitors an organization's attack surface and prioritizes vulnerabilities based on how likely they are to be exploited. Adding XM Cyber's attack path analysis technology should help improve the Falcon platform's ability to identify attack paths and prioritize security risks, and help organizations understand how attackers can move through their networks by combining multiple vulnerabilities.
The acquisition also supports CrowdStrike's platform strategy. As AI helps attackers discover and exploit vulnerabilities faster, companies are looking for security platforms, such as CrowdStrike's Falcon platform, that bring multiple capabilities together. During the first quarter of fiscal 2027, the adoption of Falcon Exposure Management nearly doubled year over year. Here, Falcon Flex's ability to help customers adopt additional modules through a single subscription model should create opportunities for further platform expansion.
The acquisition adds new technology to CrowdStrike's exposure management offering and creates an opportunity to bring XM Cyber customers onto Falcon Flex. Through this acquisition, CrowdStrike is improving its ability to help enterprises manage AI-driven cyber risks while supporting its long-term platform growth strategy. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2027 and 2028 revenues indicates a year-over-year increase of around 23.5% and 21.6%, respectively.
How Competitors Fare Against CRWDCompetitors like Palo Alto Networks (PANW - Free Report) and Zscaler (ZS - Free Report) are also gaining ground through platform expansion and AI innovation through acquisitions.
In May 2026, PANW completed its acquisition of Portkey, a company specializing in AI Gateways, to strengthen its AI security offering. PANW aims to use Portkey as the AI Gateway within its Prisma AIRS platform to act as a central system to monitor, control and secure all AI-related activity across an organization.
In May 2026, Zscaler announced its intent to acquire Symmetry Systems, which provides an access graph that maps how identities, applications and data sources connect across the enterprise. Through this acquisition, Symmetry Systems’ technology will be integrated with Zscaler’s Zero Trust Exchange platform to strengthen agentic security use cases, providing organizations with control over how AI agents interact with applications and data.
CRWD’s Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesShares of CrowdStrike have jumped 73.3% in the year-to-date period compared with the Zacks Security industry’s return of 73.5%.
CRWD YTD Price Return Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, CrowdStrike trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 31.64, significantly higher than the industry’s average of 19.35. The Zacks Value Score of F also suggests that CRWD stock is overvalued.
CRWD Forward 12-Month P/S Ratio
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CrowdStrike’s fiscal 2027 and 2028 earnings indicates year-over-year growth of 32.3% and 27%, respectively. The estimates for fiscal 2027 have been revised upward by 2 cents over the past 60 days, while the same for fiscal 2028 have been revised up by a penny over the past 30 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
CrowdStrike currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
In an era where data is the new oil and security is the vault, choosing between CrowdStrike (CRWD 0.21%) and Snowflake (SNOW 0.40%) represents a classic debate for growth investors. Both companies sit at the center of modern digital transformation, yet they serve very different roles in the enterprise software ecosystem. This comparison explores which stock is a better buy today.
CrowdStrike focuses on stopping breaches through its AI-driven Falcon platform, securing the devices where work happens. Snowflake offers a platform that breaks down data silos, enabling companies to manage and analyze data for artificial intelligence applications. These two are often compared because they both represent high-growth, cloud-native leaders competing for the same IT budget dollars.
The case for CrowdStrikeCrowdStrike provides cloud-native cybersecurity through its Falcon platform, which protects endpoints, identity, and data for over 88,000 organizations. The company has built a dominant reputation among tech stocks by replacing legacy antivirus software with its integrated, AI-powered security architecture. Strategic technology alliances remain central to growth, including recent partnerships with Schwarz Digits and Grant Thornton Advisors.
In FY 2026, revenue reached nearly $4.8 billion, representing a growth rate of approximately 21.7% compared to the prior year. The company reported a net loss of roughly $162.5 million for the year. This resulted in a net margin of approximately -3.4%, up from the -0.5% reported in the previous fiscal year.
As of its January 2026 balance sheet, the debt-to-equity ratio is approximately 0.2x. This ratio measures total debt relative to shareholder equity, with lower numbers indicating less reliance on borrowed money. The current ratio stands at approximately 1.8x, which measures a company's ability to cover its short-term debts with its short-term assets. Free cash flow, which is cash from operations minus capital expenditures, reached nearly $1.3 billion. Note that stock-based compensation accounted for roughly 68.0% of operating cash flow, thereby inflating reported cash generation, since SBC is a non-cash expense added back in the cash flow statement.
The case for SnowflakeSnowflake provides the AI Data Cloud, a platform for data engineering, analytics, and AI applications. As of January 2026, the company served over 13,000 total customers across diverse industries, including healthcare and financial services. Its strategy relies on the Snowflake Partner Network and dependencies on major cloud infrastructure providers like Amazon (AMZN 0.91%), Microsoft (MSFT 1.67%), and Alphabet (GOOG 2.17%) (GOOGL 2.05%).
In FY 2026, revenue reached close to $4.7 billion, an increase of roughly 29.2% over the previous year. Despite this growth, the company reported a net loss of approximately $1.3 billion for the period. This performance resulted in a net margin of nearly -28.4%, an improvement from the -35.5% net margin seen in FY 2025.
As of its January 2026 balance sheet, the debt-to-equity ratio reached approximately 1.4x. A ratio of 1.4x indicates that the company uses more debt than equity to fund operations. The current ratio of roughly 1.3x suggests the company maintains enough liquid assets to meet its immediate financial obligations. Free cash flow for the year reached approximately $1.1 billion. Note that stock-based compensation represented roughly 130.9% of operating cash flow, meaning reported cash generation is heavily inflated by this non-cash add-back.
Risk profile comparisonCrowdStrike faces ongoing risks following the July 19 incident, which continues to impact its reputation, customer renewals, and business operations. The company is currently managing multiple securities class action lawsuits and derivative litigation stemming from that event. Furthermore, intense competition from legacy antivirus and newer cloud vendors requires constant innovation in artificial intelligence to maintain market share.
Snowflake faces significant exposure to security breaches, including incidents involving customer account access under the shared responsibility model. The company also faces heavy competition from its own infrastructure hosts, such as Amazon and Microsoft, which offer competing data solutions. Additionally, its consumption-based revenue model creates fluctuations in financial results based on how much data customers actually use each month.
Valuation comparisonSnowflake currently trades at a lower P/S ratio than CrowdStrike, though both maintain high forward P/E multiples.
MetricCrowdStrikeSnowflakeSector BenchmarkForward P/E165.5x138.5x338.0xP/S ratio43.1x19.8xn/aSector benchmark uses the SPDR XLK sector ETF.
Valuation metrics sourced from Financial Modeling Prep (FMP) and may differ from other data providers.
Both of these companies are benefiting from the growth of artificial intelligence, but in different ways. There are many opportunities to jump on the AI bandwagon, but between these two compelling choices, which is the better investment?
CrowdStrike’s cybersecurity subscription model produces consistent recurring revenue. Its customer base includes over 88,000 organizations, and its AI-enhanced security services are continually evolving, so there’s little incentive for these customers to go elsewhere. It has been growing steadily, reporting strong cash flow, generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) profitability, and rewarding shareholders.
By comparison, Snowflake’s focus is on storage and analysis of the enormous amounts of information its clients can generate. This makes it a natural foundation for many AI applications. Rather than using CrowdStrike’s subscription model, Snowflake’s customers pay based on usage. The advantage of this model is that, as AI workloads increase, so can the company’s revenue. The company is currently unprofitable, however, and results are more dependent on fluctuations in customer usage.
Both stocks trade at premium valuations, so this isn’t a relevant basis for comparison. So, if I had to choose one of these companies for my portfolio, I would lean toward CrowdStrike. Its recurring revenue model and steady profitability make it a better AI play for 2026.
The software landscape is shifting toward automation and security as enterprises prioritize operational efficiency. Deciding between Salesforce (CRM 0.86%) and CrowdStrike (CRWD 0.21%) requires weighing mature scale against aggressive high-growth potential in 2026.
Salesforce dominates customer relationship management (CRM) by unifying sales and marketing data into a single platform. CrowdStrike leads in cloud-based cybersecurity through its Falcon platform designed to stop breaches. While both are heavyweights in the software world, they offer different profiles for investors looking to balance stability with expansion.
The case for SalesforceSalesforce sells cloud-based software that helps businesses manage customer interactions through its comprehensive platform. Its new Agentforce 360 Platform unifies service, marketing, and commerce tools using autonomous agents. The company serves over 150,000 customers worldwide and recently acquired Fin, a customer agent platform, to enhance its artificial intelligence capabilities.
In its 2026 fiscal year (FY), revenue reached $41.5 billion, representing growth of 10% over the prior year. The company reported net income of $7.5 billion, which yielded a net margin of 18%. This upward trend in net margin shows a focus on bottom-line results as the business continues to scale.
As of its January 2026 balance sheet, the debt-to-equity ratio is 0.3x. This ratio measures total debt against shareholder equity, indicating the company uses a conservative amount of leverage. Free cash flow, which is cash from operations minus capital expenditures, reached $14.4 billion. Note that stock-based compensation (SBC) represented 23% of operating cash flow, which inflates reported cash generation since SBC is a non-cash expense added back in the cash flow statement.
The case for CrowdStrikeCrowdStrike provides cloud-based protection for computers and data networks through its Falcon platform. It targets large enterprises and government organizations to secure endpoints, identity, and cloud workloads. The company recently formed a strategic partnership with Grant Thornton Advisors to standardize their managed security services on the Falcon platform.
In FY 2026, revenue reached $4.8 billion, which is a growth rate of 22% year-over-year. Despite this strong top-line performance, the company reported a net loss of $162.5 million. This resulted in a net margin of negative 3% as the firm continues to prioritize expansion.
Based on the January 2026 balance sheet, the current ratio is 1.8x. This metric compares current assets to current liabilities, suggesting the company has enough liquidity to cover its short-term debts. Free cash flow was $1.3 billion for the fiscal year. Note that stock-based compensation represented 68% of operating cash flow.
Risk profile comparisonSalesforce faces challenges with its shift to artificial intelligence, specifically regarding the reliability and accuracy of its AI outputs. If its systems produce biased or inaccurate data, it could face reputational damage or regulatory enforcement under the EU AI Act. Additionally, the company must manage the integration of acquisitions like Fin while defending against antitrust claims from Microsoft., a competitor in the CRM space.
CrowdStrike is still managing the fallout from a major technical incident in July of 2024, when it accidentally released a bug in its software, which led to ongoing lawsuits and government inquiries. The company also relies heavily on Amazon for the cloud infrastructure that runs its Falcon platform. Furthermore, the high level of insider stock sales by executives could impact how investors view the company's future sentiment.
Valuation comparisonSalesforce currently offers a significantly lower Forward P/E than CrowdStrike, while the latter carries a much higher P/S ratio, which measures price against sales.
MetricSalesforceCrowdStrikeSector BenchmarkForward P/E12.1x165.5x33.8xP/S ratio3.4x43.1xSector benchmark uses the SPDR XLK sector ETF. Valuation metrics sourced from Financial Modeling Prep (FMP) and may differ from other data providers.
While both Salesforce and CrowdStrike offer leading software platforms for their respective industries, the latter is growing sales far faster than Salesforce. Moreover, cybersecurity is a necessary component for today’s digital society, which helps to secure CrowdStrike’s recurring revenue stream.
CrowdStrike recently performed a four-for-one stock split in a sign management is confident in the company’s future. These factors point to the cybersecurity giant as a good stock to invest in. However, its share price valuation is sky high, as illustrated by both its sales and forward earnings multiples.
Salesforce’s valuation is significantly lower than CrowdStrike’s because its stock was battered earlier in 2026. Wall Street was fearful artificial intelligence’s ability to automate customer service tasks would make Salesforce’s business obsolete. That doesn’t appear to be the case.
Salesforce’s revenue for its fiscal first quarter, ended April 30, rose 13% year over year to $11.1 billion, an acceleration of 2025’s 10% growth. Its new Agentforce AI offerings are showing traction among customers, an encouraging sign. If it can post strong fiscal Q2 results, its stock could begin to recover. With its valuation so low, now is a good time to pick up Salesforce stock, making it the better buy over CrowdStrike.
CrowdStrike continues to expand its AI-native Falcon platform despite lingering impacts from a major 2024 service disruption. NVIDIA maintains massive revenue growth and high net margins driven by its dominant position in AI infrastructure.
Are you looking for rapid growth in cybersecurity or a steady giant in infrastructure? Deciding between CrowdStrike (CRWD 0.21%) and Dell Technologies (DELL +1.46%) requires weighing cloud-native software against global hardware leadership.
