In 2021, the global technology market is forecast to reach a whopping $5 trillion. 56% of the technology industry used comes from hardware, software, and associated services. The US makes up the largest market of those numbers at 33%.
With each bit of technology in our life or in a business structure, there must also come security for it.
The world of cybersecurity investments is bustling. In fact, by 2026, cybersecurity is expected to be a $345.4 billion industry.
As an investor, it might be the best time to buy into cybersecurity stocks. Are you wondering about the best cybersecurity stocks to buy now?
Let’s take a closer look at the top cybersecurity stocks to consider for your investing. Read on to learn more.
1. Palo Alto Networks
Palo Alto is an interesting choice for a variety of reasons. They are by far the largest stand-alone security business.
Their impressive numbers are worth noting:
- $4.3 billion in revenue in 2021
- 85,000 customers
- Product in 150+ countries
The original Palo Alto software has been around for awhile. In fact, it even predates cloud computing.
Having said that, Palo Alto made a significant, as in billions, investment in dozens of new acquisitions to modernize and be competitive.
During the period of investing for the company, their profits took a dip. But this new product is solid and highly popular. Sales in 2021 were strong and the company predicts a 26% growth in 2022.
When considering company financials, both their cash-flow and their balance sheet are strong. The company has invested wisely for both the short and long term.
While some smaller cybersecurity competitors struggled with market slumps, Palo Alto had all time high increases in stock values.
You might be concerned about buying while their values are so high. Yet, the company appears strong with all indicators pointing to continued growth.
2. Fortinet
Fortinet is another giant in the cybersecurity world and one that would likely show up on every list like this one.
Like Palo Alto, they have been around long enough that their product also predates the cloud computing era.
Consumers respond well to their product as they make it their goal to be easily understood.
While Fortinet has seen some dips in their value over the last year, don’t let those dips fool you. They are strong and bring in cash like it’s machine-made.
One reason for their strong cash flow? Instead of buying up smaller competitors to update their products, they are doing all development in-house. This makes their cash flow nearly equal to Palo Alto even though they have significantly lower sales numbers.
Their software products bring in recurring revenue. By industry insiders, they are also considered a best-in-class developer of chips that work to protect data centers’ security.
Their financials look strong in both cash flow and investments and they’re predicting strong sales into the next year.
3. CrowdStrike Holdings
The sad reality is that cyberattacks happen all the time and can be so damaging for a company, industry, or even individual. CrowdStrike Holdings made a real name for themselves when they addressed the SolarWinds attack.
CrowdStrike helps to provide:
- Cloud workload
- Endpoint security
- Threat intelligence
- Cyberattack response services
They provide these services to over 100,000 customers worldwide.
CrowdStrike went public in 2019 with its initial IPO. Since this initial offering, they’ve almost quadrupled their market. Now, they stand as a $50 billion company.
They have some impressive numbers to consider:
- Increasing its fiscal year 2021 revenue year-over-year by 82%
- Forecasts a 1.3 billion dollar revenue increase in the next year
- Grew its subscription base by 82% over the last year
One thing investors should consider with CrowdStrike, it has yet to make a profit. The company has invested heavily in its own growth. Many young companies don’t show a profit early on.
Yet, CrowdStrike continues to look strong and has strong indicators about where it’s going. They need to hope they can avoid any security breaches that can be so damning to a young company.
4. Darktrace
Darktrace is another young company in the cybersecurity world. While they began in 2013, they offered their initial IPO just this last April on the London stock exchange.
The company uses artificial intelligence tools in security automation. The unique feature of their AI software is its self-learning capabilities.
Their engineering team is highly regarded in the industry having been recognized twice with the Royal Academy of Engineering’s innovation prize, the MacRobert Award in both 2017 and 2019.
Darktrace promotes their mission as empowering organizations to stop the disruption that cyber-threats can cause.
