CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks Climb 3% as Microsoft Outage Disrupts Outlook and Teams

An outage at Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT | MSFT Price Prediction) is pushing buyers toward the biggest independent names in cybersecurity. CrowdStrike Holdings (NASDAQ:CRWD) stock is at $237.30 in morning trading, up 3%. That gain adds to a strong year, with CrowdStrike stock up 102% year to date (YTD).

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) is climbing alongside CrowdStrike. At the same time, Microsoft stock is inching lower as the outage interrupts Outlook and Teams. Outages at major cloud and software providers tend to put a spotlight on security and resilience spending. That’s drawing traders to large cybersecurity platforms like CrowdStrike.

How Microsoft’s Outage Is Lifting CrowdStrike

Microsoft is dealing with an outage on November 13 that’s interrupts Outlook and Teams, two tools at the center of the workday for many businesses. Barron’s described the outage as coming at the worst possible time for Microsoft stock, which was already trading off its record high. For CrowdStrike, the disruption is a reminder to corporate buyers of how much they depend on a single vendor.

Enterprises that lean on Microsoft’s integrated security stack may revisit whether a separate platform makes sense after an outage like this. Falcon, the CrowdStrike platform, works across the major public clouds, including Microsoft Azure. Traders tend to reward that kind of independence whenever a major provider stumbles, which helps explain the buying in CrowdStrike.

CrowdStrike came into the disruption with strong momentum. On August 26, the company reported Q2 FY2027 revenue of $1.47 billion, up 25.8% year over year (YoY), along with record net new annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $332.8 million. CEO George Kurtz said at the time, “Q2 was the best quarter in CrowdStrike’s history.” The company also raised its FY2027 guidance.

What Palo Alto and Microsoft Say About CrowdStrike’s Rally

Palo Alto stock is at $333, up 3%. That’s a sharp turn for a name that’s struggled lately, since Palo Alto stock is down 16% over the past month. The monthly slide cuts against the strength in CrowdStrike and shows the two cybersecurity leaders haven’t traded in tandem, though both companies sell the kind of independent security platform enterprises weigh after a Microsoft disruption.

Microsoft stock is at $519.03, down 0.8%. As the provider whose services are interrupts, Microsoft sits on the opposite side of the trade from the security names. A decline that modest suggests the market views the outage as a short-term problem for a company whose cloud and productivity businesses reach deep into corporate America.

CrowdStrike’s Focused Model Stands Apart From Palo Alto and Microsoft

CrowdStrike runs a cloud-native, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered security business built around a single lightweight agent. Customers subscribe to Falcon modules covering endpoints, cloud workloads, identity and data, and the Falcon Flex licensing model makes it easier to add more over time. That pure focus on security gives CrowdStrike a clean pitch when buyers want protection that sits outside any one cloud provider.

Palo Alto takes a broader approach it calls platformization, folding network security, security operations through Cortex and identity security through Idira into one relationship. The company still sells hardware appliances alongside subscriptions, though Palo Alto’s mix is shifting toward recurring revenue, while Microsoft fits a different category, bundling security into a large platform that covers Azure, Microsoft 365 and Windows.

Palo Alto’s Earnings Report Is Next for Cybersecurity Stocks

Next up for Palo Alto is its Q1 FY2027 report, expected November 18 after the close, according to earnings calendar data. Strong results from Palo Alto could support the whole group, while a soft outlook could test the rebound. Whether CrowdStrike keeps the gain once Microsoft fixes Outlook and Teams is the other open question, with CrowdStrike’s own earnings report still ahead.

The bulls can argue that every major outage strengthens the case for independent security platforms, and both CrowdStrike and Palo Alto have reported strong demand tied to AI adoption. Palo Alto’s steep monthly slide gives the bears ammunition, along with the risk that a rally triggered by a temporary disruption fades fast. A YTD run as large as CrowdStrike’s also leaves less room for disappointment. For investors, staying cautious could make sense until Palo Alto’s earnings report arrives.

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