Cybersecurity giant Crowdstrike (CRWD) is due to report its fiscal fourth-quarter financial results on March 3 after the market closes. Analysts, on average, expect the company's Q4 revenue to have jumped to $1.3 billion, up 22.6% versus the same period a year earlier. The mean estimate calls for Q4 earnings per share (EPS) of $1.10, up from $1.03 during the previous year. For 2026, analysts' average outlook calls for EPS of $3.72 and sales of $4.8 billion.
In recent weeks, CRWD stock has fallen sharply amid fears of competition from AI firms, and the company may have to beat the mean estimates by significant margins in order to dispel these worries and push the shares higher.
On a positive note, the IT security market is still expected to grow fairly rapidly over the next several years. But with CRWD changing hands at an extraordinarily high valuation, the shares arguably already reflect the upbeat outlook of the company's sector and may not fully take into account potential competition from artificial intelligence (AI).
About CrowdStrike
Based in Austin, Texas, CRWD markets cybersecurity software, specializing in defending organizations. In Q3, its top line jumped 22% year-over-year to $1.23 billion, while its net income, excluding certain items, came in at an all-time high of $245.4 million, versus $190.9 million during Q3 of its previous fiscal year. Similarly, its net cash generated from operations reached a record $397.5 million, up from $326.1 million.
The company prides itself on meeting all of the IT security needs of organizations on a single platform. Amid worries about competition from AI, Crowdstrike's shares have dropped 13.3% in the previous month and 24.5% in the last three months. Nevertheless, the shares still have an incredibly high forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 411 times.
AI News Has Dragged Down CRWD, But There Has Been Good News Recently
Anthropic, a giant AI startup, sparked a selloff in many software names nearly a month ago after it unveiled AI tools that carry out many of the tasks currently handled by software firms. In particularly ominous news for CRWD stock and its traditional competitors, Anthropic's AI assistant, Claude, has been equipped with “security features," including the ability to find “security vulnerabilities” and suggest remedies.
However, fears about IT security firms losing market share to Claude may have been alleviated recently as a result of President Donald Trump's decision to stop the federal government from using Anthropic's technology. The president's decision came after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was upset by the Pentagon's inability to utilize all of Anthropic's AI capabilities.
What Wall Street Says About CRWD Stock
Meanwhile, investment bank Wedbush defended CRWD stock on weakness, contending that it would still be one of the "long-term winners" in the cybersecurity space and calling those who had turned bearish on it “wrong.”
If Crowdstrike's growth slowed markedly last quarter, bears will likely intensify their criticism of the stock, while bulls may be in the driver's seat if the cybersecurity giant's growth accelerated in Q4.
Ahead of earnings, CRWD stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating.
On the date of publication, Larry Ramer did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
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