7 Best-Performing Cybersecurity Stocks as of March 2026 - NerdWallet

SOME CARD INFO MAY BE OUTDATED This page includes information about these cards, currently unavailable on NerdWallet. The information has been collected by NerdWallet and has not been provided or reviewed by the card issuer. In the early hours of July 19, 2024, cybersecurity company CrowdStrike (CRWD) published a faulty software update that temporarily disabled more than 8.5 million PCs that use its services. The outage caused chaos across banking, airlines, health care and several other industries, and it sent CrowdStrike shares plummeting more than 20% over the following two trading days. It also drew attention to the importance of reliable cybersecurity companies — and to the potential volatility of cybersecurity stocks. What are cybersecurity stocks? Cybersecurity stocks are shares of publicly-traded companies that protect computer systems from digital threats. Some, such as CrowdStrike, Fortinet and Palo Alto Networks, are completely focused on cybersecurity, while others, such as Datadog, Cisco, Broadcom and Dell, are diversified technology companies that provide cybersecurity services along with other offerings. How do major glitches and cyberattacks affect cybersecurity stocks? According to Roosevelt Bowman, an investment strategist with Bernstein Private Wealth Management, the effect of major technical outages on cybersecurity companies is hard to predict. “It’s not often that you see a single event ‘doom’ a company,” Bowman says. However, he described two ways in which a bad-news event such as an outage can push down a stock’s price in the long term. The first is if the event in question pushes down a company’s expected future earnings to a point where it looks too expensive at its current price. The second way in which a scandal such as a technical outage can hurt the long-term trajectory of a stock, according to Bowman, is if there are “subsequent failures.” CrowdStrike’s software has been linked with minor computer outages before, although it has never experienced an outage on the scale of the July 19 incident. Only time will tell if it can rebuild its reputation from here. 7 best-performing cybersecurity stocks as of March 2026 Below are the seven best-performing stocks in the Nasdaq CTA Cybersecurity Index that trade on major U.S. exchanges, ranked by one-year performance. Ticker Company Performance (Year) AVGO Broadcom Inc 67.87% NTCT Netscout Systems Inc 37.03% LDOS Leidos Holdings Inc 36.63% NET Cloudflare Inc 28.04% CSCO Cisco Systems Inc 26.45% AKAM Akamai Technologies Inc 25.38% RDWR Radware 8.80% Source: Finviz. Data is current as of March 4, 2026, and is intended for informational purposes only. Brokerage firms NerdWallet rating Learn more on Charles Schwab's website NerdWallet rating Learn more on E*TRADE's website NerdWallet rating Learn more on Vanguard's website NerdWallet rating Learn more on Fidelity's website How to buy cybersecurity stocks or cybersecurity ETFs Bowman says that his firm is “following” cybersecurity stocks, in light of the rising volume of consumer data that needs to be protected from threats. He notes that the shift from in-person shopping to online shopping over the last decade has created “opportunity” for the industry. You’ll need a brokerage account to buy cybersecurity stocks — and you’ll also need to choose between buying individual cybersecurity stocks, like the ones shown in the tables above, or cybersecurity exchange-traded funds (ETFs). There are very few cybersecurity ETFs with at least $500 million in assets on the market today. They’re listed below in order of one-year performance. Ticker Company Performance (Year) HACK Amplify Cybersecurity ETF 0.29% Source: Finviz. Data is current as of March 4, 2026, and is intended for informational purposes only. Each of these ETFs gives investors exposure to dozens of cybersecurity stocks with a single purchase. However, it’s still important to research an ETF, just as you’d research stocks, before buying. Check out a fund’s fees and holdings to make sure it’s a good match for your portfolio. » MORE: Best brokerage accounts for stock trading AD Earn 3.66% APY by investing in U.S. Treasury Bills* Maximize your cash by investing in low-risk, government-backed T-Bills. All the work is done for you — just make the deposit and watch your money grow. LEARN MORE *Rate when held to maturity. Rate shown is subject to price fluctuations. Neither the author nor editor held positions in the aforementioned investments at the time of publication. Article sources Article sources NerdWallet writers are subject matter authorities who use primary, trustworthy sources to inform their work, including peer-reviewed studies, government websites, academic research and interviews with industry experts. All content is fact-checked for accuracy, timeliness and relevance. You can learn more about NerdWallet's high standards for journalism by reading our editorial guidelines. Back to top Helpful resources How to Buy Stocks: What to Know Before Your First Trade Investment Calculator What Is the Average Stock Market Return? Is now a good time to buy stocks, or should I wait? More like this Investment BasicsInvestingStocks Related articles What Is a Brokerage Account? Where and How to Open One 2 By Arielle O'Shea, Pamela de la Fuente Best Brokerage Accounts for Online Investing and Stock Trading in 2026 By Chris Davis Investment Calculator By Chris Davis Best Investments Right Now: Where to Invest in 2026 2 By Chris Davis, Alieza Durana The Best-Performing Stocks in 2026 (By One-Year Returns) 2 By Arielle O'Shea, Chris Davis 8 High-Dividend Stocks With Yields Over 6% (March 2026) 2 By Chris Davis, Sam Taube