Cloudflare(US:NET) 智通财经网·2025-11-01 02:21Core Viewpoint - Cloudflare Inc. has reported strong sales data driven by an unprecedented AI boom and a restructuring that added more large enterprise clients, leading to a nearly 14% surge in stock price to a record high [1][2]. Financial Performance - The company expects fourth-quarter sales to be approximately $589 million, exceeding Wall Street's average estimate of $580.9 million, indicating a projected sales growth rate of 28% [1]. - For the third quarter, Cloudflare's sales totaled about $562 million, reflecting a significant year-over-year growth of 31%, surpassing Wall Street's average expectations [1]. Earnings Guidance - Cloudflare raised its adjusted earnings per share forecast for the fiscal year from a range of $0.85 to $0.86 to a midpoint of $0.91, which is above Wall Street's average expectations [2]. - The company's sales growth outlook for the fiscal year is also around 28%, higher than Wall Street's expectation of approximately 20% [2]. Market Position and Strategy - Cloudflare's stock has increased over 120% year-to-date, attributed to its ambitious goal of transforming its extensive network into a robust cloud platform for AI model training and large AI inference workloads [4]. - Despite being smaller than competitors like Akamai Technologies, Palo Alto Networks, and Fortinet, Cloudflare's ease of use has attracted a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises [4]. AI Integration and Future Outlook - CEO Matthew Prince emphasized that future AI agents must operate through Cloudflare's network, and the company aims to establish protocols and rules for AI-driven internet [4]. - The company believes that 80% of AI-related tech companies utilize its cloud tools, although this represents a relatively small portion of its overall sales [4]. Product Offering and Differentiation - Cloudflare focuses on "Connectivity Cloud," integrating network acceleration, security, and developer platforms into a global edge network architecture, providing connectivity, protection, and acceleration for enterprises [5]. - Unlike major cloud giants that focus on centralized cloud services, Cloudflare emphasizes edge computing, security, and integrated services, positioning itself as a "network and edge operating system" for the AI inference era [5][6]. Cost Efficiency and Performance - Running AI inference tasks on Cloudflare's global edge is cost-effective, with low latency and on-demand billing, making it suitable for generative AI applications [6]. - The combination of "Connectivity Cloud + Edge AI" is expected to benefit from the acceleration of AI applications and data flow across clouds, complementing larger cloud providers [6].