Best Cybersecurity Stocks for 2026 and How to Invest - The Motley Fool

Best Cybersecurity Stocks for 2026 and How to Invest By Anders Bylund – Updated Jan 27, 2026 at 10:28 AM EST | Fact-checked by Robin Hartill, CFP Follow us Share KEY POINTS Cybersecurity threats are rapidly evolving, driving high investment in protective technologies. Global cybersecurity spending is projected to exceed $200 billion annually by 2028. Top cybersecurity stocks include Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike, and Fortinet. 10 stocks we like better than CrowdStrike as a long-term buy › Cybersecurity spending has soared in recent years. Organizations have faced new security challenges as cloud computing and remote work have become essential and widely used business tools. As a result, many cybersecurity stocks were top performers during the COVID-19 pandemic, boosted by strong demand for next-gen security software. A bear market in 2022 clobbered some of the highest-flying stocks, followed by a wide range of shifting results. However, cybersecurity stocks often bounce back quickly from sudden market challenges, and the industry remains a top investment theme for the decade. Top cybersecurity stocks in 2026 Here are some of the top cybersecurity stocks to own in the long run: Ticker Information Table NAME AND TICKER MARKET CAP CURRENT PRICE INDUSTRY Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) $136.3 billion $167.45 Software CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) $112.0 billion $424.05 Software Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT) $61.7 billion $84.55 Software Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) $24.7 billion $153.52 Software Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA) $14.0 billion $77.16 IT Services SentinelOne (NYSE:S) $4.9 billion $14.29 Software Datadog (NASDAQ:DDOG) $43.9 billion $126.57 Software Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) $15.6 billion $105.43 IT Services Data as of Mar 16, 2026. Showing 8 of 8 tickers. Cloud security, identity management, and legacy security vendors As cloud computing has quickly grown into an industry worth hundreds of billions annually, sales of cloud-native (built-in and for the cloud) security software have skyrocketed. The leaders in this space have some of the best long-term potential. 1. Palo Alto Networks Hailing from an era that predates cloud technology, Palo Alto Networks' specialty is rooted in firewalls -- devices that protect traffic into and out of physical locations such as offices and data centers. While its legacy services still experience plenty of demand, the real growth is in the cloud. Collapse NASDAQ: PANW Palo Alto Networks Today's Change (0.26%) $0.43 Current Price $167.45 YTD 1W 1M 3M 6M 1Y 5Y PRICE VS S&P KEY DATA POINTS Market Cap $136B Day's Range $166.15 - $168.28 52wk Range $139.57 - $223.61 Volume 6M Avg Vol 10M Gross Margin 73.50% The company's highly profitable platform has helped it acquire more than a dozen smaller cloud-native businesses in the past few years. As a result, Palo Alto Networks has given its security operations a serious makeover. Management predicts double-digit percentage revenue growth in the years ahead for its next-gen security portfolio geared for the cloud era. This steady growth and market leadership helped make its stock one of the best performers among cybersecurity companies in the post-COVID-19 era. Palo Alto Networks is the largest pure-play cybersecurity operation in terms of revenue and market cap. Now also a leading cloud security provider, this legacy business is highly competitive in the cybersecurity industry. Shares trade for a relative value compared to its younger, high-flying, cloud-native rivals. 2. CrowdStrike Holdings As a cloud-native software company, CrowdStrike Holdings provides endpoint security -- protection for devices such as laptops, PCs, smartphones, and any other device connected to a network. Because it's cloud-based, CrowdStrike is particularly well suited for supporting remote work. Expand NASDAQ: CRWD CrowdStrike Today's Change (-4.01%) $-17.73 Current Price $424.05 KEY DATA POINTS Market Cap $112B Day's Range $423.85 - $443.52 52wk Range $298.00 - $566.90 Volume 162K Avg Vol 3.6M Gross Margin 74.53% CrowdStrike's software uses machine learning to detect security breaches and hunt down threats. It's also easy to deploy to the millions of people working from home and the billions of machines connected to the internet. The company has steadily expanded the number of modules on its platform to better serve its customers. It also has new integration agreements with other tech companies to ensure data protection consistency across an organization's entire IT infrastructure. The premium-priced stock was hit hard in 2022, and its security network