Google parent Alphabet halved its stake in the cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike just weeks before its global IT outage.
On July 19, a faulty update on CrowdStrike’s software caused a worldwide internet outage that impacted flights, business operations, and emergency services. Shares of the company have since plummeted as scrutiny mounts from its impacted customers. The outage reportedly cost each Fortune 500 company using the software at least $44 million. Delta was one of the businesses hit hardest. The airline is suing CrowdStrike after losing $500 million dealing with the outage.
But it turns out Google got lucky. The company reduced its stake in Crowdstrike from 855,789 Class A shares to 427,895 shares as of June 30, Reuters reported. Crowdstrike shares are down 44% since June 30, which means Google avoided losing about $72.8 million in value by selling when it did. CrowdStrike itself lost an approximate $25 billion in market value in the first two weeks after the outage alone.
But Google’s luck with CrowdStrike isn’t seeping into all areas of its existence. Google’s stock price tumbled last week after the company’s heavy AI-related spending and weaker-than-expected YouTube sales disappointed investors. Google shares are down nearly 9% since it reported earnings last week.