CrowdStrike Holdings vs Microsoft (CRWD vs MSFT)
Side by side from their SEC filings: revenue, margins, growth, returns and valuation, plus short interest, insider activity and institutional ownership.
Microsoft is the larger company by revenue ($281.7B vs $4.8B) and market value ($2.9T vs $190.6B). CrowdStrike Holdings has grown revenue faster over the last 4 fiscal years (+231.5% cumulative vs +67.6%). Microsoft runs the higher operating margin (45.6% vs -6.1%).
About CrowdStrike Holdings
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. provides cloud-native cybersecurity solutions designed to prevent breaches across endpoints, cloud workloads, identities, and AI systems. Its main product is the Falcon platform, which uses artificial intelligence and a single lightweight sensor to collect and analyze security data in real time for threat detection, investigation, and response. CrowdStrike serves organizations across various industries seeking to protect their digital environments from sophisticated cyberattacks.
About Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation develops, licenses, and supports a wide range of software products, services, and devices. Its main offerings include operating systems like Windows, cloud-based services, artificial intelligence solutions, and platform-based ecosystems for developers and users. Microsoft serves both business and consumer markets globally, competing in areas such as personal computing, cloud infrastructure, and AI technologies.
Head to head (CRWD FY2026 vs MSFT FY2025)
| Metric | CRWDFY2026 | MSFTFY2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $4.81B | $281.72B |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | 21.7% | 14.9% |
| Gross margin | 74.7% | 68.8% |
| Operating margin | -6.1% | 45.6% |
| Net margin | -3.4% | 36.1% |
| Net income | $-162.5M | $101.83B |
| Diluted EPS | $-0.65 | $13.64 |
| FCF margin | 27.2% | 25.4% |
| ROE | -3.6% | 29.6% |
| Debt / equity | 0.2× | 0.1× |
| Market cap | $190.60B | $2.93T |
| P/E (TTM) | — | 23.4× |
Fundamentals are from each company’s SEC filings (CRWD FY2026, MSFT FY2025). P/E and market cap are derived from recent market prices and update daily.
Five-year trend (as reported)
| CRWD by fiscal year | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.45B | $2.24B | $3.06B | $3.95B | $4.81B |
| Net income | $-234.8M | $-183.2M | $72.2M | $-15.2M | $-162.5M |
| Operating margin | -9.8% | -8.5% | -0.6% | -2.9% | -6.1% |
| MSFT by fiscal year | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $168.09B | $198.27B | $211.91B | $245.12B | $281.72B |
| Net income | $61.27B | $72.74B | $72.36B | $88.14B | $101.83B |
| Operating margin | 41.6% | 42.1% | 41.8% | 44.6% | 45.6% |
CrowdStrike Holdings and Microsoft use different fiscal calendars (CRWD's FY2026 ended 2026-01-31, MSFT's FY2025 ended 2025-06-30), so their fiscal years are shown separately rather than forced into one timeline.
Peer standing
Where each company ranks among the 330 software companies, on the same scale. Each figure is ranked only against peers that report it. Percentiles describe position in the distribution, not a rating.
| Metric | CRWD | MSFT |
|---|---|---|
| Gross margin | 74.7%67th percentile of 261 | 68.8%52nd percentile of 261 |
| Operating margin | -6.1%32nd percentile of 302 | 45.6%99th percentile of 302 |
| Net margin | -3.4%36th percentile of 306 | 36.1%94th percentile of 306 |
| FCF margin | 27.2%81st percentile of 283 | 25.4%77th percentile of 283 |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | +21.7%76th percentile of 323 | +14.9%62nd percentile of 323 |
| ROE | -3.6%35th percentile of 283 | 29.6%87th percentile of 283 |
| Debt / equity | 0.17×29th percentile of 125 | 0.12×23rd percentile of 125 |
| Short interest (days to cover) | 2.24d36th percentile of 329 | 1.47d20th percentile of 329 |
Short interest
| FINRA settlement data | CRWD | MSFT |
|---|---|---|
| Shares sold short | 7.1M | 89.1M |
| Change vs prior settlement | -7.6% | -6.4% |
| Days to cover | 2.24 | 1.47 |
| As of settlement | 2026-06-30 | 2026-06-30 |
Source: FINRA Consolidated Short Interest. FINRA is the owner and source of the FINRA-supplied data; republishing or redistributing it is not permitted. Not presented as a percentage of float. No FINRA endorsement of this product is implied.
Insider activity (last 90 days)
| Form 4 open-market activity | CRWD | MSFT |
|---|---|---|
| Buys | 0 | 0 |
| Sells | 1278 ($217.3M) | 4 ($10.5M) |
Open-market purchases and sales reported on SEC Form 4 (grants, exercises and tax withholding excluded). For context, about 16% of covered companies saw any open-market insider buy in a 90-day window.
Held by the same investors
8 tracked 13F managers hold both CrowdStrike Holdings and Microsoft as of their latest quarterly filings: AQR Capital Management, ARK Investment Management, Bridgewater Associates, Citadel Advisors, D. E. Shaw, Gotham Asset Management, Millennium Management, Two Sigma Investments. See which superinvestors hold your own portfolio with the smart money checker.
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Data sourced from SEC EDGAR (public domain). Figures are as-reported and may be unaudited or restated; verify against the source filings before relying on them. Comparisons are descriptive (higher or lower on a reported figure), not a rating or a recommendation. Informational only. Not investment advice.