suffered a painful outage in July 2024. CrowdStrike's sales have been booming nonetheless, and the artificial intelligence (AI)-driven stock rose 16% in 2024 despite the outage. The company is also highly profitable in terms of free cash flow. In an increasingly mobile world with more devices continually coming online, CrowdStrike is poised to continue growing at a brisk rate. 3. Fortinet Fortinet, another legacy security software provider, is also one of the world's largest cybersecurity companies by revenue and market cap. Like its peer Palo Alto Networks, it has maintained double-digit percentage growth and is highly profitable. But unlike Palo Alto Networks' acquisition spree, Fortinet has invested in its organic development of cloud security to remain competitive. Expand NASDAQ: FTNT Fortinet Today's Change (1.33%) $1.11 Current Price $84.55 KEY DATA POINTS Market Cap $62B Day's Range $84.01 - $85.85 52wk Range $70.12 - $109.33 Volume 182K Avg Vol 6.7M Gross Margin 80.46% One of its developments is a software-based internet security product being built and deployed with one of Europe's leading telecom providers, Telefónica (NYSE:TEF). In August 2025, the company also announced a partnership with Singapore's Quantum Engineering Programme to develop next-gen security for quantum computing. Fortinet is also a top provider of firewalls. Its best-in-class hardware continues generating more revenue as many organizations turn to Fortinet for help building new data centers and 5G mobile networks. For investors seeking strongly profitable sales growth, Fortinet stands out as one of the top security stocks on the market. 4. Zscaler Zscaler, another cloud-native security vendor, works in tandem with endpoint security services to help keep data secure. The company has been increasing its sales rapidly and is another of the largest pure-play cybersecurity stocks as measured by market cap. Zscaler continues to deliver profitable revenue growth. Expand NASDAQ: ZS Zscaler Today's Change (-0.16%) $-0.24 Current Price $153.52 KEY DATA POINTS Market Cap $25B Day's Range $151.79 - $155.43 52wk Range $140.56 - $336.99 Volume 94K Avg Vol 2.5M Gross Margin 76.28% Zscaler started with a software-as-a-service (SaaS) product designed for network protection in the modern cloud computing era. It has since added new internet security and end-user monitoring products. End-user monitoring is increasingly valuable with so many people now working remotely. With global spending on cloud computing expected to exceed $1 trillion annually this decade, Zscaler is poised to profit from a massive secular growth trend. 5. Okta Okta is a pioneer of identity and access management, which rethinks traditional security by using zero-trust architecture. This type of identity management constantly requires user verification before allowing access to data and applications. Expand NASDAQ: OKTA Okta Today's Change (-2.53%) $-2.00 Current Price $77.16 KEY DATA POINTS Market Cap $14B Day's Range $76.90 - $80.28 52wk Range $68.77 - $127.57 Volume 2.8M Avg Vol 3.1M Gross Margin 77.36% In an increasingly mobile and cloud-based world, Okta's identity management software has been in high demand. Businesses often have a complicated web of stakeholders, including employees, third-party contractors, suppliers, and customers. Okta is a leader in this branch of security. However, a cyberattack in January 2022 affected two of its largest customers, accelerating the stock's decline during the inflation-driven bear market. Even so, Okta remains in long-term growth mode as new customers adopt its software to manage identity and access security. Where to invest $1,000 right now When our analyst team has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, Stock Advisor’s total average return is 930%* — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 187% for the S&P 500. They just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks › *Stock Advisor returns as of March 16, 2026. 6. SentinelOne SentinelOne is another recent pure-play cybersecurity company to be publicly listed. Its initial public offering (IPO) in June 2021 raised $1.2 billion in cash and valued the company at $10 billion, making SentinelOne's IPO the largest ever for a cybersecurity company at the time. Expand NYSE: S SentinelOne Today's Change (-1.58%) $-0.23 Current Price $14.29 KEY DATA POINTS Market Cap $4.9B Day's Range $14.02 - $14.72 52wk Range $12.23 - $21.40 Volume 10M Avg Vol 8.3M Gross Margin 78.74% SentinelOne is also making steady progress toward turning a profit. It operates a cloud-based endpoint security platform, which puts it in direct competition with CrowdStrike. Its ability to automatically detect and resolve cybersecurity threats is well received in the market. Did you know? As a high-growth segment of the tech industry, cybersecurity offers investors lots of upside in the decade ahead. Infrastructure monitoring and content delivery networks Cloud computing creates, uses, and stores more digital data, and an organization's IT infrastructure can quickly become more complex by an order of magnitude. Companies that help monitor these cloud-based operations are critical to cybersecurity, as are companies that manage the web content and apps themselves. Here are some top names to consider. 