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PANW vs. CRWD: Which Cybersecurity Stock Has an Edge Right Now?
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Key Takeaways
PANW's SASE bookings grew 40% in FY26, as platformization helped displace legacy vendors across 100 accounts.
CRWD encounters slowing sales growth, with revenue growth falling from over 35% in FY24 to 22% in FY26.
PANW trades at a 22.24X forward sales, well below CRWD's 38.55X, offering an attractive valuation.
Palo Alto Networks (PANW - Free Report) and CrowdStrike (CRWD - Free Report) are well-known players in the cybersecurity domain. While PANW focuses broadly on next-generation firewalls, cloud security and AI-driven threat detection, CrowdStrike specializes in endpoint protection and extended detection and response, offering AI-native cloud security through its Falcon platform.
Both PANW and CRWD are riding key industry trends, driven by the rising number of credential theft, remote desktop protocol breaches and social engineering-based attacks 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 PANW Stock
Palo Alto Networks remains a cybersecurity leader, offering solutions for network security, cloud security and endpoint solutions for customers who need full enterprise security support. Its next-generation firewalls and advanced threat-detection technologies are widely recognized and adopted globally.
Palo Alto Networks’ wide range of innovative products, strong customer base and growing opportunities in areas like Zero Trust, Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) and private 5G security continue to support its long-term growth potential. For instance, the company’s SASE bookings grew 40% in fiscal 2026, supported by growth across Access, SD-WAN and secure browser. PANW displaced legacy vendors in nearly 100 customer accounts, representing more than $400 million in total contract value. The displacement volume was nearly double that of the prior year.
Palo Alto Networks’ platform strategy is helping it win these customers. The company integrates SASE with its firewall, SD-WAN and other security products, allowing existing customers to add SASE without bringing in another vendor. Management said this makes platform standardization a simpler choice for customers. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, a global telecom leader signed a $126 million agreement to expand its next-generation firewall footprint while replacing legacy proxy providers with Prisma Access for SASE.
The strategy is supporting growth across PANW's major platforms. Network and AI Security revenues grew 17% in fiscal 2026, while Cortex revenues rose 25% and Idira generated $1.26 billion in pro forma revenues, up 21%. PANW is targeting more than 4,000 platformizations by fiscal 2030 as part of its goal of reaching $20 billion in NGS ARR. The strong adoption of platformization and expansion across multiple security products provides a base for continued growth for PANW.
The Case for CrowdStrike Stock
CrowdStrike 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-premises, 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 34 cloud modules via a software-as-a-service subscription model that is categorized into 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 second quarter of fiscal 2027, annual recurring revenues (ARR) from Flex accounts crossed $2.29 billion, up 101% year over year, reflecting strong adoption across enterprise customers. In the second quarter of fiscal 2027, CrowdStrike added more than 935 Flex customers and ended the second quarter with over 2,900 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 through 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 between $5.991 billion and $6.011 billion. This indicates that the top-line growth is expected to stay around 25%, which is way lower than the explosive growth enjoyed by the company in previous years.
How do Earnings Estimates Compare for PANW & CRWD?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PANW’s fiscal 2027 and 2028 EPS is pinned at $4.18 and $4.91, respectively. The estimates for fiscal 2027 and 2028 have remained unchanged over the past 30 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRWD’s fiscal 2027 and 2028 EPS is pegged at $1.26 and $1.61, respectively. The estimates for fiscal 2027 and 2028 have remained unchanged over the past 30 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
PANW vs. CRWD: Price Performance and Valuation
Year to date, shares of PANW and CRWD have surged 115.4% and 122.8%, respectively.
PANW Vs. CRWD: YTD Price Return Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Currently, PANW is trading at a forward sales multiple of 22.24X, lower than CRWD’s forward sales multiple of 38.55X. PANW’s reasonable valuation makes it more attractive for investors looking for value and stability.
PANW vs. CRWD: Forward 12-Month P/S Ratio
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Conclusion: PANW Has an Edge Over CRWD
Both Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike are key players in the cybersecurity space, but CRWD is witnessing a slowdown in its sales growth. In contrast, Palo Alto Networks is seeing strong demand across its SASE, Network Security, Cortex and Idira platforms, helping the company win larger deals and expand its security offerings with existing customers. Further, PANW’s reasonable valuation offers some downside protection as well, giving it a clear edge over CRWD.
