CrowdStrike's stock falls as investors find more reason to pan cybersecurity earnings

By Hannah Pedone

Like Palo Alto Networks before it, CrowdStrike beats financial expectations but sees its stock get punished

CrowdStrike announced a 4-for-1 stock split on Wednesday after the bell.

An earnings and revenue beat from CrowdStrike wasn't enough to please Wall Street on Wednesday in the latest example of how cybersecurity investors are finding reason to nitpick financial results from leading industry players.

Shares of CrowdStrike (CRWD) fell 11% in extended trading Wednesday. That comes after Palo Alto Networks shares (PANW) dropped 5.6% in the regular session despite a headline beat.

CrowdStrike's revenue for the fiscal first quarter came in at $1.39 billion, a 26% increase from the prior-year period. Analysts were expecting $1.36 billion in revenue.

Read more: These cybersecurity stocks are poised for rapid growth through 2028, and some of them are cheap right now

The company updated its revenue guidance to a range of $5.91 billion to $5.96 billion from a range of $5.87 billion to $5.93 billion for the full 2027 fiscal year. Analysts were expecting $5.9 billion for the period.

CrowdStrike reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.10 for the fiscal first quarter compared to the 73 cents reported in the prior-year period. Analysts were expecting $1.07 in adjusted earnings per share.

CEO George Kurtz said in a statement that in the first quarter, "the worlds of cybersecurity and frontier AI collided."

"CrowdStrike is AI security infrastructure, critical to successful AI adoption," he added.

The company's board also declared a 4-for-1 split of outstanding shares of CrowdStrike's Class A common stock. Five companies in the S&P 500 have conducted splits this year, including reserve splits as well as splits that were announced in 2025 but not enacted until 2026, according to FactSet data.

Things had been looking up for the cybersecurity company, which analysts say has carved out a market for itself in the endpoint-security space and stands out as one of the "big four" cybersecurity players to pay attention to, along with Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet and Zscaler.

The company's reputation has been boosted this year by its selection as a partner for Anthropic's Project Glasswing - Anthropic's cybersecurity program to test its Claude Mythos model - and OpenAI's "Trusted Access for Cyber program."

See also: Palo Alto Networks hits a big milestone. Why cybersecurity stocks are so hot right now.

-Hannah Pedone

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06-03-26 2012ET