CrowdStrike focuses on protecting digital endpoints and cloud workloads through its artificial intelligence platform. Dell provides the physical backbone of modern computing, from servers and storage to personal laptops. While both benefit from the expansion of data centers, they offer vastly different risk and reward profiles for your portfolio.
The case for CrowdStrikeCrowdStrike remains a prominent name among tech stocks due to its Falcon platform, which unifies security across endpoints, identities, and cloud workloads. The company sells its software through a direct sales force and a robust network of channel partners, catering to governments and large enterprises. Recent strategic moves include an expanded partnership with Schwarz Digits and a new agreement with Grant Thornton Advisors, which has standardized its managed security services on the Falcon platform.
In FY 2026, revenue reached $4.8 billion, representing growth of roughly 22% compared to the previous year. This continues a steady upward trend from $3.1 billion in FY 2024, although the company reported a net loss of nearly $162.5 million for FY 2026, while it turned a profit in 2024.
As of its January 2026 balance sheet, the debt-to-equity ratio is 0.2x. This ratio compares a company's total debt to its shareholders’ equity, with a lower ratio typically indicating a stronger position. Free cash flow is approximately $1.2 billion, though stock-based compensation (SBC) accounted for roughly 68.0% of operating cash flow, inflating reported cash generation because SBC is a non-cash expense added back in the cash flow statement.
The case for Dell TechnologiesDell Technologies operates a vast technology empire that designs and manufactures servers, storage solutions, and client devices like laptops. The company serves a global customer base in over 170 countries, utilizing a direct sales force and a network of distributors. Recent successes include securing a $9.7 billion Pentagon contract, further cementing its role as a critical provider for large-scale governmental and enterprise infrastructure projects.
In FY 2026, revenue reached nearly $113.5 billion, representing revenue growth of roughly 19% year over year. The company delivered net income of close to $5.9 billion. This performance shows a significant improvement in both total revenue and profitability compared to FY 2024, when the company generated $96 billion in revenue and $4.6 billion in net income.
The business has net debt (debt minus cash on hand) of about $20 billion. Free cash flow, which is the cash remaining after a company pays for its operations and capital expenditures, is nearly $8.6 billion, providing the company with significant capital for debt service and shareholder returns.
Risk profile comparisonCrowdStrike faces significant scrutiny following the July 19 incident, a 2024 event in which there was a massive IT outage caused by the Falcon server, which continues to impact its reputation and customer relations. The company is currently managing multiple legal proceedings, including securities and derivative litigation, which could lead to substantial costs. Furthermore, competition from Microsoft (MSFT 1.67%) and other legacy antivirus vendors remains intense, creating constant pressure on pricing and market share. Any future defects or vulnerabilities in the Falcon platform could further damage the trust the company has built with its enterprise clients.
Dell Technologies carries a heavy financial burden with approximately $31.5 billion in total debt, which may limit its flexibility for future acquisitions or capital spending. The company also faces intense competition in the server and cloud markets from Amazon.com Inc (AMZN 0.91%) and other branded hardware providers. Supply chain disruptions and reliance on limited-source suppliers for critical components also pose persistent threats to its manufacturing capacity. Additionally, XTX Markets has filed a $70 million lawsuit against the company, highlighting the legal and pricing risks inherent in large-scale data center contracts.
Valuation comparisonDell appears significantly cheaper on a valuation basis, whereas CrowdStrike demands a steep premium for its cloud-based revenue growth.
MetricCrowdStrikeDell TechnologiesSector BenchmarkForward P/E166.7x21.3x338.0xP/S ratio40.5x2xSector benchmark uses the SPDR XLK sector ETF.
Valuation metrics sourced from Financial Modeling Prep (FMP) and may differ from other data providers.
CrowdStrike software remains competitive with the best choices on the market, and the fact that it was chosen to test both Anthropic’s Mythos model and OpenAI’s Daybreak attests to its respect. CrowdStrike also seems to have worked through investor fears that AI would essentially replace cybersecurity like CrowdStrike as models become super advanced and do things themselves. Investors seem to have come to believe there is a place for CrowdStrike in an AI future
For fiscal 2026, revenue is expected to grow about 24% to $5.59 billion, coming with a swing to net income of $175 million.
Despite its already massive size, Dell’s sales are seen rising a screaming 51% to $171.3 billion in fiscal 2027 with more than $11 billion in both net income and free cash flow. While Dell still sells the laptops that originated the business, the story is all about AI. The business is selling AI-optimized servers hand over fist, with management expecting more than $60 billion in AI server sales in FY 2027, almost triple the prior year.
CrowdStrike has the reputation and growth to make it an intriguing stock, but Dell’s AI-driven growth is too strong to ignore, especially at a very affordable forward P/E and P/S ratio.
Continuous, risk-aware identity security becomes the market standard as AI agents and non-human identities (NHIs) expose the limitations of fragmented, static access controls
, /PRNewswire/ -- Frost & Sullivan is pleased to announce that CrowdStrike has been named the 2026 Global Company of the Year in Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR). As AI agents transform how work gets done, operating with superhuman speed and access, this recognition validates CrowdStrike's leadership in advancing the market beyond static access controls with "a next-generation identity model that enables continuous and content-aware dynamic authorization across human, non-human, and AI agent identities."
"Identity is the front line of modern attacks and AI is accelerating the threat at scale," said Elia Zaitsev, chief technology officer at CrowdStrike. "AI agents operate as high-privilege identities with access to critical data, applications, compute resources, and other agents, exposing the risk of legacy access models built on static policies and standing privileges."
Frost & Sullivan's research has found that CrowdStrike eliminates standing privileges and enforces real-time, risk-based access that can be dynamically revoked as conditions change, establishing Falcon Next-Gen Identity Security as the identity security control plane for the agentic enterprise."
Identity Security for the Agentic Enterprise
The Falcon® Next-Gen Identity Security business surpassed $520 million in ending ARR, growing more than 34% year-over-year.[1] CrowdStrike's ability to secure both human and agentic identities makes Falcon Next-Gen Identity Security the standard for identity security in the agentic enterprise.
Frost & Sullivan stated, "CrowdStrike's unified, cloud native platform that delivers end-to-end identity visibility, just in time privileges, behavioral analytics, and automated response across human and non-human identities enables a significant competitive advantage."
Key findings from the Frost & Sullivan report include:
Securing SaaS and AI Agents
Frost & Sullivan recognized how CrowdStrike delivers "real time visibility into AI and SaaS agents, including their permissions, data access, and activity, and can monitor how these identities interact with sensitive systems and datasets over time."
Zero Standing Privileges
Frost & Sullivan highlighted that "unlike traditional role assignments or vaulting, Falcon Next-Gen Identity Security treats every user as potentially privileged, granting only need-based, real-time behavior and context aware access."
End-to-End Identity Security
Frost & Sullivan praised CrowdStrike's protection across the identity lifecycle, from phishing resistant MFA to enabling customers to use "SOAR workflows to automatically reset compromised passwords, remediate risky accounts in batches, and enforce conditional access or privilege controls based on real time risk scores."
Unified Outcomes
Frost & Sullivan recognized CrowdStrike for delivering a "unified, cloud-native platform that treats identity as a first-class security signal alongside endpoints, cloud, and data." And noted that "the leadership team's focus in translating megatrends into a coherent product strategy rather than a set of disjointed features is evident as the company builds a model of zero trust access for every identity."
Additional Resources
To learn more about Frost & Sullivan's 2026 Company of the Year for Identity Threat Detection and Response, visit here. To learn more about Falcon Next-Gen Identity Security, visit here. About CrowdStrike
CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD), a global cybersecurity leader, has redefined modern security with the world's most advanced cloud-native platform for protecting critical areas of enterprise risk – endpoints and cloud workloads, identity and data.
Powered by the CrowdStrike Security Cloud and world-class AI, the CrowdStrike Falcon® platform leverages real-time indicators of attack, threat intelligence, evolving adversary tradecraft and enriched telemetry from across the enterprise to deliver hyper-accurate detections, automated protection and remediation, elite threat hunting and prioritized observability of vulnerabilities.
Purpose-built in the cloud with a single lightweight-agent architecture, the Falcon platform delivers rapid and scalable deployment, superior protection and performance, reduced complexity and immediate time-to-value.
CrowdStrike: We stop breaches.
Learn more: https://www.crowdstrike.com/
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Start a free trial today: https://www.crowdstrike.com/trial
AUSTIN, Texas & BAD FRIEDRICHSHALL, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) and Schwarz Digits today announced an expansion of their strategic partnership, launching a multi-year roadmap to bring the AI-native Falcon® platform to European enterprises on STACKIT, Schwarz Digits' sovereign cloud, and to extend access for customers across the region. As part of the expanded partnership, CrowdStrike has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the intellectual property of XM Cyber, a S.
CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $206.77, moving -1.88% from the previous trading session. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.38%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.29%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.62%.
Shares of the cloud-based security company have appreciated by 24.05% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 0.53%, and the S&P 500's gain of 1.61%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of CrowdStrike Holdings in its upcoming release. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $0.29, marking a 26.09% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $1.44 billion, reflecting a 23.19% rise from the equivalent quarter last year.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $1.23 per share and a revenue of $5.94 billion, indicating changes of +32.26% and +23.49%, respectively, from the former year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for CrowdStrike Holdings. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1.88% higher within the past month. CrowdStrike Holdings presently features a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
In terms of valuation, CrowdStrike Holdings is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 170.86. This expresses a premium compared to the average Forward P/E of 52.91 of its industry.
Investors should also note that CRWD has a PEG ratio of 6.16 right now. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Security industry held an average PEG ratio of 3.27.
The Security industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 46, finds itself in the top 19% echelons of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) today announced the appointment of AJ Shipley as Chief Product Officer. Shipley now leads CrowdStrike's product organization, accelerating innovation across the CrowdStrike Falcon® platform to advance the company's mission of stopping breaches and securing the world's adoption of AI. As organizations race to deploy AI, every agent, model, and agentic workflow becomes a new attack surface to defend, a new identity to govern, and a new en.
Top Wall Street analysts changed their outlook on these top names. For a complete view of all analyst rating changes, including upgrades and downgrades, please see our analyst ratings page.
Considering buying CRWD stock? Here’s what analysts think:
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Your feed is full of it. CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD | CRWD Price Prediction) split four-for-one, ripped higher on an AI-security narrative, and every screenshot in your group chat has green candles. You didn’t buy it. That’s fine.
Because the Global X Cybersecurity ETF (NASDAQ:BUG) also had a very good year. Not CrowdStrike-good. But good enough that the FOMO you’re feeling is mostly manufactured.
The Numbers, Same Window, No Cherry-Picking From December 31, 2025 through July 10, 2026, CrowdStrike returned 59.72% on a split-adjusted basis. Over that exact same window, BUG returned 29.25%.
Translate the ETF number into dollars: $10,000 put into BUG on January 1 was worth roughly $12,925 by the close on July 10. That’s a little over six months. Nobody who booked that return is complaining at a dinner party.
Yes, CrowdStrike holders did better. We’ll get to that.
Same Wave, Bigger Boat The catalyst behind CrowdStrike’s move extends well beyond CrowdStrike itself. On the Q1 FY27 call, CEO George Kurtz described the moment plainly: “the worlds of cybersecurity and frontier AI collided”, and he called CrowdStrike “AI security infrastructure, critical to successful AI adoption.” The company posted $1.39 billion in Q1 revenue, up 25.57% year over year, and raised full-year guidance.
Strip out the ticker and you get the theme: enterprises pouring money into AI are being forced to spend on endpoint security, cloud security, identity security, and runtime protection for AI agents. That budget is going to a lot of vendors, not one. Firewalls, identity platforms, SIEM providers, cloud security specialists. The whole basket got a bid.
BUG is a basket. It tracks a cybersecurity index and spreads across roughly 20 to 25 names in the space at an expense ratio of 0.50%. When the theme lifts, the fund lifts. You don’t have to be right about which vendor wins the AI-security land grab; you just have to be right that there is one.
What You Gave Up, What You Skipped Here’s the tradeoff. Somebody who owned CrowdStrike outright made roughly twice what a BUG holder made this year. That’s real. The chart doesn’t lie.
The chart also doesn’t lie about the other direction. Cast your mind back to July 19, 2024, when a faulty CrowdStrike Falcon sensor update grounded airlines, took down hospitals, and knocked the stock into a months-long repair job. CrowdStrike itself is the recent example of what single-stock concentration in a hot name feels like when something breaks. The company is still absorbing costs and litigation tied to that incident.
