Cybersecurity threats continue to rise, and companies across sectors anticipate increasing spending on defense measures to prevent or lessen the damage caused by these attacks in the future. According to a recent survey of more than 1,000 executives across industries by Deloitte, 57% of respondents expect their companies to boost cybersecurity spending over the coming 1-2 years.
Some companies in the cybersecurity industry have already benefited from this invigorated focus on their services. The First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF (NASDAQ: CIBR), a benchmark for the broader industry, has climbed by more than 28% in the last year. But several firms in particular warrant special attention from investors heading into the new year.
RBRK: Revenue Climbing, Path to Cash Positivity
With a market capitalization of $9.5 billion, Rubrik Inc. (NYSE: RBRK) is one of the smaller cybersecurity firms with a national presence. The company's platform, which uses generative AI in addition to other standard cybersecurity tools, has helped Rubrik to be named the 2024 Entrepreneurial Company of the Year by the Harvard Business School Association of Northern California.
The company joins the ranks of previous winners including NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), and many other tech giants. However, Rubrik is commonly overlooked by investors—shares of RBRK represent just 0.7% of CIBR's portfolio as of December 3, 2024.
Things seem to be changing, though, as Rubrik has recently garnered attention for its robust revenue growth, prompting shares to surge by 45% in the month leading up to December 5, 2024. Despite this rapid share price climb, Rubrik's price-to-sales ratio remains a competitive 15.5.
Investors optimistic about the company's trajectory toward cash-flow positivity will be heartened by its most recent earnings results, delivered on December 5, in which the company boosted its full-year revenue guidance. It now expects revenue as high as $862 million for the year. Rubrik also narrowed its expected adjusted losses for the year.
Rubrik is rated a Strong Buy based on Wall Street analyst assessments, with 18 analysts giving a Buy rating and one a Hold. Several analysts increased their price targets for RBRK shares in the last two weeks of November, indicating a generally bullish outlook on the company's stock price.
GEN: Leader in the Consumer Cybersecurity Space
Gen Digital Inc. (NASDAQ: GEN) is more than twice the size of Rubrik, but still a relatively smaller player in the world of cybersecurity. With its origins in Symantec, Gen Digital's most popular products include individual cybersecurity software items under the Norton and Avast brands, among other lines. It also offers identity protection services and virtual private network solutions.
Gen had a strong second quarter of its fiscal 2025, with year-over-year increases to revenue, earnings, operating margin, operating cash flow, and more. The company posted 13% improvement to its diluted EPS and operating cash flow of $158 million, more than 25% higher than the prior-year quarter.
The company is also optimistic about future growth, with executives anticipating a 4% to 5% bookings growth rate throughout the rest of the fiscal year. Though GEN shares are up about 41% in the year leading to December 4, 2024, the company has a low price-to-sales ratio of just 5.1, suggesting that it may still be undervalued.
FTNT: Stability and Growth Prospects
Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ: FTNT) is the largest cybersecurity firm in this list, but it nonetheless has room to grow as well. Fortinet executives recently increased the company's guidance for 2025 and now expect revenue to climb by 12% for the full year. Unlike Rubrik, Fortinet has already established positive cash flow. This has allowed the company to pay down debts and even to engage in an aggressive share buyback program in recent months.
As of December 5, analysts remain divided in their ratings of FTNT shares. About 40% suggest the stock is a Buy, while 58% have rated it a Hold. However, it's noteworthy that many of these ratings predate the company's November 7 earnings report, which was viewed quite positively by the market (indeed, shares of FTNT have risen by 26% in the month leading to December 5).
So it's possible that sentiment is more positive than these ratings let on and that some analysts have yet to adjust their official assessments. Altogether, this makes Fortinet a strong contender as a buy-and-hold stock for 2025.
