CrowdStrike surges 15%, Okta jumps 20% on Thursday as AI-driven cyberattacks push companies to boost security spending; CEOs cite AI agent threats driving Q2 earnings beats and raised forecasts

Okta skyrockets 20%, CrowdStrike surges 15% as rising AI threat boosts earnings

Jonathan Raa | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesCrowdStrike and Okta shares surged on Thursday after earnings showed that artificial intelligence adoption is pushing customers to spend more on cybersecurity tools. Both companies beat Wall Street's estimates for the fiscal second quarter and raised their forecasts, citing the AI agent threat. CrowdStrike gained 15% while Okta surged 20%. The broader cyber sector rallied as well, with Palo Alto Networks, SailPoint and Rubrik up about 9%. "We're in an arms r...