CrowdStrike Holdings: Strong Performance Despite Mixed Q4 Guidance

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (CRWD) is a leading global cybersecurity firm. It specializes in cloud-delivered protection for endpoints, cloud workloads, identity, and data. With a market capitalization of $109.9 billion, CrowdStrike offers the Falcon platform, which integrates various cybersecurity functions to effectively combat breaches.

Market Performance Comparison

Over the last 52 weeks, CrowdStrike’s shares have significantly outperformed the broader market, advancing 35.2% while the S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has only gained 8.6%. In year-to-date terms, CRWD shares are up 23.5%, contrasting with the SPX’s 4.3% decline.

Further analyzing the performance, CrowdStrike has surpassed the iShares Cybersecurity and Tech ETF’s (IHAK) 10.5% increase over the same 52-week period, as well as its 3.1% rise year-to-date.

Q4 Results and Market Reaction

Despite reporting stronger-than-expected results for Q4 on March 4, CRWD shares fell 6.3% in the following trading session. The company revealed a revenue of $1.1 billion, a 25.2% increase from the previous year. Subscription revenue reached $1 billion, showing a 26.7% year-over-year rise. Additionally, adjusted earnings per share (EPS) improved by 8.4%, totaling $1.03, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $0.85.

However, the decline in stock price was likely influenced by cautious investor sentiment, as the company’s fiscal 2026 guidance fell short of expectations. CrowdStrike projected revenue between $4.7 billion and $4.8 billion and adjusted EPS within the range of $3.33 to $3.45.

Analyst Ratings and Future Outlook

Despite the recent stock decline, CrowdStrike holds a “Strong Buy” consensus rating among 46 analysts. This rating is based on 34 “Strong Buy” ratings, three “Moderate Buys,” eight “Holds,” and one “Strong Sell.” The sentiment has slightly improved compared to a month ago, where there were 33 “Strong Buy” ratings.

On May 5, JMP Securities analyst Trevor Walsh maintained a “Market Outperform” rating on CRWD while increasing the price target from $400 to $500, suggesting an 18.3% upside from current levels.

Currently, CrowdStrike shares are trading slightly above the mean price target of $410.88.

On the date of publication, Aditya Sarawgi did not hold (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data provided are for informational purposes only. For more details, please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.

The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.