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 ($331.8B vs $4.8B) and market value ($3.7T vs $220.2B). CrowdStrike Holdings has grown revenue faster over the last 4 fiscal years (+231.5% cumulative vs +67.4%). Microsoft runs the higher operating margin (46.8% 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 FY2026)
| Metric | CRWDFY2026 | MSFTFY2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $4.81B | $331.84B |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | 21.7% | 17.8% |
| Gross margin | 74.7% | 67.9% |
| Operating margin | -6.1% | 46.8% |
| Net margin | -3.4% | 40.3% |
| Net income | $-162.5M | $133.75B |
| Diluted EPS | $-0.65 | $17.95 |
| FCF margin | 27.2% | 20.2% |
| ROE | -3.6% | 30.2% |
| Long-term debt / equity | 0.17× | 0.07× |
| Market cap | $220.22B | $3.72T |
| P/E | — | 28.2× |
Fundamentals are from each company’s SEC filings (CRWD FY2026, MSFT FY2026). ROE is net income over fiscal-year-end equity; long-term debt / equity counts non-current term debt only. P/E and market cap are derived from stored market prices, last retrieved on a rolling basis and typically within the past week.
Five-year trend (as reported)
| Revenue | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | FY2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRWD | $1.45B | $2.24B | $3.06B | $3.95B | $4.81B |
| MSFT | $198.27B | $211.91B | $245.12B | $281.72B | $331.84B |
Peer standing
Where each company ranks among the 332 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 264 | 67.9%51st percentile of 264 |
| Operating margin | -6.1%33rd percentile of 303 | 46.8%98th percentile of 303 |
| Net margin | -3.4%38th percentile of 307 | 40.3%97th percentile of 307 |
| FCF margin | 27.2%81st percentile of 285 | 20.2%64th percentile of 285 |
| Revenue growth (YoY) | +21.7%75th percentile of 325 | +17.8%67th percentile of 325 |
| ROE | -3.6%37th percentile of 285 | 30.2%87th percentile of 285 |
| Long-term debt / equity | 0.17×29th percentile of 127 | 0.07×18th percentile of 127 |
| Short interest (days to cover) | 3.38d50th percentile of 330 | 2.05d30th percentile of 330 |
Short interest
| FINRA settlement data | CRWD | MSFT |
|---|---|---|
| Shares sold short | 24.2M | 68.5M |
| Change vs prior settlement | -5.5% | -15.7% |
| Days to cover | 3.38 | 2.05 |
| As of settlement | 2026-08-14 | 2026-08-14 |
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 activity (codes P/S) | CRWD | MSFT |
|---|---|---|
| Buys | 0 | 0 |
| Sells | 923 ($181.0M) | 4 ($10.1M) |
Non-derivative purchases (code P) and sales (code S) reported on SEC Form 4, which may be open-market or private (grants, exercises and tax withholding excluded). For context, about 15% of covered companies saw any reported insider purchase (code P) in a 90-day window.
Held by the same investors
11 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, Maverick Capital, Millennium Management, Renaissance Technologies, Sands Capital 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. 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.