6 Cybersecurity Stocks To Buy In 2025

Executive leaders recently identified cyber and technology risk as primary threats to business growth, according to a survey from insurer Chubb. More than 40% of executive respondents noted that cyber threat monitoring is an essential function within their organization.

That percentage will likely rise as the cybersecurity landscape gets more complex. A World Economic Forum analysis cites several factors that are creating more complexity. They include hackers’ use of AI technology, rising geopolitical tensions and the increase in data protection regulations.

This fast-changing environment creates opportunities for the best cybersecurity stocks to thrive. Proven cybersecurity providers will become invaluable to their customers and gain pricing power as a result.

To benefit from these trends, consider adding targeted cybersecurity exposure to your portfolio. Read on to meet six cybersecurity stocks with growth potential in 2025 and beyond.

Methodology Used For These Cybersecurity Stock Picks

Identifying these best cybersecurity stock picks began with listing all holdings within WisdomTree Cybersecurity Fund (WCBR) and Global X Cybersecurity ETF (BUG). From that group, stocks with these qualities were removed from consideration:

1. Stocks listed on foreign exchanges
2. Stocks with fewer than 10 covering analysts
3. Stocks with consensus price targets that are not at least 10% higher than the current trading price

The remaining nine cybersecurity stocks were ordered by free cash flow (FCF) per share—highest to lowest—and the bottom three were dropped. FCF was calculated from each company's most recent year-end financial releases as operating cash flow less capital expenditures or capex. Capex included purchases of property, plant and equipment and capitalized software costs.

6 Top Cybersecurity Stocks To Buy In 2025

The table below identifies six cybersecurity stocks poised for growth in 2025.

Read on to learn more about these cybersecurity companies and why they may be candidates for your portfolio. Bulleted metrics come from stockanalysis.com, except for the FCF per share, which was calculated from company financial releases.

For more investing ideas, see best stocks for 2025, best energy stocks and best growth stocks.

1. Akamai Technologies (AKAM)

• FCF per share: $6.05
• Forward PE: 15.20
• 1-Year stock price change: -18.14%
• Price target upside: 14.90%
• Year-over-year revenue growth: 5.92%
• Expected revenue growth next year: 6.86%
• Expected EPS growth next year: 6.77%

Akamai Technologies Business Overview

Akamai Technologies provides cloud computing, content delivery and cybersecurity solutions. Application and API security, bot and abuse protection, infrastructure security and programs supporting a zero-trust strategy are part of the offering. A zero-trust security strategy assumes breach is possible within networks and verifies every transaction accordingly.

Akamai sells to financial companies, video streaming companies, healthcare providers, retailers, pharmaceuticals and the U.S. military.

Why AKAM Is A Top Choice

Akamai has proven its ability to drive sales and earnings growth. Although the sales trajectory has been more linear than earnings, the company has the highest and most consistent operating margin among the stocks on this list.

Akamai is currently seeing momentum in security solutions and cloud computing. In its most recent earnings release, the company reported 17% quarter-over-quarter sales growth in these areas. Company-wide sales growth rose a more subdued 4%.

Going forward, analysts expect high-single-digit sales growth for Akamai through 2028, with annual EPS in the range of about $6.50 to nearly $10.

2. Zscaler (ZS)

• FCF per share: $3.81
• Forward PE: 66.39
• 1-Year stock price change: -28.84%
• Price target upside: 14.92%
• Year-over-year revenue growth: 10.05%
• Expected revenue growth next year: 5.36%
• Expected EPS growth next year: 2.08%

Zscaler Business Overview

Zscaler operates a cloud security platform sold to customers on a subscription basis. Customers operate in various sectors, including household and personal products, banking, transportation, hospitality and biotech.

Why ZS Is A Top Choice

Zscaler says its inline security cloud platform is the world’s largest. The company launched in 2007 and has since produced impressive year-over-year sales growth. In the past three years, sales grew an average of 48% annually.

The profit side of the equation has been more challenging. Zscaler has not yet achieved GAAP earnings. However, the company does have strong cash flow and the second-highest FCF per share on this list. Cash flow production should continue, as the Zscaler team optimizes its already effective go-to-market and upsell strategies.

In the October 2024 quarter, Zscaler reported 26% quarter-over-quarter revenue growth on "strong sales execution." Operating cash flow was $291.9 million and 53% of revenue. The GAAP loss per share shrank to $30.7 million from $46.1 million in the prior year period.

3. Okta (OKTA)

• FCF per share: $2.85
• Forward PE: 32.75
• 1-Year stock price change: 17.56%
• Price target upside: 11.95%
• Year-over-year revenue growth: 26.30%
• Expected revenue growth next year: 21.55%
• Expected EPS growth next year: 14.59%

Okta Business Overview

Okta provides cloud-based workforce and customer identity solutions. The company is best known for its gateway service that allows authenticated users to access multiple applications with one login. Customers include more than half of Fortune 100 companies plus thousands of other organizations.

Why OKTA Is A Top Choice

Okta has strong market positioning, good growth history and a solid customer list. Recently, the company has been focused on attracting more high-value contracts and innovating its offering to enhance upsell opportunities. For fiscal year 2025, the leadership team expects 15% sales growth and a FCF margin of 25%.

