u/Key_Variety_6287 ·
Reddit — r/ValueInvesting
· May 17, 2026 at 06:29
· ⬆ 16 pts
· 💬 8 comments
| View on Reddit ↗
AI Summary
Summary
Post argues cybersecurity stocks are the first clear beneficiaries of agentic AI, citing DDOG’s blowout earnings and AI observability as a structural growth engine.
Author believes cybersecurity is decoupled from per-seat model obsolescence; AI acts as a threat multiplier, driving demand for monitoring and security.
Quality assessment: Moderately researched opinion piece with one concrete data point (DDOG earnings) and personal positions; more speculation than deep DD.
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Comments8
Upvote %94%
▶ Full Post Text
Over the last few months, all of Software stocks took a beating across all domains. Some of those were discussed and mentioned frequently in this forum - CRM, NOW, IT and the most frequently mentioned ADBE. While there are still questions on the business model surrounding the per-seat model in the agentic world, we now have one group of software companies that have been re-rated as beneficiaries of agentic AI movement, the cyber security group.
DDOG's blockbuster May 7th earnings report, where revenue blew past $1 billion and surged 32%, explicitly proved this. Their CEO stated that AI observability has become a structural growth engine. Why? Because *AI agents must be monitored just like human employees.* When an enterprise runs thousands of agent workflows, it must pay platforms like DDOG to monitor their API latency, tokens, and errors. For cyber security, AI is a threat multiplier and completly decoupled from headcount business model obsolesce.
Full disclosure: I am long FTNT, PANW. Looking to find an attractive entry in DDOG and CRWD over the coming days.
What are your thoughts?
Author explicitly states they are long FTNT, citing cybersecurity as a structural winner in agentic AI. AI agents create new attack surfaces, driving demand for network security solutions like Fortinet. Established position in a sector benefiting from AI tailwinds; hold for medium-term re-rating. Competitor execution, slowdown in enterprise AI adoption, macroeconomic pressure on IT spending. TICKER - PANW - LONG | confidence: 0.80 | sentiment: +0.70 Speaker: u/Key_Variety_6287 Thesis: Author explicitly states they are long PANW, same rationale as FTNT. Palo Alto’s platform approach and AI-driven security tools benefit from increased agent monitoring needs. Core holding in the cybersecurity space; expect continued demand as enterprises adopt AI agents. High valuation, competitive pressure from CrowdStrike and others, potential margin compression. TICKER - DDOG - WATCH | confidence: 0.60 | sentiment: +0.50 Speaker: u/Key_Variety_6287 Thesis: Author cites DDOG’s blockbuster earnings (32% revenue growth) and CEO statement on AI observability as structural engine. DDOG is the first to prove the agentic AI monitoring thesis; entry opportunity after recent pullback. Attractive entry candidate for medium-term exposure to AI observability. Already priced in some optimism, potential deceleration, high valuation multiples. TICKER - CRWD - WATCH | confidence: 0.60 | sentiment: +0.50 Speaker: u/Key_Variety_6287 Thesis: Author mentions looking for an attractive entry in CRWD alongside DDOG. CrowdStrike’s endpoint security is critical for monitoring agent behavior and preventing AI-driven attacks. Similar beneficiary to PANW and FTNT; watch for pullback to enter. Past outage reputation, intense competition, potential for slower enterprise adoption.
This Reddit post, published May 17, 2026,
features u/Key_Variety_6287
discussing FTNT.
1 trade idea extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.