Recession fears sent the Nasdaq Composite tumbling into a bear market more than a year ago, and the index is still down 25%. But history says that drawdown is temporary. Eventually, economic headwinds will give way to another bull market, and the Nasdaq will rebound.
In the meantime, investors should add a few shares of CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD 0.03%) to their portfolios. Here's why this artificial intelligence (AI) growth stock is worth buying today.
CrowdStrike is growing like wildfire
Businesses have adapted to economic uncertainty by scrutinizing budgets more closely and spending money more cautiously. Not even cybersecurity companies are immune to those headwinds, but CrowdStrike still delivered impressive financial results last year.
Its customer base climbed 41% to 23,000 in the 2023 fiscal year, and the average customer spent 25% more than in the prior year. In turn, revenue rose 54% to $2.2 billion and adjusted net income soared 130% to $1.54 per diluted share.
But there is a more impressive metric that investors should consider. CrowdStrike passed $2 billion in annual recurring revenue (ARR) in the second quarter of fiscal 2023 (ended July 31, 2022). It took roughly 11 years to reach that milestone, and only one software company got there faster, Zoom Video Communications.
In other words, CrowdStrike is the second-fastest-growing software vendor in history, and it's well-positioned to maintain that momentum for years to come, especially in a more favorable economy.
CrowdStrike has a durable competitive advantage
In addition to reaching $2 billion in ARR, CrowdStrike also racked up a long list of accolades last year. It was named the best security company in the U.S. by the consultancy SC Media, and its extended detection and response software was named the best-emerging technology in Europe.
Industry experts also recognized CrowdStrike as a leader in several cybersecurity software verticals (like cloud-native application protection and threat intelligence) and cybersecurity service verticals (managed detection and response, as well as incident response).
However, CrowdStrike is best known as the leader in endpoint security, a particularly crucial end market. Endpoint devices like desktops and servers produce roughly 80% of the most valuable security data, and data is the cornerstone of AI.
That gives CrowdStrike a meaningful advantage. Its platform can crowdsource data unlike any other solution on the market, making its AI models uniquely effective. To quote consultancy Frost & Sullivan, "CrowdStrike leads the industry with regards to the application of artificial intelligence/machine learning to endpoint security, as well as providing unparalleled prevention of malware and malware-free attacks."
CrowdStrike is chasing a large market opportunity
CrowdStrike has innovated at a remarkable pace in recent years. Its portfolio included 10 software modules when it went public in 2019, but it now comprises 23 software modules. Each new product has extended its total addressable market (TAM), which currently sits at $76 billion, and management believes future innovations will drive its TAM to $158 billion by 2026.
CrowdStrike is well positioned to capitalize on that large market opportunity for three reasons. First, the data advantage arising from its leadership in endpoint security should keep its AI on the cutting edge of threat intelligence. Ultimately, that means it should be able to detect and prevent threats more effectively than its peers.
Second, its broad portfolio of cybersecurity software and services allows businesses to standardize on a single platform, eliminating the cost and complexity of managing different products from multiple vendors. In other words, CrowdStrike simplifies security workflows for its clients.
Third, as the market leader in managed detection and response services, CrowdStrike is the go-to option for organizations that lack the time or talent to manage their own cybersecurity. That puts the company in a good spot because there are 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs worldwide, according to Cybersecurity Ventures, meaning many businesses lack the resources to secure their sensitive data and workloads.
With that in mind, shares of CrowdStrike currently trade at 13.5 times sales, a discount to the three-year average of 35.1. Risk-tolerant investors should take this opportunity to buy a small position in this growth stock.
