It’s estimated that global IT spending is likely to touch $5.1 trillion in 2024. With the growth in the IT market, cybersecurity is of paramount importance to build a strong defense against cyber threats.
It’s, therefore, not surprising that the industry has been growing at a healthy pace. From an investment perspective, there are attractive cybersecurity stocks to buy in a big addressable market for multibagger returns.
To put things into perspective, the global cybersecurity market was worth $190.4 billion in 2023. The market size is expected to swell to $298.5 billion by 2028. Therefore, there is ample headroom for growth for some of the best cybersecurity companies.
This column discusses three cybersecurity stocks to buy that represent companies with high-growth potential. Further, these companies will likely deliver robust free cash flows in the next five years. Let’s discuss the market potential and the reasons to be bullish on these stocks.
CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD)
CrowdStrike Holdings (NASDAQ:CRWD) is possibly the best name among cybersecurity stocks to buy. CRWD stock has surged 150% in the last 12 months, and I remain bullish on the growth story.
The company provides cybersecurity solutions globally. CrowdStrike offers cloud-delivered protection of endpoints, cloud workloads, identity and data. In recent news, the company collaborated with Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) to use AI in cybersecurity. The collaboration will likely ensure that CrowdStrike provides the best services to enterprise customers.
While revenue growth has been robust, I want to focus on the following metric. CrowdStrike reported free cash flow of $938 million for the financial year 2024. With a $225 billion total addressable market by 2028, I expect the company to be a cash flow machine in the next five years. My view is underscored by the fact that subscription revenue swelled by 36% year-on-year in FY24 to $2.9 billion.
Overall, the company’s business is a necessity for the technology industry. I expect healthy growth to sustain and, as cash flows swell, the market valuation will be positively impacted.
Cloudflare (NET)
Cloudflare (NYSE:NET) stock has been in an uptrend with returns of 73% in the last 12 months. In my view, corrections can be used as an opportunity to consider exposure. Considering a five-year investment horizon, NET will likely be a multibagger.
As an overview, Cloudflare provides integrated cloud-based security solutions. The solutions target public cloud, private cloud, on-premise, software-as-a-service applications and IoT devices. Talking about the scale, Cloudflare reported 182 billion cyber threats blocked per day.
It’s worth noting that the company has a total addressable market of $204 billion as of 2026. That provides headroom for robust growth. Further, Cloudflare reported 48% of revenue outside the United States. With a wide geographic presence, there is ample scope for growth in new markets.
I must add here that with healthy growth, the company’s operating margin has expanded by 500 basis points to 9% in 2023. While it expects a similar margin this year, healthy revenue growth will translate into cash flow upside.
Datadog (DDOG)
Datadog (NASDAQ:DDOG) is another name among cybersecurity stocks to buy for multibagger returns. DDOG stock has already been in an uptrend, but I believe the rally will sustain in the coming years.
As an overview, Datadog is the observability and security platform for cloud applications. The security functions include cloud and application security management and application vulnerability management. Besides cloud security, the other solutions provided include cloud service management, product analytics and software security.
It’s worth noting that the cloud market is currently worth $560 billion. Further, the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 20% through 2027. That provides a big opportunity for players like Datadog with their comprehensive platform. The company’s observability market was worth $51 billion as of 2023, with the cloud security market worth $21 billion.
From a financial perspective, Datadog reported revenue growth of 27% year-on-year to $2.13 billion in 2023. It’s worth noting that free cash flow margin was 28%, and Datadog ended the year with a cash buffer of $2.6 billion. Therefore, there is ample financial flexibility to invest in growth and platform innovation.
On the date of publication, Faisal Humayun did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