An index fund of cybersecurity names dilutes that risk across the basket. One vendor’s bad patch Tuesday, one guidance cut, one accounting surprise gets absorbed by the rest of the basket. You give up the top of the trade to skip the bottom of it. That’s the deal.
Process, Not Prediction Chasing hot tickers is stock picking with extra regret. If you buy after the run, you’re overpaying; if you don’t buy, you’re staring at a screenshot for six months. Owning the theme sidesteps both problems. You get most of the move, you sleep, and you don’t have to be a genius about which company’s product roadmap is best.
The AI-security story isn’t finished. It might slow down. It might accelerate. Nobody sending you screenshots knows which. What we do know, as of July 10, 2026, is that a diversified position in the theme paid this year. The reader who owned the trend instead of the ticker didn’t miss anything worth losing sleep over.
Process beats prediction. Themes beat tickers, most of the time, for most people. And relaxing beats refreshing your brokerage app on a Friday night.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Zámořské akciové trhy během dnešního obchodování posílily, k čemuž přispěla nečekaně nízká čísla o červnové inflaci v USA, která zmírnila obavy z dalšího zvyšování úrokových sazeb ze strany Fedu. Širší index S&P 500 vzrostl o 0,38 % na 7543,86 bodu a technologický Nasdaq Composite si připsal 0,9 % na 26107,01 bodu, zatímco index Dow Jones zakončil se ziskem 0,02 % na hodnotě 52508,27 bodu. Pozitivní náladu na trhu podpořily také solidní hospodářské výsledky velkých bank na začátku nové výsledkové sezóny.
Z jednotlivých odvětví indexu S&P 500 zaznamenaly nejvýraznější růst informační technologie o 1,3 %, následované komunikačními službami, které přidaly 1,1 %, a finančním sektorem se ziskem 0,4 %. Naopak nejvíce oslabila zdravotní péče, která odepsala 1,9 %. V červených číslech skončila také nezbytná spotřeba se ztrátou 1,4 % a reality, které klesly o 0,4 %.
Mezi nejúspěšnější tituly dne se zařadila kyberbezpečnostní společnost Crowdstrike Holdings (CRWD) s nárůstem o 12 %. Výrazně posílila také investiční banka Goldman Sachs Group (GS) o 9,0 %, prodejce aut Carvana (CVNA) o 8,3 %, Palo Alto Networks (PANW) o 6,8 % a Monolithic Power Systems (MPWR) se ziskem 7,1 %. Na druhé straně po slabších kvartálních tržbách prudce propadla společnost IBM (IBM), která odepsala 25 %. Nedařilo se ani společnosti Biogen (BIIB) se ztrátou 8,2 %, HCA Healthcare (HCA) s poklesem o 7,0 %, Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) o 6,8 % a GE HealthCare Technologies (GEHC), která oslabila o 6,1 %.
Na komoditním trhu rostla severoamerická lehká ropa WTI o 1,9 % na 79,65 dolaru za barel a spotové zlato posílilo o 1,3 % na 4054,53 dolaru za unci. Americký dolar pod vlivem inflačních dat oslabil. Euro vůči němu vzrostlo o 0,4 % na 1,1424 dolaru a britská libra si připsala 0,3 % na 1,3383 dolaru, zatímco japonský jen posílil o 0,1 % na 162,19 jenu za dolar. Výnosy desetiletých američních vládních dluhopisů v reakci na nižší inflaci klesly o čtyři bazické body na 4,58 %. Bitcoin zaznamenal nárůst o 3,9 % na 64554,91 dolaru.
Index Dow Jones +0,02 % na 52508,27 b.
S&P 500 +0,38 % na 7543,86 b.
Nasdaq Composite +0,9 % na 26107,01 b.
Index S&P 500 +0,38 % na 7543,86 b. Nejsilnější sektory S&P Změna Nejslabší sektory S&P Změna Informační technologie +1,3 % Zdravotní péče -1,9 % Komunikační služby +1,1 % Nezbytná spotřeba -1,4 % Energie +0,4 % Reality -0,4 % Nejsilnější akcie S&P Změna Nejslabší akcie S&P Změna Crowdstrike Holdings (CRWD) +12 % IBM (IBM) -25 % Goldman Sachs Group (GS) +9,0 % Biogen (BIIB) -8,2 % Carvana (CVNA) +8,3 % HCA Healthcare (HCA) -7,0 % Dell Technologies (DELL) +7,1 % Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) -6,8 % Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +6,8 % Stryker Corp (SYK) -6,1 %
Daniel Marván
Fio banka, a.s.
Prohlášení
Shares of CrowdStrike Holdings (NASDAQ:CRWD | CRWD Price Prediction) are up 11% to $207.71 in Tuesday midday trading, leading a broad cybersecurity rally as cooler-than-expected June inflation data lifts high-multiple tech. The NASDAQ 100 is up 1.21% on the session, with rate-sensitive software names capturing outsized inflows.
Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) shares are climbing 7%, while Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) shares are up 4%. The First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF (NASDAQ:CIBR) is rising 3%, confirming that the move is sector-wide rather than name-specific.
Cool CPI Fuels a Sector-Wide Risk-On Bid To be direct with readers: there’s no fresh company-specific catalyst for CrowdStrike today. Tuesday’s cooler June Consumer Price Index (CPI) print pulled forward rate-cut expectations, and high-beta, momentum-heavy names like CrowdStrike tend to outrun peers on days like this. CrowdStrike stock had also traded softer recently, setting up a snap-back bounce as buyers stepped in.
Several stale items making the rounds have been misread as today’s trigger. CrowdStrike’s 4-for-1 stock split took effect July 2, its strong fiscal Q1 2027 earnings beat was reported back on June 3, and Morgan Stanley’s Overweight note from around July 9 actually trimmed its target to $172. Those explain the multi-week run-up, not the Tuesday pop.
On the insider front, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz’s early-July share sale was a routine, pre-planned 10b5-1 transaction, so read it as a scheduled, mechanical transaction.
CrowdStrike’s Peers Ride the Same Wave Palo Alto Networks and Fortinet shares are participating in the same risk-on rotation. Palo Alto Networks stock is riding a 25% one-month gain, backed by 31% revenue growth and a 60% jump in Next-Generation Security annual recurring revenue (ARR) in its most recent quarter. Fortinet stock has been the year’s standout on returns, up 109% year to date after a Q1 FY2026 blowout that featured 31% billings growth tied to AI and operational technology demand.
The CIBR ETF is a simple way to see the correlation. Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike, and Fortinet combine for 24% of the fund’s net assets, with Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike each exceeding 8% weight. That concentration cuts both ways: it magnifies sector rallies, but it also means that the ETF isn’t leveraged and carries real single-name risk if any of the top three cracks.
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The Valuation Debate Is the Real Story The tension for CrowdStrike investors is between rich multiples and long-term cybersecurity tailwinds from enterprise AI adoption. CrowdStrike stock trades at a forward P/E ratio of 152x against a 52-week range of $85.68 to $209.50. Palo Alto Networks shares carry a trailing P/E ratio of 291x, while Fortinet stock sits at a comparatively tame 57x.
The bulls can point to durable AI-driven security demand, platform leadership, and the fact that CrowdStrike stock is up 60% year to date with fundamental support: eight consecutive EPS beats and raised FY2027 guidance. The bears could counter that these multiples need continued big growth surprises to hold. Prediction sentiment currently reads bearish with a composite score of 34.25 on CrowdStrike, while Palo Alto Networks and Fortinet register neutral.
Given the tight correlation across these names, position sizing matters. Investors adding exposure here should keep in mind that a broad-market risk-off day can unwind sector-wide gains just as quickly.
What to Watch Now Watch for whether CrowdStrike stock can hold above $205 into the close, a level that could confirm the breakout rather than indicate a one-day squeeze.
The next scheduled catalyst is CrowdStrike’s Q2 FY2027 earnings report, and any Federal Reserve commentary this week could either extend or fade Tuesday’s rate-cut trade.
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CrowdStrike stock continued its recent rally today, July 14, and is slowly nearing its all-time high of $209.55. It has jumped by 80% in the last six months, bringing its valuation to over $212 billion.
CRWD and other top cybersecurity companies like Fortinet, SentinelOne, and Palo Alto Networks have also soared. The general thesis is that the rise in AI agents will lead to more demand for cybersecurity spending. Still, there are some reasons why the stock is due for a reversal.
One technical reason why the CRWD stock may reverse soon is known as mean reversion. This is a technical concept where stocks and other assets reverses and returns to their historical averages over time.
In CrowdStrike’s case, the stock has jumped to $208.8, which is much higher than the 50-day moving average of $167 and the 200-day level of $133. As such, there is a risk that it may reverse and move towards these averages.
This reversal may happen before or after its earnings on August 26. It may also happen after other top cybersecurity companies publish their financial results.
CRWD stock chart | Source: TradingView
The other technical risk is that the stock is forming a bearish divergence pattern. This is a situation where an asset is rising while the top oscillators are moving downwards.
In this case, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has dropped from a high of 86 to the current 68. Also, the Percentage Price Oscillator (PPO) formed a bearish crossover and is still pointing downwards. In most cases, an asset normally retreats after forming a bearish divergence.
CRWD stock chart | Source: TradingView
Meanwhile, data shows that CrowdStrike is a highly overvalued company. SeekingAlpha data shows that the company has a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 152, higher than the technology sector median of 24.
With its growth metrics included, the company has a forward PEG ratio of 5.40, which is also higher than the sector median of 1.3. These valuation multiples likely explain why analysts are less optimistic about the company.
Data shows that several analysts have lowered their targets recently. Rosenblatt Securities lowered the target from $206.25 to $206, while Needham slashed it to $235. Benchmark’s Yi Fu Lee lowered the target to $230. While these targets are higher than the current price, they point to marginal gains from the current level.
Analysts expect the company's annual revenue to grow by 23% to $5.9 billion this year, followed by another increase to $6.91 billion next year. The company has also continued to deliver solid profit growth. Despite these strong fundamentals, its valuation and technical indicators suggest the stock could face a near-term pullback.
READ MORE: CrowdStrike shares drop on ARR shortfall despite strong quarterly results
Americké akciové trhy během probíhajícího obchodování převážně rostou, k čemuž přispívají mírnější data o americké inflaci, která oslabují obavy z brzkého zvyšování úrokových sazeb.
Zatímco technologický Nasdaq Composite posiluje o 1,01 % na 26134,09 bodu a širší S&P 500 si připisuje 0,4 % na úroveň 7545,34 bodu, index Dow Jones mírně ztrácí 0,14 % na 52422,92 bodu. Dobrou náladu na trhu podporují solidní výsledky velkých bank na začátku výsledkové sezóny a oživení u výrobců čipů, a to i přes prudký pád akcií International Business Machines Corp (IBM).
Mezi jednotlivými odvětvími indexu S&P 500 vykazují nejsilnější výkon informační technologie s růstem o 1,4 %, následované komunikačními službami, které si připisují 1 % a základními materiály s drobným ziskem 0,2 %. Naopak největší ztráty utrpěla zdravotní péče, která odepisuje 1,7 %. Oslabuje také nezbytná spotřeba o 1,1 % a reality, které klesají o 0,5 %.
V čele růstu stojí společnost Crowdstrike Holdings (CRWD), jejíž akcie posilují o 11 %. Výrazně se daří také Monolithic Power Systems (MPWR) a Goldman Sachs Group (GS), které shodně připisují 7,7 %. Dobře si vede také Dell Technologies (DELL) o 7,2 % a Palo Alto Networks (PANW) s růstem o 6,8 %. Na druhé straně zažívá propad o 25 % společnost IBM (IBM) kvůli slabším tržbám. Výrazně oslabují také HCA Healthcare (HCA) o 7,0 %, GE HealthCare Technologies (GEHC) o 6,7 %, Biogen (BIIB) o 6,6 % a Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) se ztrátou 5,8 %.
Nižší inflační tlaky tlačí dolů výnosy desetiletých amerických vládních dluhopisů, které klesají o čtyři bazické body na 4,58 %. Americký dolar v reakci na data oslabuje, takže euro vůči němu zpevňuje o 0,4 % na 1,1427 dolaru a britská libra posiluje o 0,2 % na 1,3381 dolaru, přičemž japonský jen roste rovněž o 0,2 % na 162,18 jenu za dolar. Na komoditním trhu se daří ropě i drahým kovům. Severoamerická lehká ropa WTI přidává 1,3 % na 79,12 dolaru za barel a spotové zlato roste o 1,4 % na 4058,60 dolaru za unci. V zelených číslech se pohybuje také Bitcoin, který posiluje o 3,9 % na 64556,63 dolaru.
Index Dow Jones -0,14 % na 52422,92 b.