Because the threats facing companies are constantly changing, Darktrace works to help industry insiders to be resilient to novel attacks, by autonomously learning their ‘digital DNA’.
By the numbers, Darktrace has:
- 6,500+ customers
- Software in 110 countries across the globe
- Employs 1,700+ workers across the globe
In 2021, Darktrace likes to point out that in 77% of companies, they were able to identify threats missed by other competitors.
They also like to tout that in 2021, Darktrace was able to interrupt a cyber threat every second. 2021 also brought a year-over-year growth of 41% and $281 million in revenue.
5. Cloudflare, Inc.
Cloudflare, based in San Francisco, is a web security and web infrastructure company. Their services include content delivery network and DDoS mitigation services.
Cloudflare started with the goal of addressing email spam. They grew into touting the goal of their company helping to create a better internet.
Now, Cloudflare says when they push out new code from their platform, millions of internet properties are impacted.
Cloudflare by the numbers says:
- Serve 32 million HTTP requests per second on average
- Serve data from 250 cities
- Serve data in 100 countries around the world
- Have 2,439 employees
Investors would want to know that Cloudflare has 140,000+ paying customers.
More than 50% of the company revenue is retained from large customers. 48% of the revenue they make comes from companies outside the US.
One of the most awe-inspiring thoughts is that Cloudflare actively works to block 101 billion threats per day with its platform of products.
6. Zscaler, Inc.
Zscaler is another web security firm based in California. They feature the Zero Trust Exchange platform which works to protect its customers from cyberattacks and data loss.
The Zero Trust Exchange works to do this by connecting users, devices, and applications so they remain threat-free. This global platform is distributed across 150 data centers around the globe.
They don’t work to secure the network, which can be almost impossible in today’s ever-changing climate of threats. Instead, the Zero Trust Exchange uses business policies to secure connections between any user, any application, and any device.
The company has 5,600+ customers globally. They are proud they have 400 companies in the Forbes Global 2000.
While the average SaaS company scores a 30, Zscaler touts their net promoter score of 76. Most importantly for both those they service and investors, they help to keep 200+ billion daily transactions secure.
7. Lockheed Martin
Lockheed Martin might seem like an unusual choice to include in this list as they are a slightly different type of company than the others who are part of this list. But Lockheed Martin continues to secure its spot as a leading global defense contractor.
The company defines itself as a leader in global security and aerospace. They are organized by:
- Aeronautics
- Missiles and Fire Control
- Rotary and Mission Systems
- Space
The company boasted 2020 sales of $65.4 billion with a backlog of $147 billion. They also reported a cash flow from their operations of $8.1 billion.
They are much larger than the other companies on this list. In fact, they are listed 57th on the 2020 Fortune 500 list of largest industrial corporations.
They employ approximately 114,000 employees both in the United States and globally.
Another thing that makes Lockheed Martin unique is their customer. A majority of their business is done with the US government, specifically the U.S. Department of Defense and other U.S. federal government agencies.
8. Tenable Holdings
Tenable is a company working with other companies on their potential for cyber security risk. They need you to know you can’t handle your security on-site anymore with a simple scan.
Networks, devices, locations, and cloud-based platforms make the threat of a cyber-attack all the more possible and important to protect yourself from.
They ask companies to consider these four questions:
- Where are we exposed?
- Where should we prioritize based on risk?
- Are we reducing our exposure over time?
- How do we compare to our peers?
By addressing these questions, they help over 30,000 organizations globally remain safe from the risk of a cyber attack. They work with over 50% of the Fortune 500 list.
They also work with 30 percent of the Global 2000 and large government agencies.
Ready to Invest in Cybersecurity Stocks, Check Out These Options
The world of cybersecurity will continue to grow as our dependency on technology personally, in business, and in government continues to grow.
With so much demand, cybersecurity stocks look to be a good place for investing.
Let us help you evaluate cybersecurity investment options with our expertise in the world of global cybersecurity. Contact us today to get started.