12 Best Performing Cybersecurity Stocks in 2025

In this article, we explore the 12 Best Performing Cybersecurity Stocks in 2025.

Cybersecurity stocks are holding up much better than expected amid broader software pessimism triggered by concerns about the artificial intelligence revolution. The resilience stems from the fact that cybersecurity companies provide crucial governance services as AI-powered agents increasingly handle a greater share of web traffic.

Gartner already reports that AI agents could take up to 40% of enterprise tasks by the end of the year, up from just 5% last year. This is expected to reshape cybersecurity needs as the number of attack surfaces increases. As more agentic capabilities come online, the threat landscape expands, presenting opportunities for bad actors to weaponize AI to launch attacks.

“Going forward, it’ll be a hybrid world with humans and agents interacting together, and agents acting in concert with and communicating with other agents,” said Stifel analyst Adam Borg. An explosion of agents means that organizations will now have to secure agent identities in addition to human identities, he said.

The conflict in the Middle East is also putting IT departments on their feet amid a surge in cyberattacks propagated by state-linked Iranian groups. According to researchers at Virginia-based Ultraviolet Cyber, the state-linked groups have become more effective at carrying out cyberattacks with less.

Poland has already had to foil an attack on a nuclear research facility targeted by Iranian actors. However, the Albanian parliament was not lucky as its systems were hacked by an Iran-linked hacker group. Palo Alto Networks researchers have also warned of a surge in pro-Iranian cyber operations.

Consequently, Goldman Sachs strategists have touted cybersecurity firms as an opportunity as the S&P 500 edges lower amid uncertainty triggered by the Middle East Conflict.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the best-performing cybersecurity stocks in 2025.

Our Methodology

To find the 12 best‑performing cybersecurity stocks in 2025, we used the Finviz stock screener, cybersecurity stocks etfs and other online sources to build a list that includes both pure‑play cybersecurity firms and companies with indirect exposure to the sector. We checked their past year’s performance (more than 10%) and selected the 15 best performing stocks from our initial pool of more than 30 companies. We then picked out 12 stocks that are also popular among elite hedge funds. We considered institutional interest in each stock using hedge fund holdings data from Insider Monkey’s 13F database, as of Q4 2025. The final list is ranked in ascending order by past-year performance as of April 4.

Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research shows we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 498.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 303 percentage points (see more details here).

Best Performing Cybersecurity Stocks in 2025

12. Leidos Holdings Inc (NYSE:LDOS)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 37

Past Year Performance: 13.86%

Leidos Holdings Inc (NYSE:LDOS) is among the best performing cybersecurity stocks in 2025. On March 30, Leidos Holdings Inc (NYSE:LDOS) announced that it had completed the acquisition of Entrust Solutions. Leidos purchased the business from Kohlberg in a transaction valued at around $2.4 billion.

Entrust provides a range of services to utilities and industrial customers. These include design, engineering, consulting, and automation. It operates in more than 40 locations across North America.

With this acquisition, Leidos says it has doubled its footprint in the energy infrastructure market. It’s also adding more than 3,100 professionals in areas like electric grid engineering and natural gas infrastructure.

Leidos says this acquisition expands its utility customer base. Moreover, the acquisition broadens its engineering capabilities in the power delivery space. The company further says adding Entrust to its portfolio aligns with its NorthStar 2030 strategy. This strategy focuses on five growth areas, including IT modernization and cyber, energy infrastructure, and space and maritime.

On March 17, a Leidos team led by CFO Chris Cage participated in the JPMorgan Industrials Conference 2026. The team used the platform to provide an overview of the company’s strategic focus.

The conference heard about the company’s efforts to expand its capabilities in key sectors like cyber and maritime. The company is bolstering its capabilities in these areas through AI partnerships.

The team also shared how the company is adapting to the changing federal IT landscape. Investors also heard that Leidos anticipates revenue and margin declines in its healthcare segment in 2026, though growth is expected in defense and other sectors.

Virginia-based Leidos Holdings Inc (NYSE:LDOS) is an American technology company that serves defense, aviation, energy, and healthcare sectors. It provides software, systems integration, engineering, and technical services. Its clients include the US federal government, which it provides with national security software.

11. Ziff Davis Inc (NASDAQ:ZD)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 20

Past Year Performance: 22.07%

Ziff Davis Inc (NASDAQ:ZD) is among the best performing cybersecurity stocks in 2025. Ziff Davis Inc (NASDAQ:ZD) announced on March 3 that it was looking to generate $1.2 billion in proceeds from the sale of its Connectivity division. This division houses brands like Ookla, RootMetrics, Speedtest, and Downdetector.

These businesses help organizations to deliver faster and more reliable connectivity so users can enjoy the best digital experience. The sale of the Connectivity division will see Ziff Davis streamline its operation and allow it to narrow focus to its media publishing brands like Mashable and Everyday Health, Reuters reported.

Ziff Davis is selling the division to Accenture, and it expects the transaction to close in the coming months. The closing of the transaction is contingent on the deal obtaining regulatory approvals.

