FTNT vs CRWD Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Fortinet and CrowdStrike are both large-cap cybersecurity leaders but compete primarily in different security domains. Fortinet dominates network perimeter security (firewalls, SD-WAN) with hardware performance advantages; CrowdStrike dominates endpoint and cloud security with AI-powered behavioral detection. Their expansions — Fortinet into SASE, CrowdStrike into network detection and identity — are creating increasing overlap at the enterprise platform level.
FTNT vs CRWD is a choice between the profitable hardware-advantage network security incumbent in recovery (Fortinet) and the high-growth AI platform security leader with platform consolidation momentum (CrowdStrike) — Fortinet's better current profitability and recovery upside contrast with CrowdStrike's superior platform growth and AI security moat.
FTNT holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. CRWD has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+120.86% vs +116.32%), though FTNT has the better forward P/E setup (44.15x vs 131.85x for CRWD). On fundamentals, CRWD is growing revenue faster (25.80%), while FTNT maintains the higher operating margin (33.60%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for CRWD (+4.20%) than for FTNT (-3.09%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- prefer a profitable network security incumbent with FortiASIC hardware performance moat and strong mid-market penetration
- value cyclical recovery upside from the 2023–2024 hardware inventory digestion as product revenue normalizes
- want cybersecurity exposure at a lower valuation multiple than CrowdStrike with superior near-term profitability
- are comfortable with hardware-driven revenue cyclicality and SASE transition risk as network security moves to cloud delivery
- prefer the AI-powered endpoint and cloud security platform leader with demonstrated platform expansion across 10+ modules
- value CrowdStrike's Threat Intelligence network effects as a durable competitive moat that Fortinet cannot replicate
- want a fast-growing, high-free-cash-flow security platform positioned to consolidate enterprise security spending
- are comfortable with premium valuation and July 2024 outage recovery timeline in exchange for AI security platform leadership
| Metric | FTNT | CRWD |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 72.0 | 66.5 |
| AI ranki | #33 | #66 |
| Latest closei | $172.58 | $245.70 |
| 1M returni | +9.22% | +15.40% |
| 6M returni | +107.63% | +129.53% |
| 1Y returni | +116.32% | +120.86% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | FTNT | CRWD |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $21.49K (+114.9%) started 2025-09-17 | $22.06K (+120.6%) started 2025-09-17 |
| 5Y ago | $29.05K (+190.5%) started 2021-09-20 | $38.16K (+281.6%) started 2021-09-20 |
| 10Y ago | $241.3K (+2313.0%) started 2016-09-19 | $169.45K (+1594.5%) started 2019-06-12 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | FTNT | CRWD |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $121.8B | $223.63B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 58.87 | 5460.00 |
| Forward P/Ei | 44.15 | 131.85 |
| Price/Salesi | 13.08 | 42.86 |
| EV/Revenuei | 15.71 | 40.67 |
| Analyst targeti | $160.86 | $227.58 |
| Target upsidei | -3.09% | +4.20% |
| Metric | FTNT | CRWD |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 25.60% | 25.80% |
| Earnings growthi | 43.90% | N/A |
| EPS growthi | +43.90% | N/A |
| FCF margini | +30.10% | +36.98% |
| Operating margini | 33.60% | -2.26% |
| Profit margini | 28.17% | 0.83% |
| ROIC proxyi | 117.44% | 1.46% |
| Return on equityi | 117.44% | 1.46% |
| Dividend yieldi | N/A | N/A |
| Payout ratioi | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Dividend growth streaki | N/A | N/A |
| Betai | 1.06 | 1.23 |
| Debt/equityi | 36.19 | 15.96 |
| Current ratioi | 1.28 | 1.57 |
| Quick ratioi | 1.14 | 1.37 |
Over the past year, FTNT and CRWD have moved strongly in the same direction (correlation of 0.71), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | FTNT | CRWD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +114.95% | +120.61% |
| CAGRi | +115.18% | +120.86% | |
| Volatilityi | 42.22% | 55.73% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 1.92 | 1.62 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 3.40 | 2.76 | |
| Max drawdowni | 14.34% | 37.18% | |