S&P 500 +0,4 % na 7545,34 b.
Nasdaq Composite +1,01 % na 26134,09 b.
Index S&P 500 +0,4 % na 7545,34 b. Nejsilnější sektory S&P Změna Nejslabší sektory S&P Změna Informační technologie +1,4 % Zdravotní péče -1,7 % Komunikační služby +1 % Nezbytná spotřeba -1,1 % Základní materiály +0,2 % Reality -0,5 % Nejsilnější akcie S&P Změna Nejslabší akcie S&P Změna Crowdstrike Holdings (CRWD) +11 % IBM (IBM) -25 % Monolithic Power Systems (MPWR) +7,7 % HCA Healthcare (HCA) -7,0 % Goldman Sachs Group (GS) +7,7 % GE HealthCare Technologies (GEHC) -6,7 % Dell Technologies (DELL) +7,2 % Biogen (BIIB) -6,6 % Palo Alto Networks (PANW) +6,8 % Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) -5,8 %
Daniel Marván, Fio banka, a.s.
Key Takeaways CrowdStrike is expanding Falcon Flex adoption, though its revenue growth has moderated in recent years.Cisco is gaining traction in AI security with new products, firewall growth and expanding customer adoption.CSCO trades at a much lower forward sales multiple than CrowdStrike, offering a more attractive valuation. CrowdStrike (CRWD - Free Report) and Cisco Systems (CSCO - Free Report) are well-known players in the cybersecurity domain. While CrowdStrike specializes in endpoint protection and extended detection and response, offering AI-native cloud security through its Falcon platform, Cisco Systems is growing its presence based on Threat Intelligence, Detection and Response offerings, which include the offerings from Splunk and Network Security.
Both CRWD and CSCO are riding the key industry trends, driven by the mounting incidents of credential theft, remote desktop protocol breaches and social engineering-based strikes by malicious actors. However, from an investment point of view, one stock offers a more favorable outlook than the other right now. Let’s break down their fundamentals, growth prospects, market challenges and valuation to determine which stock offers a more compelling investment case.
The Case for CrowdStrike StockCrowdStrike provides its cybersecurity services mainly through its Falcon platform. CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform is renowned for being the industry’s first multi-tenant, cloud native, intelligent security solution. The Falcon platform helps secure workloads across on-premise, cloud-based and virtualized environments running on several endpoints, such as desktops, laptops, servers, virtual machines and IoT devices.
CrowdStrike’s cloud-based Falcon platform currently provides 33 cloud modules via a software-as-a-service subscription model that is categorized under three categories: Endpoint Security, Security & IT Operations and Threat Intelligence. The share of subscription-based sales to CrowdStrike’s total revenues grew from 72% in fiscal 2017 to 95% in fiscal 2026.
CrowdStrike’s Falcon Flex subscription model is becoming an important driver of its growth. Falcon Flex makes it easier for customers to access multiple modules of the Falcon platform through a single contract. This makes it easier for customers to deploy additional security products over time and expand their use of the Falcon platform, which has now become the company’s primary go-to-market model.
In the first quarter of fiscal 2027, Annual recurring revenue (ARR) from Flex accounts crossed $1.9 billion, up more than 99% year over year, which shows strong adoption across enterprise customers. In the first quarter of fiscal 2027, CrowdStrike added more than 300 Flex customers and ended the first quarter with over 1,900 customers who have adopted Falcon Flex.
However, CrowdStrike’s recent quarterly reports have shown a deceleration in its growth rate. The company's revenue growth, while still robust, is not as explosive as in previous years. CrowdStrike had enjoyed more than 35% year-over-year top-line growth till fiscal 2024. The growth rate decelerated to 29% in fiscal 2025 and to 22% in fiscal 2026. For fiscal 2027, CrowdStrike expects total revenues to be in the range of $5.915 billion to $5.959 billion. This indicates that the top-line growth is expected to stay around 23% to 24%, which is way lower than the explosive growth enjoyed by the company in the previous years.
The Case for CSCO StockCisco Systems' security business is witnessing strong momentum. The company's core security portfolio, excluding Splunk, delivered double-digit order growth, while Firewall orders grew at a double-digit rate in the third quarter of fiscal 2026. Management expects the organic Cisco security business to approach double-digit revenue growth by the end of fiscal 2026.
Cisco is also expanding its AI security offerings. During the quarter, more than 1,000 new customers purchased products such as Secure Access, XDR, Hypershield and AI Defense, bringing the total number of new customers for these offerings to about 5,000 since launch. The company also expanded its Secure AI Factory with NVIDIA to help customers deploy AI securely across their infrastructure. Cisco introduced Zero Trust Access for AI Agents, launched DefenseClaw to protect AI agents from attacks and announced plans to acquire Galileo and Astrix to strengthen AI identity, access management and behavior monitoring.
Demand for AI is increasing the need for stronger cybersecurity. More companies are looking to secure AI applications and protect their data and infrastructure. Cisco believes this trend will support demand for its newer security products. The company expects to add more than 1,000 new Splunk customers in fiscal 2026. Robust adoption of the newer offerings, along with the planned acquisitions, should further strengthen CSCO’s security business.
The above-mentioned factors show that Cisco's newer security products are gaining customers, while its firewall business continues to perform well. If demand remains strong, CSCO's security business could become a bigger contributor to the company's overall growth over the next few quarters.
CRWD vs. CSCO: Earnings Estimate TrendThe earnings estimate revision trend for the two companies reflects that analysts are turning more bullish toward CSCO.
CRWD Earnings Estimate Revision Trend
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
CSCO Earnings Estimate Revision Trend
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
CRWD vs. CSCO: Price Performance and ValuationYear to date, shares of CRWD and CSCO have surged 60% and 54.5%, respectively.
CRWD Vs. CSCO: YTD Price Return Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Currently, CSCO is trading at a forward sales multiple of 6.96X, significantly lower than CRWD’s forward sales multiple of 29.37X. CSCO’s reasonable valuation makes it more attractive for investors looking for value and stability.
CRWD vs. CSCO: Forward 12-Month P/S Ratio
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Conclusion: Buy CSCO, Hold CRWD Right NowBoth CrowdStrike and Cisco Systems are key players in the cybersecurity space, but CrowdStrike is witnessing a slowdown in its sales growth. In contrast, Cisco Systems’ strong security portfolio, driven by robust adoption of its AI security offerings is aiding its top-line growth. Cisco Systems’ reasonable valuation offers some downside protection as well, making the stock an attractive buy, particularly for investors seeking exposure to cybersecurity growth at a fair price.
Currently, Cisco Systems sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), making the stock a stronger pick over CrowdStrike, which has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Few cybersecurity companies have created as much value for investors as CrowdStrike.
Over the past decade, the company has evolved from an endpoint security provider into one of the world's leading cybersecurity platforms. Along the way, it became a trusted vendor for enterprises and a standout performer in the software sector.
That success naturally raises an important question for investors today: Could SentinelOne (S +3.80%) replicate CrowdStrike's strategy and deliver similarly impressive returns?
Image source: Getty Images.
CrowdStrike's success story is bigger than endpoint security Many investors still associate CrowdStrike with endpoint security, which protects laptops, servers, and other devices from cyberthreats. But endpoint security wasn't the company's ultimate destination. It was the starting point.
CrowdStrike used its endpoint security products to win customers, then expanded those relationships by offering additional products, including cloud security, identity protection, threat intelligence, security operations, and data analytics.
Over time, customers adopted more of CrowdStrike's products, spent more money on its platform, and became increasingly dependent on its ecosystem. That strategy turned CrowdStrike into much more than a cybersecurity vendor. It became a security platform. And platform companies often enjoy some of the most attractive economics in software. They generate recurring revenue, deepen customer relationships over time, and benefit from their opportunities to sell additional services to their established customers.
Interestingly, SentinelOne appears to be pursuing a remarkably similar strategy.
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SentinelOne is trying to build its own platform Like CrowdStrike, SentinelOne initially made its name in endpoint security. Today, however, management is building something much broader.
The company's Singularity platform now includes cloud security, identity protection, security analytics, data capabilities, and AI-powered security tools. Rather than focusing on solving a single cybersecurity problem, SentinelOne aims to provide a central platform to help organizations manage cybersecurity across their operations.
That distinction matters. A company that sells one product must constantly find new customers to grow. A platform company can grow both by attracting new customers and selling more services to existing ones.
AI could make this opportunity even bigger The timing may also work in SentinelOne's favor.
Artificial intelligence is creating one of the largest technological shifts in decades. Businesses are rapidly adopting AI tools, assistants, and autonomous agents to improve productivity and automate tasks.
But every AI deployment creates new security challenges. Companies must protect the sensitive data that flows through AI systems. They must secure AI-powered applications and monitor increasingly complex digital environments.
As AI adoption accelerates, cybersecurity becomes even more important. That's where SentinelOne's platform approach could prove particularly valuable.
The company isn't simply helping customers defend against new threats. It is also using AI to improve cybersecurity itself. Its Purple AI platform -- its agentic AI service -- helps security teams investigate threats, analyze data, and respond to incidents more efficiently.
In other words, AI is increasing the need for robust cybersecurity tools while also making SentinelOne's products more capable.
CrowdStrike still has a significant head start Of course, investors should not ignore the challenges ahead for SentinelOne.
CrowdStrike remains the larger company by a wide margin. It generates more revenue, serves more enterprise customers, and enjoys stronger brand recognition. For perspective, CrowdStrike generated $1.4 billion in revenue in its latest quarter -- about 5 times as much as SentinelOne's $277 million.
For many chief information security officers, CrowdStrike is already a trusted and familiar choice. That reputation matters. When organizations evaluate cybersecurity vendors, they often prefer proven platforms with established track records. CrowdStrike's scale, ecosystem, and customer relationships give it meaningful advantages.
SentinelOne still has some work to do in order to reach that level of trust.
What does it mean for investors? To be fair, investors don't need SentinelOne to become the next CrowdStrike for the stock to be a profitable holding. The more important question is whether SentinelOne can become one of the handful of cybersecurity platforms that enterprises trust with their most critical systems.
CrowdStrike has already shown how valuable its business model can be. SentinelOne is now attempting a similar transition from a cybersecurity product company to a cybersecurity platform company.
Whether it will ultimately succeed remains uncertain. But if the company continues expanding its platform, growing customer adoption, and capitalizing on the growing importance of AI-driven security, it could become a major cybersecurity platform.
CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD - Free Report) has been one of the most searched-for stocks on Zacks.com lately. So, you might want to look at some of the facts that could shape the stock's performance in the near term.
Shares of this cloud-based security company have returned +9.7% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +4.3% change. The Zacks Security industry, to which CrowdStrike belongs, has gained 18.5% over this period. Now the key question is: Where could the stock be headed in the near term?
Although media reports or rumors about a significant change in a company's business prospects usually cause its stock to trend and lead to an immediate price change, there are always certain fundamental factors that ultimately drive the buy-and-hold decision.
Earnings Estimate RevisionsRather than focusing on anything else, we at Zacks prioritize evaluating the change in a company's earnings projection. This is because we believe the fair value for its stock is determined by the present value of its future stream of earnings.
Our analysis is essentially based on how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to take the latest business trends into account. When earnings estimates for a company go up, the fair value for its stock goes up as well. And when a stock's fair value is higher than its current market price, investors tend to buy the stock, resulting in its price moving upward. Because of this, empirical studies indicate a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and short-term stock price movements.
CrowdStrike is expected to post earnings of $0.29 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +26.1%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -2.3%.
For the current fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $1.23 points to a change of +32.3% from the prior year. Over the last 30 days, this estimate has changed +1.9%.
For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $1.57 indicates a change of +27% from what CrowdStrike is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has changed +0.2%.
Having a strong externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, offers a more conclusive picture of a stock's price direction in the near term, since it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. Due to the size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, CrowdStrike is rated Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:
12 Month EPS
Revenue Growth ForecastWhile earnings growth is arguably the most superior indicator of a company's financial health, nothing happens as such if a business isn't able to grow its revenues. After all, it's nearly impossible for a company to increase its earnings for an extended period without increasing its revenues. So, it's important to know a company's potential revenue growth.
In the case of CrowdStrike, the consensus sales estimate of $1.44 billion for the current quarter points to a year-over-year change of +23.2%. The $5.94 billion and $7.23 billion estimates for the current and next fiscal years indicate changes of +23.5% and +21.6%, respectively.
Last Reported Results and Surprise HistoryCrowdStrike reported revenues of $1.39 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +25.6%. EPS of $0.28 for the same period compares with $0.18 a year ago.
Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.36 billion, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +1.7%. The EPS surprise was +2.8%.
