CrowdStrike Faces $15.6 Billion Options Benchmark Ahead of AI Security Earnings

CrowdStrike Faces $15.6 Billion Options Benchmark Ahead of AI Security Earnings

NEW YORK, August 24, 2026, 10:12 EDT

  • CrowdStrike shares were at $191.02, a decline of 0.48%, in Monday’s regular trading.
  • Options are pricing in an 8% move on earnings, representing approximately $15.6 billion in market capitalization.
  • Analysts expect revenue to rise by 23%, with earnings per share at $0.29 after adjusting for the split.
  • Jefferies increased its price target to $230 on Monday while maintaining a Buy rating.

CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. was down 0.48% at $191.02 as of 09:55:15 EDT on Monday. Options markets are pricing in a much bigger move after earnings on Wednesday, with implied volatility suggesting an 8% move in either direction.

Stock chart for NASDAQ:CRWD

The scale of volatility is significant in dollar terms. Eight percent of CrowdStrike’s $194.74 billion market value represents about $15.6 billion. That figure is nearly 10.8 times greater than the $1.44 billion in quarterly revenue forecast by analysts.

Market snapshotValueContext
Latest price$191.0209:55:15 EDT, Aug. 24
Session movement-0.48%During regular hours
Today’s range$189.52-$195.40As of 09:55 EDT
52-week range$85.68-$227.50Google Finance
Market value$194.74 billionAt observed time

CrowdStrike is set to release its fiscal second-quarter earnings after U.S. markets close on August 26. The company’s conference call will start at 17:00 EDT.

The stock began trading at $189.52 and climbed to $195.40 before slipping back. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. was down 1.84% at about the same point. The similar trend in a peer signals that some of CrowdStrike’s decline was due to broader weakness in cybersecurity shares.

Earnings bridgeQ1 FY2027 actualQ2 FY2027 benchmarkChange
Revenue$1.39 billion$1.44 billion consensusUp about 3.6% from last quarter
Revenue versus prior year+26%+23% consensusGrowth rate 3 percentage points lower than before
Ending ARR$5.51 billion$5.794 billion guidance midpointIncrease of approximately $284 million
Non-GAAP operating income$325.7 million$347.4 million guidance midpointRose about 6.6%

The company projected second-quarter revenue between $1.436 billion and $1.442 billion. Management also expects annual recurring revenue (ARR) to reach approximately $5.794 billion. ARR reflects the contracted subscription revenue run rate.

The implied sequential ARR increase stands at approximately $284 million, representing an increase of about 28% over the net-new ARR of $221 million posted in last year’s second quarter. This would come after a record $256 million ARR addition in the April quarter.

In June, CEO George Kurtz stated that CrowdStrike observed “platform adoption from existing customers, new logo lands, and increased partner engagement.” Following that quarter, the company raised its full-year net-new ARR growth midpoint to 27.7%. CrowdStrike

Options scenarioImplied share levelMarket-value change
8% higherNear $206Roughly +$15.6 billion
Reference price$191.95 Friday close
8% lowerUnder $175Roughly -$15.6 billion
Each percentage pointNear $1.92Roughly $1.95 billion
Options endpoints are reported estimates; market-value changes are preliminary calculations using the $194.74 billion intraday capitalization.

Options markets currently suggest a potential upward move to approximately $206 or a drop below $175. A one percentage point change in the company’s market value equates to nearly $1.95 billion. This figure surpasses the prior year’s second-quarter revenue of $1.17 billion.

Visible Alpha projects revenue will rise 23% to $1.44 billion. The forecast for split-adjusted earnings stands at $0.29 per share. Trading on a split-adjusted basis began on July 2 following the four-for-one split.

AnalystRecommendationTargetDate
Joseph Gallo, JefferiesBuy$230Aug. 24
Shrenik Kothari, BairdHold$220Aug. 21
Meta Marshall, Morgan StanleyBuy$227Aug. 21
Peter Levine, Evercore ISIHold$205Aug. 20
Yi Fu Lee, BenchmarkBuy$250Aug. 18
Google Finance lists 30 Buy, eight Hold and no Sell ratings among 38 analysts; the average target is $214.72.

Jefferies analyst Joseph Gallo on Monday increased his price target to $230 from $190 while maintaining a Buy rating. The broker described its latest channel checks as “incrementally positive.” Jefferies also noted that expectations have climbed alongside the recent rally. Jefferies note summary

Bank of America takes a more cautious stance. Its analysts noted elevated expectations could make surpassing this quarter’s targets challenging. They are monitoring CrowdStrike’s “ability to convert AI-driven security demand” into Falcon sales.

Risks: Even if revenue exceeds expectations, shares may not rise if net-new ARR or guidance fall short. The downside scenario in options would cut roughly $15.6 billion in value. Ongoing risks include competition, extended sales cycles, and expenses related to the July 2024 outage.

The upcoming challenge is ARR conversion. On Wednesday, investors will see if a record pipeline delivers at least the approximately $284 million sequential rise outlined in guidance.

NASDAQ:CRWD · Q2 FY2027 EARNINGS SETUP

CrowdStrike's $15.6B volatility test

U.S. regular session open
Market data: August 24, 2026
09:55:15 EDT · USD
Earnings: August 26 · after close
Share price
$191.02
▼ 0.48% intraday
Options move
±8%
By Friday, market estimate
Market value at risk
$15.6B
8% × $194.74B capitalization
Q2 revenue estimate
$1.44B
▲ 23% year over year

Options scenario versus the current quote

<$175$191.02≈$206 8% downside case09:55 EDT8% upside case One percentage point ≈ $1.95B of market capitalization

52-week position

74%OF RANGE $85.68 low$227.50 high

Revenue and ARR bridge

$1.17B$1.39B$1.44B Q2 FY26Q1 FY27Q2 FY27 est. +23% YoY
ARR guidance midpoint: $5.794B, implying roughly $284M added sequentially.

Analyst recommendations

30BUY Buy: 30Hold: 8Sell: 0 AVERAGE TARGET$214.72+12.4%

What the quarter must prove

MetricBenchmarkInvestor read-through
Revenue$1.436B-$1.442BDemand conversion
ARR$5.793B-$5.795BSubscription momentum
Non-GAAP op. income$345.6M-$349.1MOperating leverage
Split-adjusted EPS$0.29 consensusProfit delivery

Fresh analyst markers

DeskCallTarget
Jefferies · Aug. 24Buy$230
Morgan Stanley · Aug. 21Buy$227
Baird · Aug. 21Hold$220
Evercore · Aug. 20Hold$205
Benchmark · Aug. 18Buy$250
Why the stock is moving: CrowdStrike is trading modestly lower with cybersecurity peers before Wednesday's report. The larger setup is event risk. Options imply an 8% swing as investors test whether AI-security demand can produce the roughly $284 million sequential ARR increase embedded in guidance.
Sources: CrowdStrike investor relations, Google Finance, Investopedia and analyst actions displayed by Google Finance. Options endpoints are market estimates, not forecasts. Market-value calculations use the $194.74B intraday capitalization observed August 24, 2026, 09:55:15 EDT.
Iwona Majkowska

Iwona Majkowska is a financial markets journalist at TS2.tech. She covers stocks, artificial intelligence and technology, with a focus on the stories moving U.S. and global markets. Before turning to financial journalism, she worked in equity research and financial analysis. She is a graduate of the Warsaw School of Economics. Follow Iwona Majkowska on Google News.

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