3 Growth Stocks to Buy as AI Makes Cybersecurity More Important Than Ever

By Justin Pope – Apr 2, 2026 at 10:37AM ESTKey PointsCrowdStrike is entrenching itself as a best-in-class AI cybersecurity platform.Palo Alto Networks is beginning to see benefits from its platformization pivot.Zscaler's zero-trust technology will be in high demand as agentic AI grows.Recently, reports surfaced that Lockheed Martin, a leading defense contractor, had been targeted in a hacking breach that may have exposed sensitive data, including information on its F-35 fighter jet. It's obvious why protecting classified weapons data is important, but the stakes in cybersecurity are high for almost every enterprise for one reason or another. So cybersecurity will likely remain a crucial budget item for companies worldwide, especially as artificial intelligence (AI) makes threats more cunning and sophisticated than ever. The top cybersecurity companies will likely take value in this market from their less innovative competitors, and these three look like screaming buys after their recent pullbacks. Image source: The Motley Fool. 1. The AI-forward Falcon platform makes this company an industry leader CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD +0.01%) has been at the forefront of the industry for some time now. Its Falcon platform has expanded from its roots in endpoint security into a diversified solution for tens of thousands of enterprises. Falcon uses AI to analyze activity on a computer or device to detect suspicious patterns. It routinely receives praise from market researchers such as Gartner. ExpandNASDAQ: CRWDCrowdStrikeToday's Change(0.01%) $0.04Current Price$393.35Key Data PointsMarket Cap$100BDay's Range$387.00 - $400.0952wk Range$298.00 - $566.90Volume36KAvg Vol3.9MGross Margin74.53% The company's module-based pricing model lets customers customize their services to their needs and creates natural upsell opportunities. By adding to its library of modules, CrowdStrike has steadily expanded its total addressable market to an estimated $149 billion, and management estimates that could rise to $325 billion by 2030. With $4.8 billion in total revenue over the past four quarters, it has plenty of room to grow. CrowdStrike's strong reputation has earned its stock a lofty premium. It has traded at an average of more than 26 times sales over the past five years. However, recent market turbulence has helped drive it down to just 19 times sales. Investors may want to buy this dip to score an industry leader with a bright future. 2. This firewall leader is driving growth through platformization Palo Alto Networks (PANW +0.85%) became a global cybersecurity leader due to its specialization in firewalls. It now boasts over 70,000 customers worldwide. That is a massive customer base that the company is now tapping into for growth. Its platformization strategy is pivoting the company to an integrated security platform designed for the AI era. ExpandNASDAQ: PANWPalo Alto NetworksToday's Change(0.85%) $1.36Current Price$162.03Key Data PointsMarket Cap$131BDay's Range$157.51 - $162.8052wk Range$139.57 - $223.61Volume1.6MAvg Vol11MGross Margin73.50% The company has been preparing for the AI era for a while now. Management has made a laundry list of acquisitions, culminating in its recent $25 billion purchase of CyberArk to expand into identity security. Securing user identities will be absolutely crucial in an AI era where virtual agents flood enterprise networks and internal operations. The platformization pivot took some time, but revenue growth should reaccelerate, with management guiding for 22% to 23% growth this year. The stock currently trades at under 11 times its trailing-12-month sales, a far less expensive valuation than CrowdStrike's, though the two have similar growth expectations. 3. A focused security play on agentic AI Unlike CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks, Zscaler (ZS +0.64%) isn't a diversified cybersecurity provider. Instead, it specializes in cloud-native zero-trust security, a security strategy (not a product) that constantly verifies all connections on a private network. Zscaler generates $3 billion in annual sales from over 9,400 clients worldwide. ExpandNASDAQ: ZSZscalerToday's Change(0.64%) $0.88Current Price$137.55Key Data PointsMarket Cap$22BDay's Range$134.15 - $139.0252wk Range$128.00 - $336.99Volume40KAvg Vol2.7MGross Margin76.28% Grand View Research projects that the market for zero trust security will grow at an annualized rate of 16.5% through 2030 to $84 billion. Agentic AI will be a major driver of that growth. AI agents are still so new that there are serious security weaknesses. The recent OpenClaw craze has been fun, but some users have seen how easily a malicious download or email can corrupt an OpenClaw agent. Zscaler stock has been swept up in the "SaaSpocalypse," tumbling along with numerous other software incumbents due to investor fears that AI will weaken SaaS companies' competitive moats. However, cybersecurity is an entirely different beast from typical software apps. Zscaler will likely thrive in the AI era, making it a table-pounding bargain at just 7 times sales.Read NextMar 31, 2026 •By Dave KovaleskiGot $3,000? 2 Cloud Stocks That Wall Street Analysts Raised Targets on This Month.Mar 29, 2026 •By Rick MunarrizI've Changed My Mind on CrowdStrike Stock. The Agentic AI Boom Changes Everything.Mar 27, 2026 •By Daniel SparksCrowdStrike Stock Was Absolutely Hammered This Week. Why I'm Still Not Buying.Mar 25, 2026 •By Anthony Di PizioStock Market Sell-Off: 2 Glorious Growth Stocks to Buy on the Dip, According to Wall StreetMar 23, 2026 •By Scott LevineCan You Invest in Anduril Pre-IPO?

Everything You Need to Know in 2026Mar 23, 2026 •By James HiresCrowdStrike Just Crossed $5 Billion in Annual Recurring Revenue. Is This the Best Cybersecurity Stock to Own?About the AuthorJustin Pope is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering information technology, consumer discretionary, consumer staples, and industrials. Prior to The Motley Fool, Justin was a business manager for an industrial company.TMFbeardedFiStocks MentionedCrowdStrikeNASDAQ: CRWD$394.79(+0.38%)+$1.48Palo Alto NetworksNASDAQ: PANW$161.75(+0.67%)+$1.08ZscalerNASDAQ: ZS$138.01(+0.98%)+$1.34*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.