Investment Q&A

Q: Hello team,

If I believe that in the upcoming age of AI, Security & Sovereignty is about moving beyond "antivirus" and looking at how a nation or an organization protects its physical and digital independence. In the era dominated by AI and space, no matter how advanced or important, any entity may be rendered crippled/useless, if they can be hijacked, shut down, or dictated by outside forces.

In such a world, the Security & Sovereignty pillar is the strategic framework that protects Strategic Autonomy. It ensures that critical infrastructure—from satellite constellations to the power grid—can operate independently and securely regardless of geopolitical tensions or cyber-kinetic warfare.

That said, which two company will be the compatible pair for this theme? I have listed some of their pros and cons below, but I am interested in what you think about this thesis and what will be your picks when you also factor in their financials, valuation, and execution risks/strengths. Please mention if you have better ideas outside these five.

Thank you for taking the time & effort to help us understand the complex world of investing one question at a time.

1. Zscaler (ZS)
The Pros: 50% haircut, P/S of roughly 7.5x, 70-80% gross margins, profitable, massive cash flow; built for the cloud; the “Zero Trust Exchange” makes the network invisible to unauthorized users.
The Cons: Struggling Sales Execution and Platform Competition (larger tech conglomerates are now offering "good enough" security bundles for free.)

2. Leonardo (FINMY)
The Pros: Massive Backlog (€46.6 billion), Sovereign Protection through the "Michelangelo Dome”; Credit Strength; defense and space wings are soaring.
The Cons: Political Risk (based in Italy); Civilian Aerostructures Drag (2028 breakeven)

3. CrowdStrike (CRWD)
The Pros: Market dominance, Falcon platform is the "must-have" tool for Fortune 500 CISOs; The "Flywheel" Effect: Every new customer adds data to their AI, creating a powerful competitive moat.
The Cons: Valuation Friction with a forward P/E over 90x, zero room for error; Saturating Market forcing it to move into Log Management/Identity, where fierce competition is worse

4. Palo Alto Networks (PANW)
The Pros: Platformization Power, offering a "Unified Security Fabric" which allows companies to replace 10 different vendors with one Palo Alto contract; Software Pivot: from "Hardware Firewalls" to "Software-as-a-Service," accounting for a growing portion of their revenue.
The Cons: Integration Complexity due to aggressive acquisitions; Margin Dilution by offering "free transition periods" to customers suppressing short-term cash flow meaningfully.

5. SentinelOne (S)
The Pros: Pure AI Heritage, their "Purple AI" was built from the ground up to be autonomous, requiring fewer human security analysts; Disruption Potential: a "hungry underdog," winning contracts by undercutting on price and demonstrating faster/better detection speeds.
The Cons: Path to Profitability still long despite crossing the $1 billion revenue mark recently; Volatility: prone to wild 20%–30% swings on even minor guidance adjustments

Q: Between OKTA and S which would you invest in going forward, or is there another that is better. If Crowdstrike and Zscaler are your choices, where else would you deploy money.
Thanks Matthew

Q: I have a couple holdings that are giving me question for keeping.

I have a cost base of 20 on Sentinel and altho there was some positive stock movement a few months back the stock is currently showing little sign of moving higher. I know they are in Cyber Security. Is it worth holding and where would you suggest the funds could be better deployed if its a Sell?

In the case of SNN my cost is 24 but based on the longer term chart i'm not certain there is alot of confidence in the management when comparing to better performing Medical Device companies like Stryker. Would this be a Sell and redeployment of Cash into Intuitive Surgical?

Q: SentinelOne continues to make me regret not putting all of my cybersecurity dollars into CRWD. It lowered guidance slightly last night and looks to be punished on an otherwise UP day to the tune of 12+ %. Can you comment on the quarter, the longer term and potential for a bounce back? Guidance was lowered but is the market overreacting? How does S typically bounce back from an earnings miss and would you expect a penalty box situation here or a fairly quick forgive and forget situation?

