When investing in growth stocks, it pays to latch on to a sustainable trend or catalyst that can enable the business to continue posting healthy long-term growth. One such trend is cybersecurity. The world saw a sharp surge in digitalization in the past decade, and as more people and organizations shift to the cloud, there's an increased need for threat identification and protection.
The soaring demand for their services suggests cybersecurity stocks are a sector worth exploring. The good news is that there's enough demand to go around for multiple players in this sector to post healthy growth. Let's look at three growing cybersecurity stocks you should consider as buy-and-hold candidates for your portfolio.
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Image source: Getty images.
1. Palo Alto Networks
Palo Alto Networks(NASDAQ: PANW) is a network and cloud security company harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) to aid in threat detection and to enhance the effectiveness of its security efforts. The company has shown impressive revenue growth over the past three fiscal years and turned profitable in fiscal 2023.
Metric
2022
2023
2024
Revenue
$5.5 billion
$6.9 billion
$8.03 billion
Operating income
($188.8 million)
$387.3 million
$683.9 million
Net income
($267.0 million)
$439.7 million
$2.6 billion
Free cash flow
$1.8 billion
$2.6 billion
$3.1 billion
Data source: Palo Alto Networks. Fiscal years end July 31.
Free cash flow stayed positive throughout the three fiscal years and increased consistently year over year. This strong financial performance carried on into the first six months of fiscal 2025, with revenue rising 14.1% year over year to $4.4 billion. Operating income nearly doubled year over year to $527 million, but net income for the first half of 2025 was affected by a sizable tax credit recognized in the previous corresponding period. Stripping that out, profit before tax surged 65.8% year over year to $693.4 million. Free cash flow for the period was also healthy at close to $2 billion, while remaining performance obligations (RPOs) grew by 21% year over year to $13 billion.
Palo Alto Networks' management believes that AI and cloud adoption will continue to drive demand for its services. Research firm Gartner estimates that by 2028, 70% of workloads will run on the cloud, while 63% of organizations will increase their cloud investments because of AI. IT infrastructure needs to keep up with this AI boom, driving a $750 billion in infrastructure upgrades by 2027. These catalysts will continue to drive demand for Palo Alto Networks' services, and the company is already reporting healthy growth in its large accounts for its latest quarter. The number of accounts that had transactions exceeding $10 million soared 52% year over year to 32, while those greater than $5 million grew by 25% year over year to 74.
2. Zscaler
Zscaler(NASDAQ: ZS) operates its Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange platform to protect its customers from cyberattacks and data loss. The software-as-a-service business saw rising revenue over the years along with increasing free cash flow. Its gross margin also rose slightly over the past three fiscal years.
Metric
2022
2023
2024
Revenue
$1.09 billion
$1.62 billion
$2.17 billion
Gross profit
$848.7 million
$1.25 billion
$1.7 billion
Gross margin
77.8%
77.6%
78%
Free cash flow
$231.2 million
$333.6 million
$585 million
Data source: Zscaler. Fiscal years end July 31.
Revenue continued climbing during the first half of 2025, rising by nearly 25% year over year to $1.3 billion. Gross profit continued its ascent, going from $793.1 million to $985.9 million. Free cash flow surged 33.7% year over year to $435.3 million, and RPOs grew by a healthy 28% year over year to $4.6 billion. In addition, Zscaler's annual recurring revenue (ARR) increased by 23% year over year to $2.7 billion, and the number of customers with more than $1 million of ARR climbed 25% year over year to 620, showcasing increased spending on Zscaler's services.
As the world's largest security cloud provider, the company believes that it still enjoys a long growth runway. Its platform offers deeper insights and has a repeatable blueprint that can be used to garner more customers. Management identified tailwinds such as 5G, AI, and the Internet of Things (IoT) as catalysts for more organizations to adopt its cloud platform. Zscaler has also identified a huge serviceable market opportunity, with 335 million current users using 1.5 billion IoT-enabled devices. This market has the potential to grow to more than 600 million business-to-business users owning more than 7 billion IoT devices. The total addressable market stands at $96 billion currently but could grow several times larger should the pool of users and devices grow, opening up significant top- and bottom-line growth opportunities for the company.
3. Cyberark Software
Cyberark Software(NASDAQ: CYBR) provides identity security services to help secure human and machine identities in organizations. Its security platform helps apply access controls that come with threat detection and prevention to enable its clients to work securely and efficiently. Like Zscaler, Cyberark Software has seen its revenue increase steadily while gross margin also improved over the years, hitting close to 80%. Free cash flow leapt more than sixfold over the past three years.
Metric
2022
2023
2024
Revenue
$591.7 million
$751.9 million
$1 billion
Gross profit
$465.7 million
$595.8 million
$792.4 million
Gross margin
78.7%
79.2%
79.2%
Free cash flow
$37.2 million
$51.3 million
$220.8 million
Data source: Cyberark Software. Fiscal years end Dec. 31.
The company boasts more than 9,500 global customers and has seen its ARR post an impressive 44% compound annual growth rate, rising from just $274 million in 2020 to $1.17 billion by 2024. It was also the first time Cyberark Software saw its ARR cross the billion-dollar mark, and more than 90% of the company's revenue is recurring.
Cyberark Software's Investor Day 2025 highlighted a total addressable market of $80 billion for the identity management company. Management cited the need for increased machine identity security along with increased risk and complexity in digital and cloud applications. A stunning 93% of organizations have suffered identity-related breaches, showcasing the urgent need for the better protection that cybersecurity companies offer. Cyberark Software has an ambitious target to grow its ARR to around $2.3 billion by 2028, with free cash flow hitting $600 million by then.
The company is not resting on its laurels and recently unveiled its Secure Workload Access Solution, the first-of-its-kind machine identity security solution that enables security teams to gain visibility and control over the entire machine identity lifecycle. Cyberark Software also announced the acquisition of Zilla Security, a company offering identity governance and administration solutions, for an enterprise value of $165 million to bolster its capabilities. These developments, along with the aforementioned tailwinds, should help Cyberark Software to continue growing its revenue and free cash flow for the foreseeable future.
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Royston Yang has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Zscaler. The Motley Fool recommends Gartner and Palo Alto Networks. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
