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Cloudflare to Post Q2 Earnings: Time to Buy, Sell or Hold the Stock?
ZACKS· 2025-07-28 16:41
Core Viewpoint - Cloudflare is expected to report second-quarter 2025 results with anticipated revenues between $500 million and $501 million, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 24.87% [1][8] Revenue Expectations - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cloudflare's second-quarter revenues is $500.7 million [1] - The company expects non-GAAP earnings of 18 cents per share, which is a decline of 10% from the same quarter last year [2] Earnings Performance - Cloudflare has beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the last four quarters, with an average surprise of 14.88% [3] Factors Influencing Q2 Results - Transition from traditional cybersecurity solutions to a zero-trust approach is expected to benefit Cloudflare's performance [6] - The company has seen a rise in high-value contracts and aggressive global expansion, with approximately 50% of its 2024 revenues generated outside the United States [7][8] - The addition of around 13,105 new paying customers in Q1 2025 has brought the total to approximately 250,819, contributing to revenue growth [8] Competitive Landscape - Cloudflare faces intense competition from larger players like Akamai Technologies and Amazon Web Services, as well as from Palo Alto Networks in the cybersecurity space [15][16] - The market for web infrastructure and security services is becoming increasingly competitive, with new entrants and niche players emerging [15] Investment Considerations - Cloudflare's delayed revenue recognition due to large funding deals may create near-term headwinds for metrics like Dollar-Based Net Retention, which remained flat at 111% in Q1 2025 [14] - The company has invested heavily in enhancing its sales and marketing capabilities, which has negatively impacted operating margins [18] Stock Performance and Valuation - Year-to-date, Cloudflare's shares have surged 84.2%, outperforming the Zacks Internet - Software industry's growth of 17.4% [11] - The stock is trading at a premium with a forward 12-month P/S of 28.58X compared to the industry's 5.82X, indicating a stretched valuation [12]
Cloudflare Expands AI Tools: Will Revenue Growth Follow?
ZACKS· 2025-06-25 15:51
Core Insights - Cloudflare (NET) is significantly enhancing its portfolio with artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives, reporting a year-over-year increase of 4,000% in Workers AI inference requests and 1,200% in AI Gateway requests in Q1 fiscal 2025 [1][10] Group 1: AI Initiatives and Solutions - Cloudflare is integrating AI across its infrastructure and security suite, launching the Model Context Protocol server to facilitate AI agent deployment, which could enhance upsells and customer acquisition [2] - The introduction of Cloudflare for AI aims to help businesses adopt AI responsibly, featuring Data Loss Prevention for AI and a fully-managed vector database for semantic search [3] Group 2: Customer Growth and Revenue Projections - The company had 250,819 paying customers at the end of Q1 fiscal 2025, reflecting a 27% year-over-year increase, with 30 new customers contributing over $100,000 in annual revenues [4] - For fiscal 2025, Cloudflare anticipates revenues between $2.09 billion and $2.094 billion, indicating a year-over-year rise of 25.38% [5] Group 3: Competitive Landscape - Cloudflare faces competition from Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Alphabet, with AWS offering similar serverless computing and AI inference services [6][7] - The company's AI initiatives position it against major cloud hyperscalers, attracting enterprises due to better performance and lower development costs [8] Group 4: Stock Performance and Valuation - Cloudflare's shares have increased by 73.2% year-to-date, outperforming the Zacks Internet - Software industry's growth of 15.4% [9] - The company trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 27.42X, significantly higher than the industry's average of 5.8X [11] Group 5: Earnings Estimates - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NET's earnings in 2025 and 2026 implies year-over-year growth of 5.33% and 31.64%, respectively, although estimates have been revised downward recently [12]
Cloudflare Rises 9% in 3 Months: Should You Hold or Fold NET Stock?
ZACKS· 2025-05-27 14:01
Core Viewpoint - Cloudflare, Inc. has shown strong performance with an 8.8% stock increase over the past three months, significantly outperforming the Zacks Internet – Software industry, which declined by 2% during the same period, driven by strong fundamentals and AI-driven growth initiatives [1] Financial Performance - In Q1 2025, Cloudflare reported revenues of $479.1 million, a 27% year-over-year increase, indicating robust demand from large customers [2] - The number of customers paying over $100,000 annually increased by 23% year-over-year to 3,527, with revenue from this segment growing by 32%, now representing 69% of total revenues, up from 67% in the previous year [3] - Operating income reached $56 million, a 32% increase from the prior year, with operating margin expanding by 50 basis points year-over-year to 11.7% [4] Growth Initiatives - Cloudflare is focusing on AI and expanding its Zero Trust security offerings, positioning itself for long-term growth [5] - In Q1 2025, the company secured significant contracts, including a 5.5-year contract worth $6.4 million with a Global 2000 company and a two-year contract worth $6.2 million with a major U.S. government entity [6] - The company is experiencing explosive growth in AI, with Workers AI inference requests up nearly 4,000% year-over-year and AI Gateway requests rising more than 1,200% year-over-year [7] Market Outlook - For Q2 2025, Cloudflare projects revenues between $500 million and $501 million, indicating a 24.88% increase from the prior-year quarter [9] - For the full year 2025, revenue guidance is set between $2.09 billion and $2.094 billion, suggesting a 25.39% increase from the previous year [10] Competitive Landscape - Despite strong growth, Cloudflare faces a decelerating revenue growth trend, with a notable decrease from 29% in 2024 to a projected 25% in 2025 [12][13] - The market for web infrastructure and security services is becoming increasingly competitive, with established players like Akamai, Fastly, and Amazon Web Services vying for market share [14][16]
Cloudflare to Post Q1 Earnings: Time to Buy, Sell or Hold the Stock?