The company beat consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters. The company topped consensus revenue estimates each time over this period.
ValuationWithout considering a stock's valuation, no investment decision can be efficient. In predicting a stock's future price performance, it's crucial to determine whether its current price correctly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects.
Comparing the current value of a company's valuation multiples, such as its price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), to its own historical values helps ascertain whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, whereas comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of how reasonable its stock price is.
The Zacks Value Style Score (part of the Zacks Style Scores system), which pays close attention to both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics to grade stocks from A to F (an A is better than a B; a B is better than a C; and so on), is pretty helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.
CrowdStrike is graded F on this front, indicating that it is trading at a premium to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.
ConclusionThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about CrowdStrike. However, its Zacks Rank #3 does suggest that it may perform in line with the broader market in the near term.
While stock splits don't change a company's fundamentals, they can make shares more attractive to retail investors. With an accompanying lower stock price, splits can make it easier for investors to buy shares.
They also tend to create some excitement. In fact, ahead of its 4-for-1 split on July 2, CrowdStrike (CRWD +0.39%) shares rose six straight trading sessions, and rose in the session after its split as well.
The question, though, is: Now that CrowdStrike has split its stock, does it look like a buy?
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A market leader with strong momentum When it comes to endpoint cybersecurity, CrowdStrike is widely considered the preeminent player in the space. Organizations use its Falcon platform to help protect their networks and their endpoints, such as smartphones and computers, from cyberattacks. For 2026, Gartner ranked it as the leader in endpoint security for the seventh straight year, with it being the top company in both its ability to execute and completeness of vision.
The company has been benefiting from the trend in cybersecurity of organizations looking to consolidate with one vendor to improve overall effectiveness and lower costs. As a result, its next-generation cybersecurity modules, such as Cloud Security, Identity Security, and Next-Gen SIEM (security information and event management), have been seeing strong traction. AI detection and response (AIDR) is also an emerging area of growth, with its annual recurring revenue (ARR) last quarter skyrocketing 250% sequentially and it having a pipeline of over $50 million.
One of the key parts of CrowdStrike's strategy has been the introduction of its Falcon Flex licensing model, which lets customers access its entire cybersecurity portfolio while only paying for the modules they use. This has helped increase module deployment while also giving it an ARR lift. The model has been a hit with customers, who have been expanding and re-Flexing into higher usage plans. Last quarter, the company said that the average Falcon Flex customer had more than $1 million ARR, and that it saw a 26% uplift when customers re-Flex.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
A high valuation While CrowdStrike is a clear market leader with strong momentum, the one big knock on the stock is its valuation. The stock trades at a whopping forward price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 32 and a forward P/E of over 150 based on analysts' estimates for its fiscal 2027 (ending January 2027). That's very expensive for a company that is growing its revenue in the low- to mid-20% range.
While I like CrowdStrike the company, the cybersecurity stock's valuation is just too rich for my blood.
CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD 5.85%) has been a winner for investors in recent years -- over the past three, it's soared more than 400%. This is as the cybersecurity giant has increased revenue and benefited from renewed interest in keeping systems, networks, and data safe. In a world where artificial intelligence (AI) is more regularly used, threats are multiplying, and customers are turning to CrowdStrike for protection.
The company also demonstrated its strength and the fidelity of its customers by facing an enormous challenge two years ago -- the world's biggest information technology outage -- and going on to grow. CrowdStrike recently announced record new annual recurring revenue and record free cash flow.
So it's no surprise that CrowdStrike stock continued its gains into this year and now is up 69% for 2026. With a stock price trading at more than $700 just a few months ago, the company announced a stock split -- a move to bring down the per-share price -- and completed the operation at the start of this month.
At the new, lower price, is CrowdStrike a buy? Let's find out.
Image source: Getty Images.
What's a stock split? First, a quick note about stock splits. While they do bring the per-share price down, they don't alter the total value of the company or anything fundamental. The purpose is to make a particular stock more accessible to a wider range of investors -- those who may not have several hundred dollars or a thousand dollars to invest. Fractional shares exist, but they aren't available at every brokerage, so they may not be an option for some investors.
A stock split involves offering more shares of a particular stock to current shareholders. This brings down the value of each share, but the value of the shareholder's entire holding remains the same. The change in the price depends on the ratio of the split.
CrowdStrike completed a 4-for-1 split on July 2, bringing the stock down to about $190.
Since stock splits don't change fundamentals, they don't actually make a stock cheaper in terms of valuation -- so if you consider a stock pricey right before such a move, it will continue to be pricey after the operation.
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Stock splits and performance All of this means that, though stock splits may make it easier to get in on a certain stock, they aren't a reason to buy -- and therefore, they don't have any real impact on stock performance. That said, when management decides on a split, it suggests confidence about the future, with the idea that the stock may go on to gain again from its new lower price. So we might see this as positive as long as the rest of the picture is bright.
CrowdStrike's one big weakness is that the stock is expensive, trading at 161x forward earnings estimates. But in certain cases, when considering high-growth tech stocks, it may be worth looking beyond valuation: These metrics don't measure growth a few years down the road, and this could change the whole picture.
A key transition point for CrowdStrike CrowdStrike is a particularly good example of this because the company may be in the early stages of its growth. Today, the cybersecurity market has reached a period of transition, as I mentioned briefly above. The proliferation of AI is fantastic in many ways, but one negative aspect is that it's leading to additional cybersecurity threats.
A low single-digit percent of organizations have a significant cybersecurity strategy right now, according to CrowdStrike. This opens up an enormous growth opportunity for the cybersecurity giant.
Meanwhile, CrowdStrike also benefits from AI as it incorporates the technology in its Falcon cybersecurity system, so that it can better anticipate threats and offer a solution that's perfectly adapted to each customer's needs. Falcon offers many modules, each specializing in a certain area, and module adoption rates have been strong. For example, the adoption rate for six or more modules climbed to 51% in the latest quarter.
So, is CrowdStrike a buy now? If you're a value investor, the pricey nature of this stock means it's not the right choice for you. But if you're a growth investor who doesn't mind looking a few years down the road to revenue growth potential, CrowdStrike is a great stock to buy and hold.
In this week's Tech Corner, George Tsilis breaks down how CrowdStrike (CRWD) is benefiting from rising demand for cloud security, AI-driven threat detection, and next-generation SIEM solutions, while highlighting the company's strong earnings and accelerating growth. George also examines the key risks for investors, including CrowdStrike's premium valuation, profitability concerns, and growing competition in cybersecurity.
CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD - Free Report) closed at $191.24 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.74% move from the prior day. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.28% for the day. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 1.09%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.2%.
The stock of cloud-based security company has risen by 20.71% in the past month, leading the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 1.22% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.64%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of CrowdStrike Holdings in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is expected to report EPS of $0.29, up 26.09% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the latest consensus estimate predicts the revenue to be $1.44 billion, indicating a 23.19% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
Regarding the entire year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates forecast earnings of $1.23 per share and revenue of $5.94 billion, indicating changes of +32.26% and +23.49%, respectively, compared to the previous year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for CrowdStrike Holdings. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 1.34% increase. At present, CrowdStrike Holdings boasts a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
In the context of valuation, CrowdStrike Holdings is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 157.78. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 50.32, so one might conclude that CrowdStrike Holdings is trading at a premium comparatively.
Investors should also note that CRWD has a PEG ratio of 5.69 right now. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. Security stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 3.31 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Security industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 169, putting it in the bottom 32% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
Some companies create so much value over the long term that their stock price rises into the hundreds or even thousands of dollars, making it hard for retail investors to purchase one full share. Companies can rectify this by executing a stock split, which increases the number of shares in circulation and reduces the price per share by a proportionate amount.
At the close of trading on Wednesday, July 1, cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike (CRWD +2.80%) executed a 4-for-1 stock split, which reduced its share price from $767 to $194. Splits don't change the underlying value of the company, but it's now much more affordable for investors with small portfolios to buy one full share in this cybersecurity leader.
That said, CrowdStrike stock has already soared over 65% this year, and I think its sky-high valuation could limit near-term upside. Here's why investors might want to think twice before buying it.
Image source: Getty Images.
CrowdStrike is a leader in the cybersecurity industry The cybersecurity industry used to be highly fragmented, meaning enterprises had to buy products from multiple vendors to achieve an adequate level of protection. This left gaping holes in their defenses because these programs rarely interacted well with each other. CrowdStrike's Falcon platform is one of the industry's few all-in-one solutions, protecting cloud networks, employee identities, endpoints, and everything in between.
Falcon uses artificial intelligence (AI) to automate threat detection and incident response, giving enterprises more time to focus on their core operations. Customers can choose from 33 Falcon modules (products) to build an optimal cybersecurity solution, and with the Flex subscription option, they can use a fixed annual budget to switch among modules as their needs change.
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CrowdStrike is working to protect customers adopting AI, as AI creates new attack surfaces for hackers to exploit. Falcon's AI Detection and Response (AIDR) module, for instance, uncovers unauthorized AI agents or software apps running within an enterprise network. It also tracks all inputs and outputs across trusted AI apps, so it can detect anyone trying to orchestrate a breach by entering malicious prompts.
During CrowdStrike's fiscal 2027 first quarter (ended April 30), AIDR experienced an eye-popping 250% increase in annual recurring revenue (ARR) from the prior quarter, indicating rapid adoption.
CrowdStrike is generating record amounts of revenue CrowdStrike had $5.5 billion in total ARR at the end of the first quarter, which was up 24% year over year. Falcon Flex was the key growth driver, with its ARR doubling to $1.9 billion. Simply put, it appears the flexible subscription model is resonating with both new and existing customers.
CrowdStrike's first-quarter results were so strong that management increased its full-year ARR guidance by $50 million to $6.54 billion (at the midpoint of the forecasted range). However, that doesn't necessarily mean investors should rush out and buy its stock right now.
The stock split doesn't make CrowdStrike a buy While the recent stock split made a single share of CrowdStrike more affordable, its valuation is all that really matters. The stock is currently trading at a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 38.7, its highest level since going public in 2019. That makes CrowdStrike substantially more expensive than each of its main rivals in the cybersecurity space.
CRWD PS Ratio data by YCharts
Therefore, I think further upside in CrowdStrike stock will be limited in the near term, so investors looking for gains over the next few months might be left disappointed. However, there might be a case for positive returns in the longer run based on management's 10-year forecast, which suggests the company's ARR could grow to $20 billion by fiscal 2036. The stock is far more attractive on a forward basis if we assume that goal becomes reality.
There could be upside to that ARR figure, because CrowdStrike believes its addressable market in the cybersecurity industry will grow to $325 billion over the long term. Given how fast technologies like AI are moving, I won't be surprised if that opportunity becomes even larger over time.
In summary, investors will have to adopt a very long-term outlook if they want to maximize their chances of earning a positive return on CrowdStrike stock, as its current valuation is almost certainly unsustainable.
CrowdStrike's Falcon Flex adoption is strengthening recurring revenue growth, but premium valuation and slowing sales growth warrant a cautious approach.
On July 2, cybersecurity leader CrowdStrike (CRWD +0.52%) underwent a 4-for-1 stock split, reducing its share price to $193. The day before, the stock closed around $773 per share, and each stockholder of record received four shares for each share they held.
The price rose after the split took effect, up about 2% to $196 during the trading day. That's not unusual -- splits generally result in the stock price popping, both before and shortly after the split.
Since the split was announced on June 3, CrowdStrike's stock is up about 8%. This is because investors wanted to buy in to get the split, and they anticipate it getting a lift from its new, more accessible stock price.
Image source: Getty Images.
But does it really change anything for the stock beyond this short-term spike?
CrowdStrike stock is not cheap The stock has had a good year, up about 66% year to date on a split-adjusted basis.
It has been fueled by excellent performance. In the latest quarter, revenue rose 26% to $1.39 billion, and CrowdStrike posted net income of $28 million, up from a $104 million loss the same quarter a year ago. Its net new annual recurring revenue (ARR) jumped 32%, and it posted record free cash flow.
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Management raised its revenue and earnings guidance for fiscal 2027 and lifted its outlook for net new ARR by 520 basis points.
The company has great momentum, and the stock split should make it more accessible to more investors who can now more easily buy full shares.
But the concern is its valuation. CrowdStrike has a sky-high price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 401 but a more reasonable forward P/E of 39. I do think the stock is a buy, but it might be wise to wait for the split spike to subside and buy at a lower price.
Dave Kovaleski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends CrowdStrike. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
It has been about a month since the last earnings report for CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD - Free Report) . Shares have added about 7.9% in that time frame, outperforming the S&P 500.
