AI agents are creating a cybersecurity problem traditional defenses were not built to handle: software that can access sensitive data, call tools and take action without waiting for a human. Dan Ives believes that shift could reshape corporate technology budgets, pushing cybersecurity’s share of IT spending from roughly 5% today to 10% over the next three years. Five stocks sit at the center of his thesis.
In an Oct. 19 research note, the Yorkville Ives analyst identified CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD), Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW), Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS), Fortinet, Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT) and Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ:CHKP) as his top cybersecurity plays into 2027.
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AI Agents Expand the Threat
The spending opportunity begins with a growing attack surface. As companies move AI from pilot projects to autonomous agents, each agent becomes another identity to manage, another route into sensitive information and another potential entry point for attackers.
Ives pointed to OpenAI‘s disclosure earlier this month that its agents may have attempted to bypass security or affected systems at more than 100 organizations. The incidents illustrate why conventional security policies may not be enough when AI systems can act at machine speed.
Ives argues that companies need platforms capable of monitoring and enforcing security controls in real time across endpoints, networks and cloud environments. As enterprises consolidate vendors, larger platforms could capture a disproportionate share of incremental spending.
Five Stocks to Watch
- CrowdStrike is Ives’ top pick. Its Falcon Guardian, Agentic IdP and Charlotte AI offerings position the company to monitor and secure AI agents, extending its endpoint security franchise into the emerging agentic era.
- Palo Alto Networks is the consolidation play. Its Strata, Prisma and Cortex platforms span network, cloud and security operations, while Ives sees its identity and runtime-security capabilities broadening its reach as customers seek fewer vendors.
- Zscaler’s Zero Trust Exchange connects users, workloads and autonomous agents directly to the resources they need without placing them on a corporate network. That architecture could become more important as agents gain access to sensitive enterprise systems.
- Fortinet sits at the intersection of network security and AI infrastructure. Ives sees its FortiOS operating system, FortiASICs and Security Fabric benefiting as AI agents generate more network traffic, machine identities and data flows.
- Check Point Software may be the underappreciated name on the list. Its AI Network Firewall helps customers discover and govern AI applications and agents through existing firewalls. Ives considers its recent execution issues fixable rather than structural.
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Consolidation Could Separate Winners
Ives also expects cybersecurity dealmaking to accelerate over the next six to 12 months. He points to a run of deals exceeding $1.5 billion since 2021 and argues that smaller vendors could struggle to fund the research and development needed for increasingly complex AI threats.
For investors, the opportunity is not simply that AI creates more attacks. It is that securing autonomous systems could become a larger, recurring budget priority. If Ives’ forecast proves right, cybersecurity platforms that combine broad coverage with real-time enforcement could capture a growing share of enterprise AI spending.
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