ZACKS· 2025-05-06 14:15
Core Viewpoint - Cloudflare is expected to report strong revenue growth for Q1 2025, with anticipated revenues between $468 million and $469 million, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 23.8% [1][2] Financial Performance - The company expects non-GAAP earnings of 16 cents per share for Q1 2025, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate also at 16 cents, indicating no change from the previous year [2] - Cloudflare has consistently beaten earnings estimates in the past four quarters, with an average surprise of 20.7% [4] Customer Growth and Market Trends - The first-quarter performance is likely to benefit from the shift towards zero-trust cybersecurity solutions and the hybrid working trend, which necessitates enhanced network security [7] - Cloudflare added approximately 16,174 new paying customers in Q4 2024, bringing the total to around 237,714, and added 232 new large customers, totaling 3,497 [8][9] Competitive Landscape - The market for web infrastructure and security services is highly competitive, with established players like Akamai, Fastly, and Amazon Web Services competing for market share [18][20] - Cloudflare is focusing on AI and expanding its Zero Trust security offerings, positioning itself for long-term growth potential [21] Valuation and Investment Considerations - Cloudflare's shares have increased by 67.8% over the past year, outperforming the S&P 500 index's growth of 10% [11] - The company is currently trading at a forward 12-month price-to-sales ratio of 18.86X, significantly higher than the industry average of 5.12X, indicating a stretched valuation [14] - Despite strong growth prospects, the current overvaluation raises concerns for investors, suggesting a hold position for the stock [23]
Cloudflare Rises 7% in a Month: Should You Hold or Fold the Stock?
ZACKS· 2025-04-29 16:10
Core Viewpoint - Cloudflare Inc. (NET) has shown strong performance with a 7.3% increase in the past month, significantly outperforming the Zacks Internet – Software industry's growth of 0.8, raising questions about whether investors should hold the stock now [1]. Group 1: Growth Drivers - Cloudflare is focusing on AI and expanding its Zero Trust security offerings, positioning itself for strong long-term growth potential [4]. - The company secured a three-year Secure Access Service Edge contract worth $4 million with a major U.S. investment firm, enhancing its position in the enterprise security space [5]. - Cloudflare's AI offerings, including Workers AI and AI Gateway platforms, are gaining traction, optimizing performance and security for AI workloads [5]. - The company's AI solutions deliver up to 10 times price performance improvements over traditional hyperscalers, making it a critical infrastructure provider as AI adoption accelerates [6]. Group 2: Financial Performance - Cloudflare's go-to-market strategy has improved sales execution, with significant customer conversions in the fourth quarter, where 80% of new sales hires focused on enterprise clients [7]. - Notable customer wins include a $20 million five-year contract with a Fortune 100 technology firm and a $13.5 million deal with a leading AI company, highlighting growing enterprise traction [8]. - The company reported an operating income of $67.2 million in the fourth quarter, up 69% year over year, with an operating margin expanding 360 basis points to 14.6%, reflecting improved operational efficiency [9]. - For 2025, Cloudflare forecasts non-GAAP earnings per share between 79 cents and 80 cents, indicating year-over-year growth of 5.33% [10]. Group 3: Competitive Landscape - The market for web infrastructure and security services is highly competitive, with established players like Akamai Technologies, Fastly, and Amazon Web Services vying for market share [11]. - Akamai offers a range of infrastructure and security services, while Fastly provides solutions like Compute@Edge and a strong security portfolio [12]. - Amazon offers various services including Amazon CloudFront and security solutions, with new entrants and niche players adding to competitive pressure [13]. Group 4: Valuation Concerns - Cloudflare is currently trading at a forward sales multiple of 18.39X, compared to the Internet - Software industry's valuation of 4.86X, indicating overvaluation [14]. Group 5: Investment Recommendation - Despite strong growth prospects, Cloudflare's current overvaluation poses concerns for investors, suggesting a hold position for now [17]. - The company carries a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold) at present, indicating a prudent move for patient investors [18].