The Austin-based company said it now expects full-year net new annual recurring revenue (ARR) to grow 34% at the midpoint, a sharp upgrade from its prior plan of 27.7% growth at the midpoint.

  • Founder and CEO George Kurtz framed the results as proof that companies now see security as essential to using artificial intelligence.
  • For the quarter ending in October, CrowdStrike guided to $1.52 billion to $1.53 billion in sales, about in line to slightly above estimates, and ARR of about $6.18 billion.
  • Sales for the three months ended July 31 rose 26% to $1.47 billion, beating Wall Street’s target of $1.44 billion and topping last year’s $1.17 billion.

Shares of CrowdStrike (CRWD) surged 12% in after-hours trading on Wednesday after the cybersecurity firm posted what its CEO called the best quarter in company’s history and raised its full-year growth forecast.

Bigger Year Ahead

The Austin-based company said it now expects full-year net new annual recurring revenue (ARR) to grow 34% at the midpoint, a sharp upgrade from its prior plan of 27.7% growth at the midpoint. Chief financial officer Burt Podbere pointed to a record pipeline for the current quarter and said the company is positioned for “durable, profitable growth.” Management also lifted its full-year revenue outlook to about $6 billion, above Wall Street estimate of $5.94 billion, and said ARR should finish the year above $6.6 billion.

For the quarter ending in October, CrowdStrike guided to $1.52 billion to $1.53 billion in sales, about in line to slightly above estimates, and ARR of about $6.18 billion.

AI Security Takes Center Stage

Founder and CEO George Kurtz framed the results as proof that companies now see security as essential to using artificial intelligence. “Every enterprise will run on AI, and securing it is the largest market opportunity in our history,” he said. “The Mythos moment translated into mass-market acceptance that AI adoption needs security, and that's CrowdStrike.”

During the quarter ended July 31, CrowdStrike kept building around that idea. In mid-June it launched tools to control what AI agents can access, then added new protections for AI apps running on Amazon Web Services. In mid-July it widened its Europe pact with Schwarz Digits, putting Falcon on the region’s STACKIT cloud and agreeing to acquire XM Cyber’s technology assets. Later that month it teamed with Cerebras Systems to run CrowdStrike’s threat-detection models faster.

CRWD’s Q2 Print

Sales for the three months ended July 31 rose 26% to $1.47 billion, beating Wall Street’s target of $1.44 billion and topping last year’s $1.17 billion. Nearly all of that came from subscriptions, which grew 27% to $1.40 billion.

Annual recurring revenue reached $5.84 billion, up 25% from a year earlier. The company added a record $333 million in new recurring contracts during the quarter — 51% more than a year ago and well above the $284 million to $286 million it had told investors to expect.

A big driver was Falcon Flex, the flexible package that makes it easier for customers to buy more of CrowdStrike’s tools over time. Accounts on that plan now generate more than $2.29 billion in ARR, more than double the year-ago level.
Cash generation was also a second-quarter high. Operations produced a record $530 million, and after day-to-day investment the company still had $377 million left over. CrowdStrike ended the period with about $5 billion in cash.

How Did CRWD Retail Traders React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around CRWD stock rose from ‘bullish’ to ‘extremely bullish’ over the past 24 hours, while message volume remained at ‘high’ levels.

A Stocktwits user opined that CRWD is "massively overvalued."

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Another user said that the company is trading at too high a price-to-earnings ratio to solely meet expectations.

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CRWD stock has gained 61% year-to-date. 

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