CrowdStrike Stock (CRWD): Should You Buy Before Q2 Earnings Drop?

Earnings season looms—and CrowdStrike investors are buckling up.

The cybersecurity giant faces its moment of truth when Q2 numbers hit the tape. Will it soar on strong results or get clipped by missed targets?

Bull Case: Cloud Security Demand Isn’t Slowing

Enterprises keep shifting workloads online. Threat landscapes expand. CrowdStrike’s Falcon platform sits right in the sweet spot—cloud-native, AI-driven, and frighteningly scalable.

Bear Risks: Valuation Already Prices In Perfection

Sure, growth has been stellar. But at these multiples, anything short of blowout numbers could trigger a swift re-rate. Because on Wall Street, “good” often isn’t good enough.

Watch These Metrics Closely

Annual recurring revenue growth, net new customer adds, and operating margin. Beat here, and the stock likely rallies. Miss, and well—hope you like downside volatility.

One cynical take? Earnings day is just institutional poker—retailers rarely hold the winning hand.

Verdict: High risk, high reward. Know your tolerance before placing bets.

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What to Expect from CrowdStrike on August 27 

Wall Street analysts expect CrowdStrike to report earnings of $0.83 per share for the second quarter of Fiscal 2026, down 20% from the year-ago quarter. Meanwhile, analysts project Q2 revenues of nearly $1.15 billion, according to the TipRanks Analyst Forecasts Page. This marks a year-over-year increase of about 19%.

Wall Street Split on CrowdStrike Ahead of Q2 Earnings

Heading into the Q2 print, Guggenheim analyst John DiFucci kept a Neutral rating on the stock. The 5-star analyst expects the company to meet revenue and annual recurring revenue (ARR) targets in the second quarter. He pointed out that in Q1, CrowdStrike closed two very large deals—each over $23 million— showing that customers are committing to big contracts. He also sees plenty of room forgrowth in the U.S. federal government market, which could lift revenue over time.

On the cautious side, he believes there is limited upside from current levels. With the stock still trading at a high valuation, he prefers to remain on the sidelines for now.

In contrast, analyst Andrew Nowinski of Wells Fargo reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a price target of $550, citing signs of recovery and new growth drivers. He noted that demand has improved sharply, nearly back to pre-outage levels, which points to stronger performance in the second half of the year. In addition, newer products like Cloud Security and Identity Protection are expected to fuel ARR growth.

Is CRWD Stock a Good Buy?

With 26 Buys and 12 Hold recommendations, CrowdStrike scores a Moderate Buy consensus rating on TipRanks. The average CRWD stock price target of $497.15 implies an upside risk of about 18.21% from current levels.