CrowdStrike vs. UiPath: Which Technology Stock Is a Better Buy in 2026?

As digital threats evolve and automation becomes essential, investors must weigh the merits of different software leaders. This comparison evaluates CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) and UiPath (NYSE:PATH) to determine which is the better buy.

CrowdStrike provides cloud-based security through its Falcon platform, while UiPath focuses on robotic process automation and AI agents. Both companies offer critical software infrastructure, but they occupy different stages of financial growth. This analysis examines their revenue trends, balance sheet strength, and current valuations to help you decide for 2026.

The case for CrowdStrike

CrowdStrike is a prominent name among tech stocks, selling cybersecurity software through its Falcon platform. This platform secures endpoints, cloud workloads, and identity data for more than 88,000 organizations globally. The company serves a diverse base of enterprise and government clients, including many managed security service providers. It recently highlighted the growth of its Falcon Flex subscription model, which now supports over 1,000 customers. The company maintains a close technical relationship with Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), its primary infrastructure provider.

In FY 2026, revenue reached nearly $4.8 billion, representing approximately 21.7% growth over the prior year. Despite the rising sales, the company reported a net loss of roughly $162.5 million for the fiscal year. This resulted in a net margin of -3.4%, indicating the percentage of revenue lost after deducting all expenses. In comparison, the company had a net margin of -0.5% during FY 2025. This year-over-year trend indicates that while revenue is expanding, profitability remains a challenge.

As of its January 2026 balance sheet, the debt-to-equity ratio is approximately 0.2x. This ratio measures total debt relative to shareholder equity, indicating that the company uses relatively little borrowed money. The current ratio is nearly 1.8x, indicating the company's ability to pay its short-term debts with its current assets. Free cash flow, defined as cash from operations minus capital expenditures, was roughly $1.3 billion for the year. Note that stock-based compensation accounted for roughly 68% of operating cash flow, inflating reported cash generation, since SBC is a non-cash expense added back to cash flow.

The case for UiPath

UiPath provides an automation platform designed to manage AI agents and software robots for complex enterprise tasks. The company has a legal presence in 30 countries and serves approximately 10,747 customers across sectors like retail, manufacturing, and financial services. Roughly 54% of its revenue in fiscal 2026 came from customers located outside of the United States. To strengthen its offerings, the company expanded strategic alliances with Snowflake (NYSE:SNOW) to integrate governed data. It also works with partners like BDO USA to develop specialized agentic AI solutions for risk management.

In FY 2026, revenue reached nearly $1.6 billion, representing revenue growth of approximately 12.7% over the previous year. The company reported a net income of roughly $282.3 million, a significant swing from the net loss seen in FY 2025. This produced a net margin of approximately 17.5%, indicating the portion of each sales dollar that remains as profit. This improvement demonstrates the company's ability to scale its operations more efficiently as it matures. The transition to consistent profitability is a key milestone for the business.

As of its January 2026 balance sheet, the debt-to-equity ratio is approximately 0.0x. This suggests the company has negligible total debt relative to its shareholder equity. The current ratio is roughly 2.5x, a figure that measures how easily a company can cover its upcoming financial obligations with its current assets. Free cash flow for the period was nearly $352.2 million. Note that stock-based compensation accounted for roughly 78.3% of operating cash flow, inflating reported cash generation, since SBC is a non-cash expense added back to cash flow.

Risk profile comparison

CrowdStrike faces risks following its July 19, 2024, content configuration update incident, which caused significant reputational and financial damage. The company also deals with intense competition from other cybersecurity vendors and rapid changes in AI technology. It depends heavily on Amazon for infrastructure, creating a risk of service disruptions that could harm subscriptions. Furthermore, evolving global data privacy laws, such as the GDPR, impose heavy compliance burdens and potential penalties on businesses.

UiPath is highly dependent on its single automation platform, which poses a risk if it fails to evolve with AI trends. The company faces stiff competition from enterprise platform vendors like Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) that are integrating their own AI agents. Complex deployments often require high-quality support, and implementation failures can lead to lower renewal rates. Additionally, international operations in countries like Romania and India involve complex tax and regulatory environments. These factors could lead to future audits or unexpected penalties.

Valuation comparison

UiPath offers a much more conservative entry point based on the Forward P/E and P/S ratio when compared to CrowdStrike. The Forward P/E measures the current share price against future earnings estimates, while the P/S ratio measures a company's market value relative to its sales over the past twelve months.

Valuation metrics include those sourced from Financial Modeling Prep (FMP) and may differ from those of other data providers.

Which stock would I buy in 2026?

When comparing CrowdStrike and UiPath, investors should consider a few key factors. Let's have a look at them and see what that tells us about each stock.

To start, there's growth. Both companies are growing at a steady pace. However, CrowdStrike has the overall edge. Over the last five years, CrowdStrike's year-over-year revenue growth has averaged 37%, while UiPath's has been 19%. In recent quarters, both companies' growth has moderated, but CrowdStrike still maintains a solid lead over UiPath (26% vs. 13%).

Another factor to consider is each company's profitability. Here, UiPath has an advantage. While UiPath struggled to achieve profitability for many years, it has pivoted to consistent profitability in recent quarters. It now boasts an operating margin of about 9%. CrowdStrike, meanwhile, has long hovered near profitability but has struggled to deliver consistent profits. Its current operating margin stands at -1%, very close to its five-year average of -4%.

Last, there's valuation. Given CrowdStrike's inconsistent profits, let's examine each company's price-to-sales (P/S) ratios to establish a clear apples-to-apples comparison. By doing so, it's obvious that UiPath, with its 4x P/S ratio, is much more affordable than CrowdStrike, with its 51x P/S ratio.

In summary, both stocks are intriguing options for growth-focused investors. CrowdStrike has the overall advantage in terms of growth, while UiPath is the winner on both profitability and valuation. Ultimately, the fundamentals only tell part of the story. UiPath stock has underperformed largely due to concerns that its business model may be threatened by large language models (LLMs). CrowdStrike, meanwhile, appears poised to benefit from the rise of AI, as organizations ramp up cybersecurity spending amid new AI-driven cyber threats. Therefore, I still lean towards CrowdStrike stock.

Jake Lerch has positions in Amazon and CrowdStrike. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, CrowdStrike, Salesforce, Snowflake, and UiPath. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.