1. Datadog Datadog is a cloud-native platform built to collect, monitor, and yield insights on cloud-based data and operations. The company uses AI to help automate the process of monitoring large and complex data sets, relieving some of the burden of busy IT teams. Expand NASDAQ: DDOG Datadog Today's Change (1.65%) $2.05 Current Price $126.57 KEY DATA POINTS Market Cap $44B Day's Range $125.39 - $129.26 52wk Range $81.63 - $201.69 Volume 3.7M Avg Vol 5.6M Gross Margin 79.93% It's also been steadily expanding its platform's capabilities with new modules that include cloud-based security and data monitoring. Data analytics software is a large, fast-growing segment of the tech world, which bodes well for Datadog. Elastic (ESTC +3.79%) and Dynatrace (DT +2.66%) are two other promising software makers to consider in this space. 2. Akamai As a content delivery network (CDN), Akamai ensures that data arrives securely at its intended destination. With the amount of data traveling across the internet steadily on the rise, CDNs are becoming increasingly important. Expand NASDAQ: AKAM Akamai Technologies Today's Change (-2.08%) $-2.24 Current Price $105.43 KEY DATA POINTS Market Cap $16B Day's Range $104.61 - $108.20 52wk Range $67.51 - $113.50 Volume 160K Avg Vol 3.8M Gross Margin 54.72% More people than ever are using the web for everything from entertainment to work. To bolster its network security offerings and protect its customers from ransomware attacks, Akamai acquired several smaller security specialists from 2022 to 2024. CDNs are internet infrastructures that maintain the internet "freeway" on which data travels. Akamai is a leader in this sector and also a developer of edge computing technology, which pulls data away from centralized data centers and brings it closer to end-users. Cloudflare (NET -2.41%) and Fastly (NYSE:FSLY), which are newer CDN providers, have a sharper focus on edge computing and are competitors to Akamai worth considering. Top cybersecurity ETFs in 2026 If you'd rather not have to choose among individual cybersecurity stocks, you can consider several exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that enable investors to participate in the growth of the cybersecurity industry as a whole. Our top picks for cybersecurity ETFs include. 1. First Trust NASDAQ CEA Cybersecurity ETF With $11.2 billion of assets under management in November 2025, First Trust NASDAQ CEA Cybersecurity ETF (CIBR -1.00%) is the largest of its kind. The ETF is composed of 30 stocks in the cybersecurity industry and has an annual expense ratio of 0.6% (or $6 in annual fees for every $1,000 invested), making it an affordable option. Expand NASDAQ: CIBR First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II - First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF Today's Change (-1.00%) $-0.65 Current Price $64.50 KEY DATA POINTS Day's Range $64.44 - $65.48 52wk Range $55.02 - $78.34 Volume 2.6M 2. Amplify Cybersecurity ETF Also notable in this sector is the Amplify Cybersecurity ETF (HACK -1.33%). Holding 26 stocks today, the ETF invests in many relatively small companies in the cybersecurity industry. The fund manages $2.2 billion in assets and has an expense ratio of 0.6%. Expand NYSEMKT: HACK Amplify ETF Trust - Amplify Cybersecurity ETF Today's Change (-1.33%) $-1.04 Current Price $76.87 KEY DATA POINTS Day's Range $76.87 - $78.24 52wk Range $61.59 - $89.59 Volume 117K 3. Global X Cybersecurity ETF A relative newcomer to the cybersecurity ETF space, the Global X Cybersecurity ETF (BUG -1.09%) launched at the end of 2019. The fund managed $1.1 billion in assets in November 2025 and has an expense ratio of 0.5%. The Global X Cybersecurity ETF held 27 stocks in its portfolio as of this writing. Expand NASDAQ: BUG Global X Funds - Global X Cybersecurity ETF Today's Change (-1.09%) $-0.29 Current Price $26.24 KEY DATA POINTS Day's Range $26.16 - $26.69 52wk Range $23.97 - $37.55 Volume 830K How to invest in cybersecurity stocks Open your brokerage app: Log in to your brokerage account where you handle your investments. Search for the stock: Enter the ticker or company name into the search bar to bring up the stock's trading page. Decide how many shares to buy: Consider your investment goals and how much of your portfolio you want to allocate to this stock. Select order type: Choose between a market order to buy at the current price or a limit order to specify the maximum price you're willing to pay. Submit your order: Confirm the details and submit your buy order. Review your purchase: Check your portfolio to ensure your order was filled as expected and adjust your investment strategy accordingly. Why should you consider investing in cybersecurity stocks? The cybersecurity threat landscape continues to evolve rapidly, driving massive investment in protection: Record-breaking breach activity: Identity Theft Resource Center reports show data breaches hitting an all-time high in 2023, with incidents jumping 71% from the previous 2021 record. 