Currently, PANW carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), giving the stock a clear edge over CRWD, which has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Bigstock
PANW vs. CRWD: Which Cybersecurity Stock Has an Edge Right Now?
Key Takeaways
Palo Alto Networks (PANW - Free Report) and CrowdStrike (CRWD - Free Report) are well-known players in the cybersecurity domain. While PANW focuses broadly on next-generation firewalls, cloud security and AI-driven threat detection, CrowdStrike specializes in endpoint protection and extended detection and response, offering AI-native cloud security through its Falcon platform.
Both PANW and CRWD are riding key industry trends, driven by the rising number of credential theft, remote desktop protocol breaches and social engineering-based attacks 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 PANW Stock
Palo Alto Networks remains a cybersecurity leader, offering solutions for network security, cloud security and endpoint solutions for customers who need full enterprise security support. Its next-generation firewalls and advanced threat-detection technologies are widely recognized and adopted globally.
Palo Alto Networks’ wide range of innovative products, strong customer base and growing opportunities in areas like Zero Trust, Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) and private 5G security continue to support its long-term growth potential. For instance, the company’s SASE bookings grew 40% in fiscal 2026, supported by growth across Access, SD-WAN and secure browser. PANW displaced legacy vendors in nearly 100 customer accounts, representing more than $400 million in total contract value. The displacement volume was nearly double that of the prior year.
Palo Alto Networks’ platform strategy is helping it win these customers. The company integrates SASE with its firewall, SD-WAN and other security products, allowing existing customers to add SASE without bringing in another vendor. Management said this makes platform standardization a simpler choice for customers. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, a global telecom leader signed a $126 million agreement to expand its next-generation firewall footprint while replacing legacy proxy providers with Prisma Access for SASE.
The strategy is supporting growth across PANW's major platforms. Network and AI Security revenues grew 17% in fiscal 2026, while Cortex revenues rose 25% and Idira generated $1.26 billion in pro forma revenues, up 21%. PANW is targeting more than 4,000 platformizations by fiscal 2030 as part of its goal of reaching $20 billion in NGS ARR. The strong adoption of platformization and expansion across multiple security products provides a base for continued growth for PANW.
The Case for CrowdStrike Stock
CrowdStrike 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-premises, 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 34 cloud modules via a software-as-a-service subscription model that is categorized into 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 second quarter of fiscal 2027, annual recurring revenues (ARR) from Flex accounts crossed $2.29 billion, up 101% year over year, reflecting strong adoption across enterprise customers. In the second quarter of fiscal 2027, CrowdStrike added more than 935 Flex customers and ended the second quarter with over 2,900 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 through 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 between $5.991 billion and $6.011 billion. This indicates that the top-line growth is expected to stay around 25%, which is way lower than the explosive growth enjoyed by the company in previous years.
How do Earnings Estimates Compare for PANW & CRWD?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PANW’s fiscal 2027 and 2028 EPS is pinned at $4.18 and $4.91, respectively. The estimates for fiscal 2027 and 2028 have remained unchanged over the past 30 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRWD’s fiscal 2027 and 2028 EPS is pegged at $1.26 and $1.61, respectively. The estimates for fiscal 2027 and 2028 have remained unchanged over the past 30 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
PANW vs. CRWD: Price Performance and Valuation
Year to date, shares of PANW and CRWD have surged 115.4% and 122.8%, respectively.
PANW Vs. CRWD: YTD Price Return Performance
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Currently, PANW is trading at a forward sales multiple of 22.24X, lower than CRWD’s forward sales multiple of 38.55X. PANW’s reasonable valuation makes it more attractive for investors looking for value and stability.
PANW vs. CRWD: Forward 12-Month P/S Ratio
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Conclusion: PANW Has an Edge Over CRWD
Both Palo Alto Networks and CrowdStrike are key players in the cybersecurity space, but CRWD is witnessing a slowdown in its sales growth. In contrast, Palo Alto Networks is seeing strong demand across its SASE, Network Security, Cortex and Idira platforms, helping the company win larger deals and expand its security offerings with existing customers. Further, PANW’s reasonable valuation offers some downside protection as well, giving it a clear edge over CRWD.
Currently, PANW carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), giving the stock a clear edge over CRWD, which has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.