Admittedly, a 15% sales growth expectation doesn’t compare well to Okta's history. Annual sales growth from fiscal years 2019 to 2023 ranged from 40% to 55%. Fiscal 2024 sales growth was about 20%.

Data breaches have been a lingering problem for Okta. Incidents in 2022 and 2023 kept OKTA’s stock price low, as other tech stocks rebounded strongly from the 2022 tech sell-off. However, in a recent earnings call, the company said the 2023 breach was no longer affecting results quantifiably.

As a potential investor, you can assess Okta's breach history in two ways. You can assume Okta could repeat its mistakes, which would be bad for customers and shareholders. Or, you can interpret Okta's troubles as a possible buying opportunity for a company with some positives: Okta operates in a growing industry, produces more than $400 million annually in FCF and is nearing GAAP profitability.

4. Datadog (DDOG)

• FCF per share: $1.76
• Forward PE: 76.56
• 1-Year stock price change: -14.86%
• Price target upside: 12.24%
• Year-over-year revenue growth: 30.77%
• Expected revenue growth next year: 20.64%
• Expected EPS growth next year: 19.91%

Datadog Business Overview

Datadog sells technology monitoring and logging services. Customers use the platform to manage, troubleshoot and optimize their cloud-based IT infrastructure, including servers, applications and databases. The customer list includes Samsung, Shell, Deloitte, Comcast and Nasdaq.

Why DDOG Is A Top Choice

In 2023, Grand View Research estimated the global cloud market value at $602.31 billion. The researcher also projected a CAGR of 21.2% between 2024 and 2030. That growth benefits Datadog, which has a strong market position in cloud security. The company’s platform also integrates with OpenAI so customers can track the usage and performance of their AI-based applications.

Stifel analysts recently downgraded DDOG due to uncertainty around the company’s potential in the AI monitoring space. However, Bank of America Securities analyst Koji Ikeda has a different view, as reported by Business Insider. Ikeda recently maintained a buy rating on DDOG stock and raised the price target—noting that the company's long-term prospects without AI are still promising.

For the September quarter, Datadog reported 26% higher sales quarter-over-quarter and strong growth in customers with annual recurring revenue of at least $100,000. The company also produced FCF of $204 million.

5. Elastic N.V. (ESTC)

• FCF per share: $1.40
• Forward PE: 66.21
• 1-Year stock price change: 10.89%
• Price target upside: 11.00%
• Year-over-year revenue growth: 16.84%
• Expected revenue growth next year: 7.81%
• Expected EPS growth next year: 6.37%

Elastic N.V. Business Overview

Elastic N.V. makes enterprise software that searches, analyzes, logs and visualizes data. The company is best known for its Elasticsearch application, used by popular apps like Uber, Instacart and Tinder. Elastic also offers an AI-powered security solution for detecting, investigating and responding to cybersecurity threats.

Why ESTC Is A Top Choice

Analysts appreciate Elastic’s position in AI and cybersecurity, two fast-growing industries. Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives has cited AI as the bigger growth engine for Elastic. Ives believes Elastic will see continued strong demand for its platform as the AI revolution continues.

Investors appreciate Elastic's habit of beating earnings expectations. In the first two quarters of fiscal 2025, Elastic outperformed the EPS consensus by 36% and 55%, respectively. Highlights from the second quarter include an 18% revenue gain, a 59% increase in non-GAAP diluted EPS and a 16% increase in the high-value customer count from the prior-year quarter. High-value customers are those with annual contract values over $100,000.

6. Rapid7 (RPD)

• FCF per share: $1.33
• Forward PE: 17.28
• 1-Year stock price change: -7.61%
• Price target upside: 15.29%
• Year-over-year revenue growth: 13.97%
• Expected revenue growth next year: 9.64%
• Expected EPS growth next year: 18.31%

Rapid7 Business Overview

Rapid7 manages an AI-powered vulnerability management platform that can analyze network activity, proactively identify threats, test applications for security holes, monitor cloud resources and third-party integrations and respond to threats.

Why RPD Is A Top Choice

Rapid7 generates more than $820 million in annual recurring revenue and services more than 11,000 customers. While the company’s revenue growth has slowed recently, Rapid7 has also recently achieved GAAP profitability—a milestone in the cybersecurity space. After producing a GAAP net loss of $149 million in 2023, the company has delivered GAAP net income of $46.9 million over the last 12 months.

However, analyst Adam Borg of Stifel Nicolaus is cautious about Rapid7’s growth prospects. Borg says the vulnerability management niche within cybersecurity may not provide the growth investors want to see from Rapid7. Despite Borg's opinion, the average analyst earnings outlook for Rapid7 is positive. Estimates show steady EPS growth from $2.31 in 2024 to $4.02 in 2029.

In the third quarter 2024, Rapid7 grew sales 8% year-over-year, and produced FCF of $39 million.

Bottom Line

Technology and geopolitical trends may create tailwinds for cybersecurity stocks in the coming years. The most effective providers will benefit the most. To add cybersecurity exposure to your portfolio, look for companies with strong growth records and improving profitability. You can alternatively opt for a cybersecurity ETF that spreads risk out over a few dozen securities.

Read Next

• 6 Defense Stocks To Buy In 2025
• Super Micro Computer Stock: Where Is It Heading In 2025?
• 5 Undervalued Stocks To Buy For February 2025