But investors have to be wondering, will the recent positive trend continue leading up to its next earnings release, or is CrowdStrike due for a pullback? Well, first let's take a quick look at the latest earnings report in order to get a better handle on the recent catalysts for CrowdStrike before we dive into how investors and analysts have reacted as of late.
CrowdStrike Q1 Earnings Surpass Estimates on ARR Strength, AI DemandCrowdStrike reported non-GAAP earnings per share of $1.10 for the first quarter of fiscal 2027, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.8%. The bottom line increased 50.7% on a year-over-year basis.
The company’s first-quarter revenues of $1,385.63 million surpassed the consensus estimate by 1.7%. The top line increased 25.6% year over year.
CRWD’s Top-Line DetailsSubscription revenues jumped 25.7% year over year to $1,320.85 million. Professional services revenues increased 23% year over year to $64.78 million.
As of April 30, 2026, annual recurring revenues (ARR) were $5.51 billion, up 24% year over year. The company added $255.8 million to its net new ARR in the reported quarter.
As of April 30, 2026, CrowdStrike’s subscription customers, who adopted six or more cloud modules, represented 51% of total subscription customers. Customers that adopted seven or more cloud modules accounted for 35% of the total, while those with eight or more cloud modules represented 25%.
CrowdStrike’s Operating DetailsCrowdStrike’s gross profit increased 27.1% to $1,089.8 million in the fiscal first quarter from $857.1 million in the year-ago quarter. The non-GAAP gross margin increased 100 basis points to 78.7%.
The non-GAAP subscription gross profit rose 27.1% year over year to $1.07 billion, while the gross margin expanded 100 basis points (bps) year over year to 81%. The non-GAAP professional gross profit increased 29.5% to $21.2 million, while the gross margin expanded 160 bps to 32.7% on a year-over-year basis.
Non-GAAP sales and marketing expenses jumped 12.1% year over year to $413.1 million. Non-GAAP research and development expenses climbed 25.3% year over year to $273.4 million. Non-GAAP general and administrative expenses increased 12% year over year to $77.7 million.
Non-GAAP income from operations was $325.7 million, up from $201.1 million in the year-ago quarter. The non-GAAP operating margin expanded 530 basis points year over year to 24%.
CrowdStrike’s Balance Sheet & Cash FlowAs of April 30, 2026, cash and cash equivalents were $4.55 billion.
In the fiscal first quarter, CrowdStrike generated operating and free cash flows of $590.9 million and $468.5 million, respectively.
CrowdStrike Offers Q2 and FY2027 GuidanceThe company updates its fiscal second-quarter 2027 guidance, including total revenues of $1.43-$1.44 billion and ARR of $5.792-$5.794 billion.
Non-GAAP earnings are expected in the range of $1.16 to $1.17 per share.
The company also raised its fiscal 2027 net new ARR growth guidance by 520 basis points at the midpoint and updated its full-year guidance to include total revenues of $5.91-$5.95 billion and ARR of $6.53-$6.55 billion.
For fiscal 2027, Non-GAAP earnings are expected in the range of $4.88 to $4.96 per share.
How Have Estimates Been Moving Since Then?It turns out, estimates revision have trended upward during the past month.
The consensus estimate has shifted -11.8% due to these changes.
VGM ScoresAt this time, CrowdStrike has a great Growth Score of A, though it is lagging a lot on the Momentum Score front with an F. Following the exact same course, the stock has a score of F on the value side, putting it in the lowest quintile for value investors.
Overall, the stock has an aggregate VGM Score of D. If you aren't focused on one strategy, this score is the one you should be interested in.
OutlookEstimates have been broadly trending upward for the stock, and the magnitude of these revisions indicates a downward shift. Notably, CrowdStrike has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). We expect an in-line return from the stock in the next few months.
Performance of an Industry PlayerCrowdStrike belongs to the Zacks Security industry. Another stock from the same industry, Palo Alto Networks (PANW - Free Report) , has gained 24.6% over the past month. More than a month has passed since the company reported results for the quarter ended April 2026.
Palo Alto reported revenues of $3 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +31.1%. EPS of $0.85 for the same period compares with $0.80 a year ago.
Palo Alto is expected to post earnings of $0.97 per share for the current quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +2.1%. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -6.5%.
Palo Alto has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) based on the overall direction and magnitude of estimate revisions. Additionally, the stock has a VGM Score of F.
At Wednesday's close, one share of CrowdStrike (CRWD +0.52%) cost $772.74. On Thursday morning, it cost about $193. Nothing about the company changed overnight -- shareholders simply woke up with four times as many shares, each worth a quarter as much. The cybersecurity specialist's first-ever stock split, a 4-for-1 move announced alongside its earnings report in June, took effect with Thursday's trading.
A dramatically lower share price has a way of making a stock feel more affordable. And that feeling invites the classic post-split question: Is CrowdStrike a buy at today's price?
The honest answer starts with an unsatisfying truth: The split itself tells us nothing.
Image source: Getty Images.
What a split does -- and doesn't do CrowdStrike executed the split as a stock dividend, giving investors of record on June 25 three additional shares for every one they owned, distributed after the market closed on July 1. Companies typically do this after a big run-up, partly to make shares feel accessible to smaller investors and employees.
But a split adds no value. The business is worth what it was worth on Wednesday. And with most brokerages now offering fractional shares, the practical benefit of a lower share price is smaller than it once was. At most, a first-ever split reads as a statement of confidence from management -- a signal the company expects its best days to continue. That's nice, but it isn't an investment case.
The investment case has to come from the business and the valuation. So let's look at both.
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What $193 actually buys The good news for would-be buyers is that CrowdStrike's business is genuinely accelerating. Revenue in the company's fiscal first quarter of 2027 (the period ended April 30, 2026) rose 26% year over year to $1.39 billion. That was an acceleration from 23% growth in the prior quarter and 22% growth for all of fiscal 2026.
The demand signals underneath look even better. CrowdStrike added $255.8 million of net new annual recurring revenue during the quarter -- a first-quarter record, and up 32% year over year -- bringing total annual recurring revenue to $5.51 billion, up 24%. When net new recurring revenue grows faster than the existing base, it points to demand that is strengthening, not maturing. Management credits the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, as companies deploying AI need to secure the new systems and data that come with it.
"CrowdStrike is AI security infrastructure, critical to successful AI adoption," said founder and CEO George Kurtz in the company's fiscal first-quarter earnings release.
Profitability is finally showing up, too. CrowdStrike swung to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) net income of $27.8 million in the quarter, compared to a $104.3 million loss a year earlier. Free cash flow hit a record $468 million -- an impressive 34% of revenue. And management raised its full-year outlook, now guiding for about $5.9 billion in revenue, implying roughly 23% growth.
So the business earns high marks. The problem is that the market has known all of this for a while, and it has bid the stock accordingly.
At about $193 per share as of this writing, CrowdStrike trades at more than 150 times the midpoint of management's non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings guidance for fiscal 2027, and at about 33 times this year's expected revenue. On a GAAP basis, the company has only just crossed into profitability -- that $27.8 million of net income came on $1.39 billion of revenue. A multiple like that assumes the current acceleration persists for years while profits scale dramatically the whole way.
So, does a $193 price tag make CrowdStrike a buy? Not on its own. The split changed the share price, not the price of the business -- and the business, as wonderful as it is, still costs as much as it did on Wednesday. And I wouldn't sell a company executing this well. But I also wouldn't start a position just because the sticker looks smaller, either. Personally, I'd wait for the valuation to come down before buying -- whether through a lower stock price or through a few more years of the earnings growth CrowdStrike keeps delivering.
Here is a breakdown of the key catalysts shaping Thursday afternoon’s price action.
CrowdStrike Holdings shares are trending higher. What’s driving CRWD shares up? What the 4-for-1 Stock Split Means for CrowdStrike ShareholdersThursday’s move also comes as CrowdStrike began trading on a split-adjusted basis Thursday morning following its previously announced four-for-one stock split.
Shareholders of record as of June 25 received three additional shares for every share held after the close of business on July 1, with split-adjusted trading beginning Thursday morning.
The split does not change CrowdStrike’s market value or the economic value of investors’ holdings, but it lowers the per-share trading price and increases the number of shares outstanding.
That can matter to investors because a lower nominal share price may make the stock appear more accessible to retail traders and can sometimes improve trading liquidity, even though the company’s underlying fundamentals are unchanged.
CRWD Stock: Critical Levels To WatchFrom a trend perspective, CRWD is extended but still firmly in control: it’s trading about 12.4% above its 20-day SMA ($174.09) and roughly 55.7% above its 200-day SMA ($125.65). The bullish stack of moving averages (20-day above the 50-day, and the 50-day above the 200-day) keeps the longer-term uptrend intact, reinforced by the golden cross that triggered in May.
Momentum is the bigger near-term question, with RSI at 72.82—overbought territory that often signals the move is getting stretched and may need consolidation even if the primary trend stays up. Price is also pressing right up against the top of its 52-week range, which can invite profit-taking and quick pullbacks.
Key Resistance: $196.50 — the 52-week high area where upside attempts can stall as sellers defend the prior peak What Is CrowdStrike and Its Business Model?CrowdStrike is a cloud-native cybersecurity company specializing in security verticals such as endpoint, cloud workload, identity, and security operations. Its core product is the Falcon platform, which aims to give enterprises a unified view to detect and respond to threats across their IT environments.
That positioning matters because security spending tends to be more resilient than many other IT budgets, especially when markets get choppy. The Austin, Texas-based company was founded in 2011 and went public in 2019, and it remains a closely watched bellwether for sentiment in high-growth cybersecurity.
What Would $1,000 Invested in CRWD Be Worth Today?A $1,000 investment in CrowdStrike Holdings on July 2, 2021, would have grown to $3,077 by July 2, 2026 — a 207.7% total return over the five-year period. The stake swung between $373 and more than $3,000 along the way.
The ride included a deep drawdown, with the period’s low arriving on January 6, 2023, and a maximum drawdown of -67.7%. After sitting at $736 on July 5, 2022, the position was $574 on July 3, 2023 before rebounding to $1,514 on July 2, 2024 and $1,951 on July 2, 2025. It crossed $2,000 on June 30, 2025 and reached $3,000 on June 1, 2026.
On an annualized basis, CrowdStrike Holdings returned 25.2% over the period, ahead of the S&P 500’s 11.5% annualized return and the Nasdaq 100’s 14.8%. Among peers, Palo Alto Networks, Inc. was the closest comparison listed, with a 41.4% annualized return.
Today, CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. has a market capitalization of about $199.22 billion.
CRWD Stock Price Action Update for ThursdayCRWD Stock Price Activity: CrowdStrike Holdings shares were up 1.87% at $196.80 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Image: Shutterstock
Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
The CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) stock price chart might appear frightening at face value, given that, as of press time on July 2, it shows a staggering 74.69% decline from $763.14 to $193.18, but the move resulted from a deliberate action by the company.
CrowdStrike stock price one-day chart. Source: Google Specifically, the fall in CRWD shares’ value that can be seen on many quotes available online came from the firm’s decision to execute a 4-for-1 stock split. Indeed, the change in the price matches the alteration in the balance almost exactly and reveals only a minor daily move.
Furthermore, the apparently shocking drop is, on a purely mechanical level, arguably more of a buy signal as it has made owning one or more entire shares easier for new investors, thus helping incentivize participation.
The equity’s July 2 extended-session move – a small but noticeable 0.42% rise to $194 – helps reinforce the case that CRWD might enjoy tailwinds soon after the split officially takes effect with the Thursday morning bell.
Wall Street sets CrowdStrike stock price target for after the stock split Simultaneously, the recent ratings and 12-month price targets issued by prominent Wall Street analysts also help bolster the bullish arguments.
For example, out of the 15 revisions unveiled in the last month, only three position CRWD as a ‘Hold,’ and none provide a ‘Sell’ recommendation.
However, it is also notable that even the ‘Buy’ ratings tend to forecast a pullback following the stock’s relatively steady 68% year-to-date (YTD) rally.
Indeed, among the dozen positive recommendations for CrowdStrike shares, less than half came with price targets higher than the equity’s latest split-adjusted close.
Out of these, Wells Fargo’s (NYSE: WFC) Michael Turrin had the highest adjusted 12-month forecast when, on June 28, he predicted CRWD would rise to $225 for a 16.47% rally.
Still, the average price target Finbold retrieved from the stock analysis platform TipRanks remains above the latest close and, at $196.02 after accounting for the split, represents a 1.47% expected upside.
Featured image via Shutterstock
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CrowdStrike stock NASDAQ:CRWD looked like it had fallen off a cliff on Thursday, with the stock moving from roughly $773 at Wednesday’s close to about $193 on split-adjusted screens.
The scary-looking drop was not a selloff, but a company’s scheduled 4-for-1 stock split taking effect.
Investors who held one share now hold four, each priced at roughly one-quarter of the old level.
It means the total value of the position remains unchanged.
CrowdStrike’s 4-for-1 split took effect on July 2, after the company distributed additional shares following the July 1 close.
Shareholders of record as of June 25 received three extra shares for every one share they already owned, the company said when it reported first-quarter results.
Trading was expected to begin on a split-adjusted basis on July 2.
The math is straightforward as a shareholder with one CrowdStrike share worth about $773 on Wednesday would now hold four shares worth about $193 each, before any normal market moves.
A holding worth $7,730 across 10 shares becomes a holding worth roughly the same amount across 40 shares.
That is why the headline number looks dramatic, but the economics do not. A stock split does not change market capitalisation, ownership percentage, revenue, profit or cash flow.
It simply lowers the per-share price and increases the share count by the same proportion.
Companies often split shares after a strong run to make the stock appear more accessible to retail investors and employees.
MarketWatch said the stock closed at $772.74 on July 1, its fifth straight gain, and was only 1.64% below its 52-week high of $785.66 reached on June 1.
Analysts are not treating the apparent 75% fall as a fundamental event because it is not one. The more important debate is whether CrowdStrike stock can keep growing fast enough to justify a rich valuation.
The bull case remains strong with Wells Fargo’s Michael Turrin raising his price target on CrowdStrike from $500 to $900 while maintaining a Buy rating.
The analyst cited checks that showed enterprise customers were still prioritising platform-based security spending.
The broader analyst backdrop is also constructive.
As per FactSet data, estimates from 47 analysts put CrowdStrike’s average 12-month target at $720.93 before the split adjustment, with forecasts ranging from $413 to $825.
It also showed a Buy consensus across 53 covering analysts, with 41 Buy ratings, 12 Holds and no Sells.
There is still a cautious camp as Bernstein’s Peter Weed kept a Market Perform rating and raised his target to $413 from $368.
The concern is valuation, not the split as TradingKey also noted worries that annual recurring revenue growth could slow below 25% and said the stock was trading at about 137 times forward earnings.
Enforcing continuous in-session protection across any browser on managed and unmanaged devices establishes Falcon Secure Access as the new standard for browser security
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) today announced it has been named Frost & Sullivan’s 2026 Global Enabling Technology Leader in Zero Trust Browser Security.
The browser has become the operating environment for modern work, where employees access email, SaaS applications, collaboration tools, customer data, and AI services. All this activity makes the browser a high-value target for attackers – sitting between users, identities, applications, and sensitive enterprise data. Existing security models either force users into ‘walled garden’ enterprise browsers or rely on high-latency network routing.
Powered by technology from CrowdStrike's acquisition of Seraphic, Falcon Secure Access defines a new model for secure access, enforcing protection directly within any browser runtime. This allows users to work in their browser of choice while eliminating the latency of network routing – turning any browser into a secure enterprise browser without forcing change or slowing productivity.
“This disruptive model redefines browser security, and positions CrowdStrike as a catalyst for change in the global Zero Trust Browser Security market,” the report stated.
"Forcing users into a dedicated browser or routing traffic through a proxy is not a security strategy; it's a tax on productivity," said Elia Zaitsev, chief technology officer, CrowdStrike. "By enforcing protection directly within any browser runtime, Falcon Secure Access delivers the flexibility the workforce demands and the security the business requires. This is browser security built for the modern enterprise."
Combined with technology from CrowdStrike's acquisition of SGNL, Falcon Secure Access advances CrowdStrike's Next-Gen Identity Security strategy, creating a seamless security fabric that protects every interaction from the endpoint, through the browser session, and into the cloud.
Key report findings include:
Making Any Browser a Secure Enterprise Browser
“CrowdStrike delivers unparalleled visibility and control across all browser types, including Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox, and emerging AI browsers.”
A New Model for Security and Productivity
“The cybersecurity industry has long grappled with the challenge of securing browser-based activity without degrading performance or user experience. Falcon Secure Access addresses this challenge through a groundbreaking innovation: a JavaScript runtime security module injected at the engine level, rather than relying on traditional browser extensions.”
Securing Enterprise AI
CrowdStrike secures how GenAI applications and agents are accessed through the browser, preventing shadow AI from scraping or exfiltrating sensitive data. Frost noted how the “ability to secure AI browsers and Electron apps (e.g., VS Code GPT integration) at the engine level addresses blind spots in traditional SASE/CASB models.”
Security Wherever the Workforce Works
CrowdStrike provides protection for contractors and third parties, and everywhere employees work: “Falcon Secure Access secures both managed and unmanaged devices, and supports mobile and desktop environments.”
Unified Architecture
CrowdStrike closes the gaps fragmented security stacks create: “Falcon Secure Access and the Falcon platform deliver on the company’s vision of stopping breaches by integrating with its Zero Trust Score, malware scanning, SaaS Security (SSPM), identity security, and SIEM telemetry.”
To learn more about CrowdStrike’s recognition as Frost & Sullivan’s 2026 Global Enabling Technology Leader in Zero Trust Browser Security, visit here.
About CrowdStrike
CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD), a global cybersecurity leader, has redefined modern security with the world’s most advanced cloud-native platform for protecting critical areas of enterprise risk – endpoints and cloud workloads, identity and data.
Powered by the CrowdStrike Security Cloud and world-class AI, the CrowdStrike Falcon® platform leverages real-time indicators of attack, threat intelligence, evolving adversary tradecraft, and enriched telemetry from across the enterprise to deliver hyper-accurate detections, automated protection and remediation, elite threat hunting, and prioritized observability of vulnerabilities.
Purpose-built in the cloud with a single lightweight-agent architecture, the Falcon platform delivers rapid and scalable deployment, superior protection and performance, reduced complexity, and immediate time-to-value.
CrowdStrike: We stop breaches.
Learn more: https://www.crowdstrike.com/
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CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD - Free Report) is one of the stocks most watched by Zacks.com visitors lately. So, it might be a good idea to review some of the factors that might affect the near-term performance of the stock.
Over the past month, shares of this cloud-based security company have returned -0.8%, compared to the Zacks S&P 500 composite's -1.8% change. During this period, the Zacks Security industry, which CrowdStrike falls in, has gained 12.3%. The key question now is: What could be the stock's future direction?
While media releases or rumors about a substantial change in a company's business prospects usually make its stock 'trending' and lead to an immediate price change, there are always some fundamental facts that eventually dominate the buy-and-hold decision-making.
Revisions to Earnings EstimatesHere at Zacks, we prioritize appraising the change in the projection of a company's future earnings over anything else. That's because we believe the present value of its future stream of earnings is what determines the fair value for its stock.
Our analysis is essentially based on how sell-side analysts covering the stock are revising their earnings estimates to take the latest business trends into account. When earnings estimates for a company go up, the fair value for its stock goes up as well. And when a stock's fair value is higher than its current market price, investors tend to buy the stock, resulting in its price moving upward. Because of this, empirical studies indicate a strong correlation between trends in earnings estimate revisions and short-term stock price movements.
For the current quarter, CrowdStrike is expected to post earnings of $1.17 per share, indicating a change of +25.8% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate has changed -11.8% over the last 30 days.
For the current fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $4.93 points to a change of +32.2% from the prior year. Over the last 30 days, this estimate has changed -8.7%.
For the next fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $6.26 indicates a change of +26.9% from what CrowdStrike is expected to report a year ago. Over the past month, the estimate has changed +1.7%.
With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool -- the Zacks Rank -- is a more conclusive indicator of a stock's near-term price performance, as it effectively harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions. The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) for CrowdStrike.
The chart below shows the evolution of the company's forward 12-month consensus EPS estimate:
12 Month EPS
Projected Revenue GrowthEven though a company's earnings growth is arguably the best indicator of its financial health, nothing much happens if it cannot raise its revenues. It's almost impossible for a company to grow its earnings without growing its revenue for long periods. Therefore, knowing a company's potential revenue growth is crucial.
For CrowdStrike, the consensus sales estimate for the current quarter of $1.44 billion indicates a year-over-year change of +23.2%. For the current and next fiscal years, $5.94 billion and $7.23 billion estimates indicate +23.5% and +21.6% changes, respectively.
Last Reported Results and Surprise HistoryCrowdStrike reported revenues of $1.39 billion in the last reported quarter, representing a year-over-year change of +25.6%. EPS of $1.1 for the same period compares with $0.73 a year ago.
Compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.36 billion, the reported revenues represent a surprise of +1.7%. The EPS surprise was +2.8%.
The company beat consensus EPS estimates in each of the trailing four quarters. The company topped consensus revenue estimates each time over this period.
ValuationNo investment decision can be efficient without considering a stock's valuation. Whether a stock's current price rightly reflects the intrinsic value of the underlying business and the company's growth prospects is an essential determinant of its future price performance.
While comparing the current values of a company's valuation multiples, such as price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-sales (P/S), and price-to-cash flow (P/CF), with its own historical values helps determine whether its stock is fairly valued, overvalued, or undervalued, comparing the company relative to its peers on these parameters gives a good sense of the reasonability of the stock's price.
As part of the Zacks Style Scores system, the Zacks Value Style Score (which evaluates both traditional and unconventional valuation metrics) organizes stocks into five groups ranging from A to F (A is better than B; B is better than C; and so on), making it helpful in identifying whether a stock is overvalued, rightly valued, or temporarily undervalued.
CrowdStrike is graded F on this front, indicating that it is trading at a premium to its peers. Click here to see the values of some of the valuation metrics that have driven this grade.
ConclusionThe facts discussed here and much other information on Zacks.com might help determine whether or not it's worthwhile paying attention to the market buzz about CrowdStrike. However, its Zacks Rank #4 does suggest that it may underperform the broader market in the near term.
It's been a good quarter for technology stocks, and cybersecurity leaders Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike have both joined the historic rally.
CrowdStrike and Palo Alto rallied 95% and 113%, respectively, between April and June for their best quarter on record, as new artificial intelligence tools have spiked demand for more sophisticated cyber defense. Those tailwinds allowed the sector to shake off early concerns that it would falter with the death of software as a service and emerge as a key stack in the age of AI.
Driving that demand is the onslaught of Mythos-class models capable of being used by hackers to uncover software vulnerabilities and launch full-scale attacks. That's left companies scrambling to beef up their cybersecurity defenses.
"What the Mythos moment proved is that the world, starting from the frontier AI labs themselves, realized that AI needs a cybersecurity ecosystem," CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz told analysts earlier this month on an earnings call. "This was a Mythos inflection point."
Over the last few months, CrowdStrike and Palo Alto have positioned themselves at the forefront of the AI cyber race through Mythos, the model deemed too powerful to release to the public.
CrowdStrike and Palo Alto networks over the last three months
Both companies gained early access to the model as Project Glasswing partners and are early adopters of OpenAI's Daybreak. The firms have also participated in high-profile meetings between major tech giants and the White House on securing AI in this new normal.
Underpinning their success is a bet on agentic security and identity access management that started long before the threats of Mythos.
Earlier this year, Palo Alto closed its mega $25 billion acquisition of Israeli identity security company CyberArk, while CrowdStrike bet on startup SGNL.
Now, to protect their platforms from extremely capable and abundant AI agents able to conduct cyber-attacks in a matter of seconds, companies are turning to the cyber leaders for protection.
"They're the best positioned to continue to gain market share from a product perspective," said TD Cowen analyst Shaul Eyal. "They have all the necessary ingredients."
Read more CNBC tech newsThe memory shortage shaking Apple and Microsoft is 'existential crisis' for smaller playersThe AI boom is colliding with a new threat: Severe weatherChina's Zhipu is closing in on top U.S. AI models with Anthropic and OpenAI held backHow GE Vernova builds the massive gas turbines powering the AI data center boomThat demand is already starting to show.
Palo Alto CEO Nikesh Arora told analysts last month that over 1,200 customers reached out to discuss cybersecurity since Mythos, and that the company held 800 meetings within a six-week period.
CrowdStrike's Kurtz said this month that its Falcon Shield identity protection platform ended its fiscal first quarter with four-times annual recurring revenue growth.
"For now, there's lots of know-how that [businesses] don't have, and they would rather partner with the leaders in the market that have built business models for decades," Eyal said.
Both CrowdStrike and Palo Alto's rise to prominence has also intensified investor scrutiny, raising the bar on earnings expectations.
Earlier this month, both stocks dropped after posting strong results and upbeat AI commentary, because good wasn't good enough for investors demanding perfection.