2024 held steady at this new plateau. Evolving attack strategies: Hackers shifted from mass attacks to more targeted fraud in 2024, with victim counts tripling year over year in 2024 as criminals adapted to tougher defenses. Massive market growth: Global cybersecurity spending is expected to exceed $200 billion annually by 2028, according to IDC research. Long-term growth trajectory: The industry will likely remain a high-growth industry for years as digital threats multiply. With cybersecurity stocks representing a red-hot niche of the tech industry, knowing how to invest in them can yield significant returns in the decade ahead. Related investing topics Best Tech Stocks to Buy in 2026 and How to Invest in Them This vast sector is composed of some of the most valuable companies in the world. Best Fintech Stocks to Buy in 2026 and How to Invest in Them Combine finance and technology to get companies in the fintech space. Best Cybersecurity ETFs to Buy in 2026 Cybersecurity is a long-term challenge, but we've cracked the code on six worthwhile ETFs that specialize in keeping data safe. Best AI Stocks to Buy in 2026 and How to Invest in Them Learn how you can make money from the wave of seasoned companies innovating in AI and new AI tech companies. Should you buy stock in CrowdStrike right now? Before you buy stock in CrowdStrike, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and CrowdStrike wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $514,000!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,105,029!* Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 930% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 187% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. See the 10 stocks › *Stock Advisor returns as of March 16, 2026. FAQ Investing in cybersecurity stocks FAQ Is it worth investing in cybersecurity stocks? How do economic downturns affect cybersecurity stocks? What is the best long-term cybersecurity stock? Who are the Big 5 firms in cybersecurity? Is cybersecurity going away? Can cybersecurity stocks be part of a diversified investment portfolio? ABOUT THE AUTHOR Anders Bylund is a contributing Motley Fool media and technology analyst covering semiconductors, cloud computing, internet infrastructure, quantum computing, and streaming media. Previously, Anders was a systems administrator for Nielsen Technology and CSX, gaining hands-on experience with enterprise-class systems. He was also a freelance writer for Ars Technica, TIME, USA Today, CNN, WIRED, and AOL's Daily Finance. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in library and information sciences from Florida State University. He believes in coyotes and time as an abstract. TMFZahrim @TMFZahrim Anders Bylund has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Cloudflare, CrowdStrike, Datadog, Fortinet, Okta, SentinelOne, and Zscaler. The Motley Fool recommends Akamai Technologies, Elastic, and Palo Alto Networks. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. STOCKS MENTIONED Fastly NYSE: FSLY $22.81 (-7.20%) -$1.77 Motley Fool Stock Advisor's Latest Pick Get Access 930% AVG RETURN* Cloudflare NYSE: NET $207.43 (-2.36%) -$5.02 CI First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II - First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF NASDAQ: CIBR $64.50 (-1.00%) -$0.65 Palo Alto Networks NASDAQ: PANW $167.45 (+0.26%) +$0.44 S SentinelOne NYSE: S $14.30 (-1.55%) -$0.23 HA Amplify ETF Trust - Amplify Cybersecurity ETF NYSEMKT: HACK $76.87 (-1.33%) -$1.04 Telefónica NYSE: TEF $4.03 (-0.25%) -$0.01 CrowdStrike NASDAQ: CRWD $424.05 (-4.01%) -$17.73 AK Akamai Technologies NASDAQ: AKAM $105.43 (-2.08%) -$2.24 BU Global X Funds - Global X Cybersecurity ETF NASDAQ: BUG $26.24 (-1.09%) -$0.29 Okta NASDAQ: OKTA $77.16 (-2.53%) -$2.00 Elastic NYSE: ESTC $53.44 (+3.79%) +$1.95 Dynatrace NYSE: DT $39.41 (+2.66%) +$1.02 Zscaler NASDAQ: ZS $153.69 (-0.05%) -$0.07 Fortinet NASDAQ: FTNT $84.49 (+1.26%) +$1.05 Datadog NASDAQ: DDOG $126.57 (+1.65%) +$2.05 *Average returns of all recommendations since inception. 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