The Connectivity unit brought in $231 million in revenue for Ziff Davis in 2025, representing around 16% of the company’s total sales that year. Ziff Davis says it will continue and operate the Connectivity businesses until the sale transaction is completed. After that, the company will classify the division as discontinued operations.

Ziff Davis plans to use proceeds from the sale of the Connectivity division for corporate purposes. In addition, the proceeds may be used to fund capital allocation activities.

Share repurchases is one area Ziff Davis has been deploying capital. In 2025, the company spent $174 million on share buybacks, including $60.6 million spent in Q4 2025. According to the management, the buybacks demonstrate their conviction that the share price doesn’t adequately reflect the intrinsic value of Ziff Davis’ businesses.

Ziff Davis Inc (NASDAQ:ZD) is an American digital media and internet services company. It operates a portfolio of brands focused on areas like cybersecurity, technology, health, shopping, and gaming. The company is based in New York.

10. NetApp Inc (NASDAQ:NTAP)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 47

Past Year Performance: 26.64%

NetApp Inc (NASDAQ:NTAP) is among the best performing cybersecurity stocks in 2025. On March 24, NetApp Inc (NASDAQ:NTAP) announced a deal with Elastio to bolster the security capabilities of its ransomware protection service. This arrangement will involve embedding certain Elastio features into the NetApp Ransomware Resilience Service.

With this integration, NetApp aims to help enterprises detect threats that may have evaded initial security measures and entered backup data.

Elastio brings technology that helps with deep file inspection of snapshots. It looks for things like staged malware and zero-day ransomware that bypassed perimeter controls. It also identifies clean recovery points. This system is designed to operate without agents.

NetApp stated that the collaboration with Elastio enables it to give customers another tool to protect their data. According to the company, data is a critical asset for enterprises, hence the need to protect it well.

In another security-focused deal, NetApp announced a strategic alliance with Commvault (CVLT) on March 24. In this deal, the companies will bring their capabilities together to bolster data protection and recovery for enterprises.

Specifically, NetApp is integrating its AI-powered ransomware detection technology with Commvault’s backup and recovery technology. This combination is intended to lead to early ransomware detection and automated recovery workflows.

With this system, enterprises can reduce data loss and speed up the recovery process when they face cyber threats. NetApp and Commvault are looking to offer this solution across cloud and on-premise platforms.

In its fiscal Q3 2026 ended January, NetApp posted adjusted EPS of $2.12, which surpassed the estimate of $2.07. Revenue rose 4% YoY to $1.71 billion and beat the forecast of $1.70 billion. The quarter was supported by strong growth in the public cloud business.

NetApp Inc (NASDAQ:NTAP) provides a range of enterprise software solutions and services. It offers data management software, storage infrastructure solutions, and operational services among others. The company is headquartered in San Jose, California.

9. Datadog Inc (NASDAQ:DDOG)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 75

Past Year Performance: 27.41%

Datadog Inc (NASDAQ:DDOG) is among the best performing cybersecurity stocks in 2025. On April 2, Wells Fargo identified Datadog Inc (NASDAQ:DDOG) as one of its favorite stocks in the Saas sector. According to the firm, investors are emphasizing long-term durability for software stocks amid the ramp up in AI spending.

Regarding Datadog, Wells Fargo noted increased investor optimism with new AI lab upside. The firm also pointed to the use of Datadog’s API in Claude Code.

Also on April 2, Datadog debuted a product testing tool that it says fills a big gap in the market. Called Datadog Experiments, this tool allows teams to design, launch, and test products within the Datadog platform.

According to the company, this tool provides teams with data and insights to help them understand how product changes impact user behavior, app performance, and business outcomes.

Datadog came up with this tool to help teams overcome the limitations of the current fragmented workflows in product experimentation. The company says that teams can easily miss insights on revenue drivers and kill bold bets if they rely on fragmented platforms to run experiments. This challenge becomes more difficult as AI speeds up feature development. So its Datadog Experiments tool solves this problem.

In other news, Datadog launched a new AI-driven security agent on March 23. Called Bits AI Security Analyst, this tool speeds up threat investigation and remediation. With this tool, investigations that would normally take hours can be done in just 30 seconds.

Datadog sees its Bits AI Security Analyst tool as a perfect fit for operation security centers. It points out that AI-powered attacks have increased problems and strained security teams. With its AI-driven tool, Datadog says security teams can address threats faster and more effectively.

Datadog Inc (NASDAQ:DDOG) provides observability and security services for cloud applications. It helps with monitoring of servers, networks, databases, and tools. Datadog also helps with log management, product analytics, error tracking, incident response, and workload automation. The company is headquartered in New York.

8. Radware Ltd (NASDAQ:RDWR)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 16

Past Year Performance: 29.59%

Radware Ltd (NASDAQ:RDWR) is among the best performing cybersecurity stocks in 2025. Looking to meet a need in application security amid growing cyber threats, Radware Ltd (NASDAQ:RDWR) launched a new AI-powered security tool called Alteon Protect on March 9.

