Charlotte AI Usage Jumps 85%: Will it Power CRWD's Growth Momentum?

CrowdStrike CRWD is positioning Charlotte AI as a key part of its competitive advantage in delivering automated and scalable cybersecurity. In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, Charlotte AI’s usage grew 85% compared with the prior quarter. This growing usage demonstrates how rapidly Charlotte AI is gaining momentum to become a central part of CrowdStrike’s platform, while helping customers automate and speed up security operations.Charlotte AI is designed to work like a virtual Security Operations Centre (SOC) analyst. It can investigate and respond to threats, generate reports, and handle routine tasks. According to management, jobs that once took four days can now be done in about one hour with Charlotte AI. It can also act as a Tier 1 analyst, handling alerts at machine speed. CrowdStrike is also embedding Charlotte AI across the Falcon platform. By training it on the company’s threat intelligence and Falcon Complete SOC data, Charlotte keeps improving through continuous learning. This creates a feedback loop that strengthens detection and response over time.The adoption of Charlotte AI is already tied to new customer deals. One such example is a Fortune 500 software company, which signed an eight-figure re-Flex deal to include Charlotte AI as part of its deal to modernize its SOC. The company renewed its contract 18 months before the expiration of the initial Falcon Flex subscription and also replaced a legacy and a hyperscaler SIEM in the process. The above factors show how Charlotte AI is not only improving efficiency but also helping CrowdStrike to win larger contracts. Charlotte AI is off to a strong start and could become an important part of CrowdStrike’s growth story. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CrowdStrike’s fiscal 2026 revenues is pegged at $4.78 billion, suggesting a year-over-year increase of 20.9 %.How Competitors Fare Against CRWDCompetitors like Palo Alto Networks PANW and SentinelOne S are also gaining ground through platform expansion and AI innovation. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025, Palo Alto Networks saw robust growth in its Next-Gen Security ARR, which increased 32% year over year. The growth was driven by increased customer adoption of PANW’s advanced cybersecurity offerings, including its AI-driven XSIAM platform, SASE and software firewalls.Though comparatively a small competitor, SentinelOne posted second-quarter fiscal 2026 year-over-year growth of 24% in its ARR. The growth was fueled by the rising adoption of SentinelOne’s AI-first Singularity platform and Purple AI.CRWD’s Price Performance, Valuation and EstimatesShares of CrowdStrike have gained 26.6% year to date compared with the Security industry’s growth of 11.7%.CRWD YTD Price Return PerformanceImage Source: Zacks Investment ResearchFrom a valuation standpoint, CrowdStrike trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 19.76X, way higher than the industry’s average of 12.35X.CRWD Forward 12-Month P/S RatioImage Source: Zacks Investment ResearchThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for CrowdStrike’s fiscal 2026 earnings implies a year-over-year decline of 6.6%, while for fiscal 2027 earnings indicates year-over-year growth of 29%. The estimates for fiscal 2026 and 2027 have both been revised upward over the past 30 days.Image Source: Zacks Investment Research CrowdStrike currently flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.See our %%CTA_TEXT%% report – free today!7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report SentinelOne, Inc. (S): Free Stock Analysis Report Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (PANW): Free Stock Analysis Report CrowdStrike (CRWD): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks