Imagine if there’s a day that technology would brought the entire world to a pausing halt.
That was yesterday.
CrowdStrike Holdings has long dominated the market for cloud-based software which is meant to protect customers’ networks from hackers, but a botched software update has other plans that brought businesses from airlines to banks to a screeching halt which impacted billions of dollars in the market.
The massive outage linked to cybersecurity company CrowdStrike could be the largest ever seen after the issue caused disruption to Microsoft’s systems around the world.
CrowdStrike’s stock declined 11.1% on Friday to log its worst one-day drop since it fell 14.8% back in 2022. In earlier session, it fell to as much as more than 15%.
Several companies, notably in the Fortune 500 corporations are getting fed-up with relying on just a single cloud software vendor, and this might just prompt some of these companies to make a potential switch to a cybersecurity rival in the near future to come.
According to reported news, Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said he has stopped using CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. software after a botched update by the cybersecurity firm crashed computer systems around the world.
Which of the Rivals That Could Benefit From This Situation?
Rival cybersecurity companies have seen their shares move up in response to the events.
One of the companies is Palo Alto Networks (Ticker Symbol “PANW”), which was up as much as 5%, but to close the session at just above 2%.
Palo Alto Networks has been recognized as a leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Single-Vendor SASE for the second consecutive year. This underscores their commitment to providing comprehensive, integrated security solutions that address the challenges of hybrid and cloud-based work environments.
On the financial front, Palo Alto Networks reported strong fiscal results for the first quarter of 2024. They highlighted significant growth in key metrics, reinforcing their position as a leading cybersecurity firm.
Another company that benefited last night was SentinelOne (Ticker Symbol “S”) – with shares up as much as 7.85% to close the session.
These developments last night underscore SentinelOne’s growing influence and potential in the cybersecurity sector, both in terms of financial performance and strategic partnerships.
SentinelOne offers advanced security solutions through its Singularity Platform, which simplifies security management and reduces costs. It is touted as one of the strong leaders in the industry, outperforming both traditional and modern security systems, alongside CrowdStrike Holdings.
In terms of the financials, SentinelOne is experiencing growth, particularly among large enterprises, with a 30% increase in customers generating over $100,000 annually. The company is also expected to deliver approximately 31% CAGR in revenue growth this year.
With a valuation that is only at about 9x (7x prior to the run-up last night) Price to Sales, that seems like a bargain compared to the much higher valuation for its competitor, CrowdStrike Holdings.
With the entire world still stranded and rebooting their system, maybe the world could declare an Internationally Blue Screen day on this very day.
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