Microsoft, CrowdStrike stock down pre-market amid global IT outage

Microsoft stock was down in pre-market trading Friday after a global IT outage caused widespread chaos across airlines, banks and other industries.

The tech giant’s stock price had fallen more than two percent to $431 per share at 05:16 a.m. ET. It closed at $440.37 on Thursday.

Reports of outages began surfacing around 3 p.m. in Australia, affecting a wide range of services. Supermarkets, petrol stations, and banks experienced payment system failures, while airport check-in systems were disrupted, leading to long delays and stranded passengers.

In the U.S. several major airlines, including Delta, United and American Airlines grounded flights on Friday morning, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

U.K.-based airports and airlines also reported issues. London’s Gatwick Airport said “passengers may experience some delays while checking in and passing through security.” British broadcaster Sky News was temporarily unable to broadcast on Friday morning, and the country’s GP appointments system was also down.

The cause of the disruption is reported to be related to CrowdStrike’s Falcon Sensor platform, which is an end-point detection and response system embedded within many companies’ IT infrastructures.

Stock in the cybersecurity company had fallen nearly 17 percent to $285 per share at 05:11 a.m. ET. It closed at $343.05 on Thursday.

In a post on its website, Crowdstrike said: “Crowdstrike is aware of reports of crashes on Windows related to the Falcon Sensor.”

Commenting on the outages, Microsoft said: “We’re continuing to progress on our mitigation efforts for the affected Microsoft 365 apps and services. We still expect users to see remediation as we address residual impact.”

Update, 7/19/24, 05:14 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

This is a developing news story and will be updated.