What’s outstanding about Alteon Protect is that it blends Radware’s real-time protection platform with Alteon’s on-device enforcement to secure apps and APIs across cloud and on-premise platforms.

According to Radware, organizations are facing increasing threat volume and sophistication. In this condition, they’re struggling to build strong protection for their resources without disrupting performance or increasing operational complexity.

For organizations in this situation, Radware says its Alteon Protect is the solution as it detects remediate various threats in real-time without complicating things. It does this by separating cloud intelligence from on-device enforcement.

According to Radware COO Gabi Malka, with Alteon Protect, organizations don’t have to choose between protection, performance, and cost. The executive explained that this tool is designed to provide continuous security while preserving users’ existing investments.

In February, Radware announced an $80 million share repurchase plan. It said the plan would run through mid-March 2027. Under this plan, the management may buyback shares through open market transactions, privately negotiated transactions, or other arrangements.

Notably, the announcement of this buyback plan followed Radware’s blowout Q4 2025 earnings. The company posted EPS of $0.32, which smashed the analyst estimate of $0.30. Revenue jumped 10% YoY to $80.2 million and exceeded the consensus expectation of $78.65 million. Radware closed 2025 with $105 million in cash and cash equivalents.

Radware Ltd (NASDAQ:RDWR) is an American technology company that provides cybersecurity and application delivery solutions for data centers. Its solutions are used in on-premise and cloud environments. Radware is headquartered in Mahwah, New Jersey, and serves a global customer base.

7. Northrop Grumman Corp (NYSE:NOC)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 62

Past Year Performance: 36.36%

Northrop Grumman Corp (NYSE:NOC) is among the best performing cybersecurity stocks in 2025. On April 1, Northrop Grumman Corp (NYSE:NOC) said that it provided a pair of boosters that launched NASA’s Artemis II mission toward the moon. It said these were solid rocket boosters, and that the pair generated 7.2 million pounds of thrust. This force lifted the vehicle off the pad and powered it on the ascent.

The Artemis II is NASA’s first crewed lunar flight in more than 50 years. Northrop Grumman said it also supplied a pair of rocket motors to support a critical safety system for the mission launch.

On April 1, Wells Fargo initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman Corp (NYSE:NOC) stock with an Overweight rating and a price target of $800. Wells Fargo believes Northrop Grumman will outgrow its industry peers. This is because the company has invested ahead of need compared to its peers. According to the equity research firm, large programs such as the B-21 and GBSD support the strong growth outlook for Northrop Grumman.

After heavy spending on development and capital investment, Northrop Grumman is about to start reaping the benefits, according to Wells Fargo. The firm noted that the heavy spending weighed on the company’s free cash flow and profit margins over the past several years. But now the company is approaching where these investments are going to pay off, Wells Fargo said. Consequently, the firm expects Northrop Grumman to outperform its group peers.

On March 30, Northrop announced that the US Navy has awarded it a contract to produce additional SEWIP Block 3 systems. The SEWIP Block 3 is a Navy program that applies advanced electronic attack to protect ships from missiles. As a result, this system improves ship survivability. With the latest award, Northrop said it was on contract to supply the Navy with up to 24 SEWIP Block 3 systems.

Virginia-based Northrop Grumman Corp (NYSE:NOC) is an American aerospace and defense company. It designs and manufactures a variety of systems for defense, space, and other domains. It also provides a broad spectrum of cyber solutions. Northrop Grumman is one of the largest US defense contractors.

6. Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 77

Past Year Performance: 37.88%

Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) is among the best performing cybersecurity stocks in 2025. On March 30, Truist Securities initiated coverage on Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) stock with a Buy rating and a price target of $94. Among other factors, Truist cited strength in Cisco’s networking business for its bullish view on the stock.

According to Truist, AI infrastructure investment is driving gains in Cisco’s Core Networking segment. The equity research firm also said Cisco is benefiting from campus product refresh. It sees mid-teens product growth in fiscal 2026 and 2027.

Additionally, Truist pointed out that Cisco has been able to maintain and grow its operating margin even through inflationary pressures. It attributes this achievement to the company’s scale as well as its shift to software and services business.

Nevertheless, Truist noted that Cisco’s security business has been soft. This business represents about 13% of the company’s sales. For fiscal 2026, Truist projects 1% growth in the security business.

On March 23, during the RSA Conference 2026 in San Francisco, Cisco unveiled a list of new security tools aimed at AI agents. These included bringing the Zero Trust Access technology to AI agents. With this, Cisco will provide AI agents with agent discovery capabilities as well as identity and access management.

The company also launched a tool for testing AI models and applications against potential attacks before they’re deployed. Additionally, the company introduced an open-source tool for securing agents that handle security processes and inventory management.

A Cisco survey found that 85% of enterprise customers were experimenting with AI agents. However, only 5% of them had moved these agents into production areas. By offering solutions to secure AI agentic workforce, Cisco hopes to unleash the potential of AI agents.

Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO) is an American multinational technology company. It develops, manufactures, and sells a variety of hardware and software products. Its tech solutions are focused on areas like networking, cybersecurity, and AI. Cisco is a leading provider of data center switching solutions.

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