Q: What are your thoughts on Sentinel One after the earnings. Do you consider as buy now


Thanks for the great service

Q: I found a couple of stocks that I would like to put on my watch list. First is Sentinel One Inc. . It had a quarterly report not to long a go. The stock seemed to have a good report and the market seem to approve the quarterly report, but then sold off and has been going downward. Can you tell me what you know about this company, and the reason it went down in value.
Second stock is Five 9, it too seemed to have a good quarterly report and now is selling off. Again if you can elaborate on this company. With both of these stocks are they a buy, sell, to hold.
The other thing I should note, I was thinking of buying them for a trade not a long term hold.

Thank You very much for you good service, I'll await your reply.
Earl

Q: What's your opinion on SentinelOne, Inc. (S).

Is it unique or just another AI stock?

Buy or not?

Thank you.

Q: Kim Bolton was on BNN today and he prefers SentinalOne over Crowdstrike.
Could you please give me your comments on this.
THank you
Margaret

Q: Hi 5i
What is market expecting from panw earnings today, Thursday and would you be comfortable holding going into earnings?

Who are their main competitors and where would you rank them in comparison.
Would 5i be interested in them and at what price ?
thx

Q: Any idea why Sentinel one dropped 13% today

Q: Hello,
I was wondering why vital hub is going down lately whereas topicus is slowly inching upwards yet it hardly moved after its great results.. Also, what are your thoughts on sentinelOne in cyber security area.. Much appreciated.

Q: I understand this is a relatively new cyber security company that is performing very well
What is the stock prefix and do you recommend switching to it from Crowdstrike

Q: Hi 5i, and would welcome your review of the recent Quarterly results from SentinelOne, and whether you would consider it as a buy/ hold/ or sell. Do you see any red flags or concerns with the future business prospects or in achieving their march to eventual profitability, and the merits as a long-term hold and any competitive advantage that they may hold in the cybersecurity space. Thanks kindly.

Q: Hi 5i, and would welcome your review of the recent Quarterly results from SentinelOne, and whether you would consider it as a buy/ hold/ or sell. Do you see any red flags or concerns with the future business prospects or in achieving their march to eventual profitability, and the merits as a long-term hold and any competitive advantage that they may hold in the cybersecurity space. Thanks kindly.

Q: Hi 5i, and would welcome your review of the recent Quarterly results from SentinelOne, and whether you would consider it as a buy/ hold/ or sell. Do you see any red flags or concerns with the future business prospects or in achieving their march to eventual profitability, and the merits as a long-term hold and any competitive advantage that they may hold in the cybersecurity space. Thanks kindly.

Q: I am missing something from your recent commentary on SentinelOne earnings. My take from the summary of their published earnings and prospects for '24 is that they took a huge hit in non GAAP operating earnings margins, which are expected to decline further though more modestly in '24, as well as a major reduction in growth rates in comparison to their growth rate for '23. Is this correct? The price hit for their equity is substantial.

Q: Hi 5i, and would you please review the Quarterly results from SentinelOne, and whether you would consider it as a buy/ hold/ or sell. While the markets gave the share price a 35% haircut on Friday, do you see any red flags or concerns with the future business prospects or in achieving their march to eventual profitability, and the merits as a long-term hold. Thanks kindly.

Q: In my last question I did not have the correct symbol for Sentinel One. (question picked up on Sherrit, which I don't own) Please compare the three cybersecurity companies in terms of hold for recovery, sell for tax loss. I am holding all three at a loss.

Q: I hold both companies for cybersecurity, both bought at higher valuations. Looking for direction going forward and over the long term. A 1.76% position in CRWD is at a 43% loss while a 0.86% position in S is at a 62% loss. Both are held in a margin account. Is it best to hold, sell or reduce?

Q: SentinelOne (S NYSE) Could not bring this up in your question search.

What is different about it than others in cybersecurity?

Is this a buy?

Thank you.

Thank you.