3 Cybersecurity Stocks You Can Buy and Hold for the Next Decade

Key Points

• Palo Alto is seeing increased demand for cybersecurity with the growth of AI.

• CrowdStrike is best known for addressing endpoint security solutions.

• Zscaler's no-trust platform is ideal for remote and hybrid workforces.

• 10 stocks we like better than Palo Alto Networks ›

More than ever, businesses and individuals rely on technology. Whether it's websites, apps, smartphones and cloud services, or using smart home devices, our collective digital footprint is expanding fast.

Unfortunately, this growth creates risk from cyberattacks. People still fall for phishing emails or for emails from sophisticated scam artists. Remote work has gotten more common in recent years, opening more doors for online thieves to hack into a business.

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This is why the cybersecurity industry is growing by leaps and bounds. Grand View Research estimates that the global cybersecurity market was $245.6 billion in 2024, and is expected to increase to just over $500 billion by 2030. That indicates a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.9%.

So there's plenty of money for investors to make in cybersecurity, and some outstanding cybersecurity stocks that you can buy today and hold on for the next decade. Let's take a look at three pure-play cybersecurity stocks that I think make a lot of sense right now.

Pure-play pick No. 1: Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) is the largest pure-play cybersecurity firm in the world. The company reported $5 billion in annual recurring revenue (ARR) from its next-generation security platform, up 34% from a year ago, as more customers are looking for firewalls, cloud security tools, and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered threat detection solutions.

In addition, the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence products is generating more spending on cybersecurity products, as CEO Nikesh Arora told analysts in the company's most recent earnings call:

What's fascinating is this is actually creating a higher sense of urgency among our customers to undertake their technology transformation, transformations that require a fundamental change in your infrastructure. Traditional IT architectures weren't built for the scale, speed, or complexity of AI. To truly capitalize on AI's potential, enterprises need modern, cloud-delivered platforms that can ingest vast amounts of data and operate in real-time at scale. We've seen customers who were previously delaying their cloud migrations are now reaccelerating their investment. This is good news for cybersecurity.

Earnings for its fiscal 2025's third quarter (ended April 30) included revenue of $2.3 billion, up 15% from a year ago. Palo Alto's guidance calls for total year revenue in a range from $9.17 billion to $9.19 billion.

Pure-play pick No. 2: CrowdStrike

CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) is best known for its endpoint security system. Using AI, CrowdStrike's Falcon platform is designed to stop threats in real time on laptops, servers and mobile devices.

The company provides 30 modules on its Falcon platform, so clients can customize the types of protection they want. Nearly half of all CrowdStrike customers use more than six modules, the company says, and 22% of them use eight or more.

The company is in a strong financial position, with revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2026 at $1.1 billion, up 20% from a year ago. CrowdStrike reported ARR of $4.44 billion, up 22% from last year. Its full-year guidance calls for revenue between $4.74 billion and $4.8 billion, and earnings per share in a range from $3.44 to $3.56.

In addition, CrowdStrike authorized a share repurchasing program of up to $1 billion in CrowdStrike stock, although it didn't say when the transactions would occur.

Pure-play pick No. 3: Zscaler

If I were running an IT department, I would be so cautious about cybercrime that I would trust nobody. That's kind of where Zscaler (NASDAQ: ZS) comes in. Zscaler is known for what's called zero-trust architecture.

That means that the cybersecurity program assumes nothing is safe, even if it's already inside the network. That's particularly important with the growth of remote or hybrid workforces. The company's products are used by nearly 45% of all Fortune 500 organizations, and processes more than 500 billion transactions every day.

Zscaler also expanded its footprint in May by announcing a deal to buy Red Canary, a cybersecurity company that provides managed detection and response services, for $675 million. Zscaler will integrate Red Canary's sophisticated agentic AI technology into the Zscaler platform. That should help strengthen Zscaler's capabilities even more.

Revenue for its fiscal 2025's third quarter included $678 million in revenue, up 23% from a year ago. Full-year guidance shows revenue in a range from $2.659 billion to $2.661 billion, and earnings in a range from $3.18 to $3.19 per share.

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Patrick Sanders has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends CrowdStrike and Zscaler. The Motley Fool recommends Palo Alto Networks. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.