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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Fortinet and CrowdStrike make money in different ways. Fortinet pairs security hardware and other products with recurring security subscriptions and support, while CrowdStrike’s business is centered on subscriptions to its cloud-delivered Falcon platform. Their latest reported quarters both showed 26% year-over-year revenue growth, but ended one month apart and are not a same-period comparison. The distinction matters to investors: hardware demand and supply are central Fortinet variables; subscription growth, renewals and platform execution are central CrowdStrike variables. Growth rates alone do not show which stock is the better value.
How Fortinet and CrowdStrike make money
Fortinet: products plus recurring services
Fortinet sells secure networking products, including firewall hardware, alongside recurring services. In FY2025, it reported $6.800 billion in total revenue: $2.218 billion from products and $4.581 billion from services. Services included $2.633 billion in security subscriptions and $1.948 billion in technical support and other services. The figures are company-reported and rounded, so component totals may not match the total exactly. Fortinet FY2025 Form 10-K
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That mix is neither a pure hardware model nor a subscription-only one. Services were the larger FY2025 revenue stream, but products remained economically significant. Fortinet also reported $7.18 billion in remaining performance obligations at December 31, 2025, substantially comprising deferred security subscriptions and technical support plus unbilled contract revenue under non-cancellable contracts. Remaining performance obligations indicate contracted work not yet recognized as revenue; they are not a guarantee of future growth or cash collection. Fortinet FY2025 Form 10-K
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CrowdStrike: cloud platform subscriptions
CrowdStrike sells its Falcon security platform as software-as-a-service, with modular offerings that span endpoint protection, security operations, cloud security, identity, threat intelligence, data protection, observability and related areas. Its investor-relations overview describes 34 cloud modules on the platform. CrowdStrike investor-relations overview
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In FY2027 Q2, subscription revenue was $1.400 billion of $1.471 billion total revenue. Ending annual recurring revenue (ARR) was $5.84 billion as of July 31, 2026. ARR is a company-defined operating metric that estimates the annualized value of active subscriptions; it is not GAAP revenue recognized during the quarter. CrowdStrike FY2027 Q2 results
What the latest reported quarters show
The companies use different fiscal calendars: Fortinet’s FY2026 second quarter ended June 30, 2026, and CrowdStrike’s FY2027 second quarter ended July 31, 2026. The figures below are each company’s latest reported quarter in the cited materials, not a synchronized comparison. Growth rates are year over year.
| Metric | Fortinet, FY2026 Q2 | CrowdStrike, FY2027 Q2 |
|---|---|---|
| Quarter ended | June 30, 2026 | July 31, 2026 |
| Revenue | $2.05 billion; up 26% | $1.471 billion; up 26% |
| Product or subscription revenue | Product revenue: $773 million; up 52% | Subscription revenue: $1.400 billion; up 27% |
| Other growth indicator | Billings: $2.37 billion | Ending ARR: $5.84 billion; up 25% |
| Operating profitability | GAAP operating margin: 34% | GAAP operating loss: $33.2 million; non-GAAP operating income: $371.6 million |
| Cash flow | Free cash flow: $966 million | Free cash flow: $377 million |
| Highlighted subscription margin | Not stated in the cited FY2026 Q2 results | Non-GAAP subscription gross margin: 81% |
Fortinet’s billings and free cash flow are non-GAAP or company-defined measures; consult the company’s definitions and reconciliations before comparing them with other issuers. CrowdStrike’s 81% subscription gross margin is explicitly non-GAAP and should not be compared directly with Fortinet’s 34% GAAP operating margin: gross and operating margins measure different things, and the accounting bases differ. CrowdStrike reported both a GAAP operating loss and non-GAAP operating income, so neither should be substituted for the other. Fortinet FY2026 Q2 results · CrowdStrike FY2027 Q2 results
What investors should monitor
Fortinet: product demand and service renewals
- Product demand and transitions: Track product revenue alongside services. Rapid product growth can affect the mix, but one quarter does not establish a durable trend.
- Supply and inventory: Fortinet’s filings discuss component supply, manufacturing, inventory, channel-order variability and possible margin effects from shortages or excess stock. These can influence when products ship and how efficiently the company serves demand. Fortinet FY2025 Form 10-K
- Renewals and support: Security subscriptions and technical support are recurring revenue streams. Their growth, renewal performance and contribution to total revenue help show whether the installed base is generating ongoing business.
- Billings in context: Billings can offer a view of sales activity, but it is not the same as revenue recognized under accounting rules. Read it with the issuer’s definition and reconciliation rather than treating it as a substitute for revenue.
CrowdStrike: subscriptions, expansion and execution
- Subscription growth and ARR additions: Watch reported subscription revenue and changes in ending ARR. ARR is a useful operating indicator, but it is not a GAAP revenue line.
- Renewals, expansion and module adoption: Customer retention, spending expansion and adoption of additional Falcon modules can shape recurring revenue. The number of modules alone does not establish how widely customers use them or how much revenue they generate.
- Platform execution: CrowdStrike identifies risks involving rapid growth, product defects or vulnerabilities, competition, customer retention and costs associated with the July 19, 2024 incident. The company continued to include the incident among risk factors in its FY2027 Q2 release. CrowdStrike FY2026 Form 10-K · CrowdStrike FY2027 Q2 results
- Adjusted measures: CrowdStrike’s adjusted guidance excludes stock-based compensation and other items, including costs or recoveries associated with the July 19 incident. Treat adjusted results as supplemental to GAAP results and check the company’s reconciliation. CrowdStrike FY2027 Q2 results
How to compare the stocks without confusing growth and value
A faster-growing revenue line does not, by itself, make a stock cheaper or more attractive. A stock comparison needs market prices from the same date, comparable share counts and a clearly specified valuation measure. For enterprise-value comparisons, also account consistently for cash and debt; for earnings or cash-flow multiples, use the same trailing or forward period and define whether the figures are GAAP or adjusted.
The available reported results do not establish a synchronized current market capitalization, valuation multiple or analyst-consensus comparison for FTNT and CRWD. No conclusion about which stock is cheaper follows from the revenue figures above. Investors making a current valuation comparison should timestamp the prices and use the same denominator and accounting basis for both companies.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Bottom line for a business-model comparison
Fortinet combines meaningful product revenue with a larger recurring-services stream; CrowdStrike is much more subscription-centered and delivers its Falcon platform through the cloud. The former makes product cycles, supply and inventory important alongside renewals. The latter puts recurring subscription growth, customer expansion and platform reliability closer to the center of the investment case. Evaluate each company on those operating drivers, then compare valuation using synchronized market data rather than inferring stock value from growth alone.
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