"We worry this disappointment could continue in future quarters if investors are hoping for even more momentum to show up in growth post Mythos / Glasswing and as a result of regulatory/government pressure," wrote analysts at Bernstein.
Key Takeaways CrowdStrike saw Falcon Shield ARR grow nearly fourfold year over year in Q1 fiscal 2027.CRWD's Privileged Access products and SGNL are seeing strong early demand for AI identities.A seven-figure healthcare deal added Falcon Next-Gen Identity and SGNL to secure AI agent access. CrowdStrike (CRWD - Free Report) is expanding its identity security business as more companies deploy AI across their operations. As AI agents gain access to enterprise applications and data, companies need tools to control what these agents can access and what actions they can perform. This is creating the demand for identity security solutions.
CrowdStrike is addressing this opportunity through Falcon Shield, Falcon Next-Gen Identity and SGNL, which it acquired in the first quarter of fiscal 2027. Falcon Shield’s ending annual recurring revenues (ARR) grew nearly four times year over year during the first quarter. Management also stated that its SGNL and Privileged Access products are seeing strong early demand as customers look to secure AI agents and other non-human identities.
The company is already winning new business. During the first quarter, a large U.S. healthcare company expanded its deployment by purchasing Falcon Next-Gen Identity and SGNL in a seven-figure deal. The customer wanted to control what AI agents could access across the organization. SGNL's ability to allow companies to set access policies and manage permissions for both employees and AI agents in real time should further boost the demand for CRWD's identity security business.
Identity security is becoming an important part of CrowdStrike's platform strategy. As customers add identity, cloud security, SIEM and endpoint security to the Falcon platform, CrowdStrike can increase spending from existing customers. Further, with more companies deploying AI across their businesses, the need to secure AI identities should continue to increase. The above-mentioned shows how identity security is becoming a key growth opportunity for CrowdStrike.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2027 and 2028 revenues indicates a year-over-year increase of around 23.5% and 21.6%, respectively.
How Competitors Fare Against CRWDCompetitors like Palo Alto Networks (PANW - Free Report) and SentinelOne (S - Free Report) are also gaining ground through platform expansion and AI innovation.
In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, Palo Alto Networks saw robust growth in its Next-Gen Security ARR, which increased 60% year over year. The growth was driven by increased customer adoption of PANW’s advanced cybersecurity offerings, including its AI-driven XSIAM platform, SASE and software firewalls.
Though comparatively a small competitor, SentinelOne posted first-quarter fiscal 2027 year-over-year growth of 23% in its ARR. The growth was fueled by the rising adoption of SentinelOne’s AI-first Singularity platform and Purple AI.
CRWD’s Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesShares of CrowdStrike have jumped 58.7% in the year-to-date period compared with the Zacks Security industry’s return of 49.8%.
CRWD YTD Price Return Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, CrowdStrike trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 29.25, significantly higher than the industry’s average of 16.34. The Zacks Value Score of F also suggests that CRWD stock is overvalued.
CRWD Forward 12-Month P/S Ratio
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CrowdStrike’s fiscal 2027 and 2028 earnings indicates year-over-year growth of 32.2% and 26.9%, respectively. The estimates for fiscal 2027 and 2028 have been revised upward by 8 cents and 10 cents, respectively, over the past 30 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
CrowdStrike currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Diane King Hall discusses this morning's top moving stocks at the opening bell, pointing to Phillip Securities downgrading Salesforce (CRM) and Adobe (ADBE). Arete also downgraded CrowdStrike (CRWD) to neutral from buy with a $730 price target.
Investors often turn to recommendations made by Wall Street analysts before making a Buy, Sell, or Hold decision about a stock. While media reports about rating changes by these brokerage-firm employed (or sell-side) analysts often affect a stock's price, do they really matter?
Before we discuss the reliability of brokerage recommendations and how to use them to your advantage, let's see what these Wall Street heavyweights think about CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD - Free Report) .
CrowdStrike currently has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.65, on a scale of 1 to 5 (Strong Buy to Strong Sell), calculated based on the actual recommendations (Buy, Hold, Sell, etc.) made by 51 brokerage firms. An ABR of 1.65 approximates between Strong Buy and Buy.
Of the 51 recommendations that derive the current ABR, 35 are Strong Buy and three are Buy. Strong Buy and Buy respectively account for 68.6% and 5.9% of all recommendations.
Brokerage Recommendation Trends for CRWD
Check price target & stock forecast for CrowdStrike here>>>
While the ABR calls for buying CrowdStrike, it may not be wise to make an investment decision solely based on this information. Several studies have shown limited to no success of brokerage recommendations in guiding investors to pick stocks with the best price increase potential.
Do you wonder why? As a result of the vested interest of brokerage firms in a stock they cover, their analysts tend to rate it with a strong positive bias. According to our research, brokerage firms assign five "Strong Buy" recommendations for every "Strong Sell" recommendation.
In other words, their interests aren't always aligned with retail investors, rarely indicating where the price of a stock could actually be heading. Therefore, the best use of this information could be validating your own research or an indicator that has proven to be highly successful in predicting a stock's price movement.
With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool, the Zacks Rank, which classifies stocks into five groups, ranging from Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) to Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), is a reliable indicator of a stock's near-term price performance. So, validating the Zacks Rank with ABR could go a long way in making a profitable investment decision.
Zacks Rank Should Not Be Confused With ABRAlthough both Zacks Rank and ABR are displayed in a range of 1--5, they are different measures altogether.
Broker recommendations are the sole basis for calculating the ABR, which is typically displayed in decimals (such as 1.28). The Zacks Rank, on the other hand, is a quantitative model designed to harness the power of earnings estimate revisions. It is displayed in whole numbers -- 1 to 5.
Analysts employed by brokerage firms have been and continue to be overly optimistic with their recommendations. Since the ratings issued by these analysts are more favorable than their research would support because of the vested interest of their employers, they mislead investors far more often than they guide.
In contrast, the Zacks Rank is driven by earnings estimate revisions. And near-term stock price movements are strongly correlated with trends in earnings estimate revisions, according to empirical research.
Furthermore, the different grades of the Zacks Rank are applied proportionately across all stocks for which brokerage analysts provide earnings estimates for the current year. In other words, at all times, this tool maintains a balance among the five ranks it assigns.
Another key difference between the ABR and Zacks Rank is freshness. The ABR is not necessarily up-to-date when you look at it. But, since brokerage analysts keep revising their earnings estimates to account for a company's changing business trends, and their actions get reflected in the Zacks Rank quickly enough, it is always timely in indicating future price movements.
Should You Invest in CRWD?In terms of earnings estimate revisions for CrowdStrike, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has declined 8.7% over the past month to $4.93.
Analysts' growing pessimism over the company's earnings prospects, as indicated by strong agreement among them in revising EPS estimates lower, could be a legitimate reason for the stock to plunge in the near term.
The size of the recent change in the consensus estimate, along with three other factors related to earnings estimates, has resulted in a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) for CrowdStrike. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>
Therefore, it could be wise to take the Buy-equivalent ABR for CrowdStrike with a grain of salt.
Key Takeaways CrowdStrike's AIDR ARR grew more than 250% sequentially in the first quarter of fiscal 2027.AIDR has already secured a pipeline of more than $50 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2027.AIDR landed a seven-figure deal in Q1 FY27, covering 30,000-plus hosts at an automotive finance customer. CrowdStrike (CRWD - Free Report) is seeing strong demand for its AI Detection and Response (AIDR) solution. CRWD's AIDR solution is designed to help companies monitor and secure AI applications, AI agents and AI workloads as AI adoption increases across enterprises. Management highlighted AIDR as one of the company's fastest-growing products during the first quarter of fiscal 2027.
In the first quarter of fiscal 2027, AIDR's ending annual recurring revenues (ARR) grew more than 250% sequentially. Further, AIDR has a pipeline of more than $50 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2027. Management stated that customer adoption of AIDR has been faster than expected as more organizations look for ways to secure AI activity across their businesses.
CrowdStrike believes AIDR addresses a larger opportunity than traditional endpoint security. Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) mainly protects laptops, desktops and servers. In contrast, AIDR is designed to protect AI-related assets such as AI models, data, prompts, agents and identities. With rising usage of AI by enterprises, each of these areas could require additional security controls, driving further demand for CRWD's security tools such as AIDR.
CrowdStrike is already seeing customer adoption for AIDR. During the first quarter, an automotive financial services company deployed AIDR across more than 30,000 hosts in a seven-figure deal. The customer used the solution to monitor employee use of AI tools and improve security controls around AI activity. CrowdStrike’s existing Falcon platform gives it an advantage because customers can add AIDR using the same platform they already use for endpoint security.
The above-mentioned factors show that with rising enterprise AI adoption, AIDR could become an important contributor to CrowdStrike's future revenue growth. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2027 and 2028 revenues indicates a year-over-year increase of around 23.5% and 21.6%, respectively.
How Competitors Fare Against CRWDCompetitors like Palo Alto Networks (PANW - Free Report) and SentinelOne (S - Free Report) are also gaining ground through platform expansion and AI innovation.
In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, Palo Alto Networks saw robust growth in its Next-Gen Security ARR, which increased 60% year over year. The growth was driven by increased customer adoption of PANW’s advanced cybersecurity offerings, including its AI-driven XSIAM platform, SASE and software firewalls.
Though comparatively a small competitor, SentinelOne posted first-quarter fiscal 2027 year-over-year growth of 23% in its ARR. The growth was fueled by the rising adoption of SentinelOne’s AI-first Singularity platform and Purple AI.
CRWD’s Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesShares of CrowdStrike have jumped 42.8% in the year-to-date period compared with the Zacks Security industry’s return of 44.3%.
CRWD YTD Price Return Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, CrowdStrike trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 26.57, significantly higher than the industry’s average of 15.77. The Zacks Value Score of F also suggests that CRWD stock is overvalued.
CRWD Forward 12-Month P/S Ratio
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CrowdStrike’s fiscal 2027 and 2028 earnings indicates year-over-year growth of 32.2% and 26.7%, respectively. The estimates for fiscal 2027 and 2028 have been revised upward by 8 cents and 9 cents, respectively, over the past 30 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
CrowdStrike currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
CrowdStrike (CRWD 1.23%), one of the world's largest cybersecurity companies, will execute a 4-for-1 stock split on July 2. Let's see why it's splitting its stock, which has risen nearly 40% over the past 12 months, and whether it matters to long-term investors.
Why is CrowdStrike's stock soaring? Many traditional cybersecurity companies deploy their services via on-site appliances, which are expensive, take up a lot of space, and require constant maintenance. CrowdStrike eliminates those issues with its cloud-native subscription services, which don't require any appliances.
Image source: Getty Images.
From fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2026 (which ended this January), CrowdStrike's revenue rose more than fivefold from $874 million to $4.81 billion, its adjusted subscription gross margin expanded from 77% to 81%, and its adjusted EPS surged from $0.27 to $3.73.
CrowdStrike's customers start with four basic modules on its Falcon platform and can subscribe to additional modules for specific services. At the end of fiscal 2021, only 24% of its customers had adopted at least six of those modules. But by the end of fiscal 2025, that percentage had more than doubled to 50%. The stickiness of its platform increased, even as inflation, higher interest rates, and other macro headwinds rattled the global economy. CrowdStrike also bounced back from a devastating, brand-tarnishing system outage in 2024.
Today's Change
(
-1.23
%) $
-8.37
Current Price
$
672.55
From fiscal 2026 to fiscal 2029, analysts expect CrowdStrike's revenue to grow at a 22% CAGR. They also expect it to turn profitable by generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) in fiscal 2027 and grow its GAAP net income at a 104% CAGR over the following two years.
Will a stock split boost CrowdStrike's stock? CrowdStrike's stock might superficially seem "expensive" at $670 per share, but its trading price doesn't determine if it's undervalued or overvalued. But with a market cap of $173 billion, it certainly looks pricey at 29 times this year's sales and 136 times its forward adjusted EPS.
Its upcoming 4-for-1 stock split won't reduce those valuations, because it's merely splitting a single pizza into four smaller slices. It might look cheaper in the high $160s, but those smaller slices are still trading at the same forward price-to-sales and price-to-earnings ratios.
In the past, stock splits were more meaningful when investors could only buy single shares or round lots of 100 shares. Today, most brokerages offer fractional trading -- which makes it much easier for smaller retail investors to buy shares of high-priced stocks.
Therefore, stock splits matter only for options traders, who pin single contracts to round lots, and for the company, which gets a bit more flexibility in its stock-based compensation plans. Most investors should simply tune out that near-term noise and focus on its long-term strengths.