| Current drawdowni | 0.12% | 0.00% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 4.95% | 12.00% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 6.21% | 15.61% | |
| Max daily dropi | 6.34% | 9.85% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 11.64% | 18.46% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +190.47% | +281.58% |
| CAGRi | +23.81% | +30.77% | |
| Volatilityi | 44.69% | 437.57% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.61 | 1.14 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.85 | 4.32 | |
| Max drawdowni | 38.32% | 74.94% | |
| Current drawdowni | 0.12% | 18.06% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 17.19% | 47.90% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 20.45% | 52.06% | |
| Max daily dropi | 25.07% | 74.75% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 26.08% | 74.83% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +2313.03% | +1594.48% |
| CAGRi | +37.51% | +47.61% | |
| Volatilityi | 41.17% | 364.47% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.87 | 1.01 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.26 | 3.74 | |
| Max drawdowni | 38.32% | 74.94% | |
| Current drawdowni | 0.12% | 18.06% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 12.57% | 38.69% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 16.46% | 45.39% | |
| Max daily dropi | 25.07% | 74.75% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 27.11% | 74.83% |
| Category | FTNT | CRWD |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Fortinet, Inc. | CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. |
| Sector | Technology | Technology |
| Industry | Software - Infrastructure | Software - Infrastructure |
| Core business | Fortinet's FortiGate firewalls and custom FortiASIC silicon dominate mid-market and large enterprise network perimeter security, while its unified SASE platform and OT security position it in growing segments. Fortinet's hardware-plus-subscription model generates superior profitability (25%+ operating margins) versus software-only security vendors, and its large installed base creates natural service and subscription upsell opportunities. | CrowdStrike's Falcon platform is the leading AI endpoint security platform, expanding from EDR into cloud security, identity protection, and network security detection through the Falcon suite. Its cloud-native architecture, single lightweight agent, and Threat Intelligence network create strong platform lock-in. CrowdStrike is significantly more expensive than Fortinet on traditional valuation metrics but has demonstrated consistent ARR growth and free cash flow generation. |
| Investor focus | Investors track recovery from the 2023–2024 hardware inventory digestion cycle, service and subscription ARR growth, SASE and OT security revenue ramp, and operating margin maintenance above 25%. | Investors focus on net new ARR recovery from the July 2024 outage, module adoption per customer, free cash flow margin expansion, and the expansion into cloud security and identity that broadens the Falcon platform's total addressable market. |
- FortiASIC custom silicon enables market-leading firewall throughput at lower cost than software-based competitors
- Best-in-class profitability (25%+ operating margins) relative to cybersecurity software peers
- OT security leadership serves manufacturing, utilities, and critical infrastructure with few competitive alternatives
- Dominant AI-powered EDR with the largest commercial Threat Intelligence network driving continuous detection improvement
- 10+ module Falcon platform enables strong cross-sell expansion within existing enterprise customers
- Growing free cash flow (approaching 30% FCF margins) provides capital for M&A and buybacks without dilutive equity raises
- Hardware inventory digestion in 2023–2024 created significant product revenue shortfalls that are recovering slowly
- CrowdStrike's endpoint-first approach is winning enterprise accounts in adjacent network security categories
- SASE market growth skews toward cloud-native platforms (Zscaler, Palo Alto) where Fortinet's hardware heritage is less advantageous
- July 2024 outage created customer trust issues — renewal rates and new logo acquisition are recovering but the event was significant
- Fortinet and Palo Alto both compete in network security perimeter where CrowdStrike's traditional endpoint focus is less entrenched
- Premium valuation (80–100x earnings) requires sustained platform ARR growth to justify
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