Core Insights - CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD) reported a strong start to fiscal 2026 with a free cash flow (FCF) margin increase to 25% from 23% in the previous quarter, generating $279 million in free cash flow despite incurring $61 million in outage-related expenses [1][10] Financial Performance - The company's revenue grew 20% year over year to $1.1 billion in the fiscal first quarter, driven by the adoption of the Falcon Flex platform, with over 820 customer accounts utilizing this model [2] - CrowdStrike achieved a deal value milestone of $3.2 billion within two years of launching Falcon Flex, reflecting a 31% sequential growth and over six times year-over-year growth [2][10] Strategic Initiatives - A strategic realignment in May 2025 focused on reallocating investments into growth areas such as cloud, identity, exposure management, AI, and Next-Gen Security Information and Event Management, which is expected to enhance platform resilience and add at least 1% to its non-GAAP operating margin target in fiscal 2027 [3] - The company aims to exceed 30% in free cash flow margins by fiscal 2027 if the current pace of platform gains and Flex adoption continues [4] Competitive Landscape - Competitors like Zscaler (ZS) and SentinelOne (S) are also evolving their platforms to meet enterprise security demands, with Zscaler reporting an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $2.9 billion, up 23% year over year [5][6] - SentinelOne experienced a 24% year-over-year growth in ARR in the first quarter of fiscal 2026, driven by the adoption of its AI-first Singularity platform [7] Valuation Metrics - CrowdStrike's shares have increased by 47.5% year to date, outperforming the security industry's growth of 25.6% [8] - The company trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 24.14X, significantly higher than the industry's average of 15.06X [11] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRWD's fiscal 2026 earnings indicates a year-over-year decline of 10.94%, while fiscal 2027 earnings are projected to grow by 34.68% [14]

Key Takeaways PANW added over 90 new platformized deals in Q3, reaching 1,250 among its top 5,000 accounts. Large wins include a $90M deal replacing legacy SIEM and a $46M switch by a financial services firm. Only 2% of PANW's 70,000 customers are fully platformized, showing significant future growth potential.Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is gaining strong traction with its platformization strategy, which involves getting customers to adopt multiple PANW products across network, cloud, and security operation ...

Core Viewpoint - Market volatility driven by macro uncertainty necessitates a focus on stocks with strong long-term return potential, supported by top Wall Street analysts' recommendations [1][2] Group 1: Nvidia (NVDA) - Nvidia reported market-beating results for Q1 of fiscal 2026, maintaining confidence in AI infrastructure demand despite chip export restrictions [3][4] - JPMorgan analyst Harlan Sur reiterated a buy rating with a price target of $170, noting solid revenue despite a $4.5 billion write-down related to H20 inventory [4][6] - Excluding H20 shipments, data center revenue is projected to grow 16% quarter over quarter, driven by strong customer spending on AI projects [5][6] - Demand for Nvidia's Blackwell platform is strong, expected to exceed supply for several quarters, supported by mega data center deals [6][7] Group 2: Zscaler (ZS) - Zscaler's fiscal Q3 results surpassed expectations, driven by demand for its Zero Trust Exchange platform and AI security needs [8][9] - JPMorgan analyst Brian Essex reaffirmed a buy rating and raised the price target to $292, highlighting the company's raised full-year outlook for revenue and profitability [9][11] - The number of customers with over $1 million in annual recurring revenue increased by 23% year over year, positioning Zscaler to exceed $3 billion in ARR [11][12] - The acquisition of Red Canary is viewed positively, expected to enhance Zscaler's IP and threat intelligence capabilities [12] Group 3: Salesforce (CRM) - Salesforce reported better-than-expected revenue and earnings for Q1 of fiscal 2026 and raised its full-year forecast, alongside an $8 billion acquisition of Informatica [13][14] - TD Cowen analyst Derrick Wood reiterated a buy rating with a price target of $375, noting strong demand signals from the company's renewed focus on sales capacity growth [14][16] - AI adoption is accelerating, with Data Cloud and AI ARR rising over 120% year over year, indicating strong traction for the Agentforce offering [15][16] - Salesforce is increasing its workforce aggressively, signaling positive demand and growing sales pipelines [16][17]

Zscaler (ZS) reported third-quarter fiscal 2025 non-GAAP earnings of 84 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 12%. Moreover, the bottom line increased 18.3% year over year, driven by higher revenues and efficient cost management.ZS’ earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, the average surprise being 18.7%.Zscaler’s third-quarter fiscal 2025 revenues of $678 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.8% and exceeded management’s guidance of $ ...

Zscaler Inc ZS reported better-than-expected third-quarter financial results after the market close on Thursday.Zscaler reported third-quarter revenue of $678.03 million, beating the consensus estimate of $666.86 million. The cybersecurity company reported adjusted earnings of 84 cents per share, beating analyst estimates of 75 cents per share, according to Benzinga Pro."We delivered outstanding third quarter results as an increasing number of customers adopt our expanding Zero Trust Exchange platform. We e ...

In today’s digital-first economy, cybersecurity has moved from the sidelines to the spotlight. It's no longer a back-office concern. It’s now a boardroom priority. Every day, companies face an onslaught of cyberattacks that are not only more frequent but also more sophisticated. From ransomware shutdowns to data leaks and phishing schemes, the financial and reputational damage is enormous. According to a report by Statista, worldwide cybercrime costs are expected to skyrocket from $9.22 trillion in 2024 to ...