Connect with us

Published

on

Matthew Prince, co-founder and chief executive officer of Cloudflare Inc., during the Fortune Brainstorm AI conference in San Francisco, California, US, on Monday, Dec. 11, 2023. The conference gathers leaders in machine learning and artificial intelligence to assess the industry and examine new business cases for AI. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Cloudflare shares rose 21% in extended trading on Thursday after the web security and content distribution network provider issued results and quarterly guidance that proved more robust than analysts had projected.

Here’s how the company did, in comparison with estimates from analysts polled by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:

  • Earnings per share: 15 cents, adjusted, vs. 12 cents expected
  • Revenue: $362.5 million, vs. $353.1 million expected

Cloudflare’s revenue rose about 32%, consistent with growth in the third quarter, according to a statement. The company’s net loss of $27.9 million, or 8 cents per share, narrowed from $45.9 million in the year-ago quarter.

Matthew Prince, Cloudflare’s co-founder and CEO, said in the statement that Cloudflare signed its largest new customer deal and biggest renewal to date during the quarter, resulting in the highest annual contract value in corporate history. On a conference call with analysts, Prince mentioned business from the U.S. Commerce Department.

Cloudflare is working to supply software developers with graphics processing units that they can use for artificial intelligence. The company had installed GPUs in 120 cities by the end of 2023, higher than an internal target of 100, Prince said.

“By the end of 2024, we plan to have inference to GPUs deployed in nearly every city that makes up Cloudflare’s global network and within milliseconds of nearly every device connected to the Internet worldwide,” Prince said. The network had presence in over 310 cities as of Dec. 31.

The company also wants to grow by selling security services to companies and government agencies. Cyberattacks have become more common since Hamas carried out a terrorist attack in Israel in October, Prince said.

Also on Thursday, Cloudflare said Mark Anderson, a board member who was formerly CEO of Alteryx, has joined Cloudflare as president, replacing Marc Boroditsky. Private equity firms Clearlake Capital Group and Insight Partners announced in December that they would acquire Alteryx for $4.4 billion. Prince said he and co-founder and operating chief Michelle Zatlyn wouldn’t be going anywhere.

With respect to guidance, Cloudflare called for 13 cents in adjusted net earnings per share on $372.5 million to $373.5 million in revenue in the first quarter. Analysts surveyed by LSEG had expected 12 cents per share in adjusted earnings and revenue of $372.3 million.

For all of 2024, Cloudflare’s earnings outlook was higher than consensus, but the middle of the revenue range missed slightly. The company sees 58 cents to 59 cents in adjusted earnings per share and revenue from $1.648 billion to $1.652 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG were looking for 56 cents in adjusted earnings per share and $1.652 billion in revenue.

Excluding the after-hours move, Cloudflare stock is up about 8% so far this year, while the S&P 500 has gained about 5% during the same period.

WATCH: A.I. is a trend that will stick with us for quite some time, says CloudFlare CEO Matthew Prince

A.I. is a trend that will stick with us for quite some time, says CloudFlare CEO Matthew Prince

Continue Reading

Technology

Amazon extends Prime Day to four days, starting July 8

Published

on

By

Amazon extends Prime Day to four days, starting July 8

An Amazon worker moves boxes on Amazon Prime Day in the East Village of New York City, July 11, 2023.

Spencer Platt | Getty Images

Amazon is extending its Prime Day discount bonanza, announcing that the annual sale will run four days this year.

The 96-hour event will start at 12:01 a.m. PT on July 8, and continue through July 11, Amazon said in a release.

For the first time, the company will roll out themed “deal drops” that change daily and are available “while supplies last.” Amazon has in recent years toyed with adding more limited-run and invite-only deals during Prime Day events to create a feeling of urgency or scarcity.

Amazon launched Prime Day in 2015 as a way to secure new members for its $139-a-year loyalty program, and to promote its own products and services while providing a sales boost in the middle of the year. In 2019, the company made Prime Day a 48-hour event, and it’s since added a second Prime Day-like event in the fall.

Prime Day is also a significant revenue driver for other retailers, which often host competing discount events.

WATCH: How Amazon is using AI to revolutionize robotics

How Amazon is using AI to revolutionize robotics

Continue Reading

Technology

SK Hynix shares extend gains to over 2-decade highs as parent group reportedly plans AI data center

Published

on

By

SK Hynix shares extend gains to over 2-decade highs as parent group reportedly plans AI data center

Illustration of the SK Hynix company logo seen displayed on a smartphone screen.

Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Shares in South Korea’s SK Hynix extended gains to hit a more than 2-decade high on Tuesday, following reports over the weekend that SK Group plans to build the country’s largest AI data center.

SK Hynix shares, which have surged almost 50% so far this year on the back of an AI boom, were up nearly 3%, following gains on Monday. 

The company’s parent, SK Group, plans to build the AI data center in partnership with Amazon Web Services in Ulsan, according to domestic media. SK Telecom and SK Broadband are reportedly leading the initiative, with support from other affiliates, including SK Hynix. 

SK Hynix is a leading supplier of dynamic random access memory or DRAM — a type of semiconductor memory found in PCs, workstations and servers that is used to store data and program code.

The company’s DRAM rival, Samsung, was also trading up 4% on Tuesday. However, it’s growth has fallen behind that of SK Hynix.

On Friday, Samsung Electronics’ market cap reportedly slid to a 9-year low of 345.1 trillion won ($252 billion) as the chipmaker struggles to capitalize on AI-led demand. 

SK Hynix, on the other hand, has become a leader in high bandwidth memory — a type of DRAM used in artificial intelligence servers — supplying to clients such as AI behemoth Nvidia. 

A report from Counterpoint Research in April said that SK Hynix had captured 70% of the HBM market by revenue share in the first quarter.

This HBM strength helped it overtake Samsung in the overall DRAM market for the first time ever, with a 36% global market share as compared to Samsung’s 34%. 

Continue Reading

Technology

OpenAI wins $200 million U.S. defense contract

Published

on

By

OpenAI wins 0 million U.S. defense contract

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the Snowflake Summit in San Francisco on June 2, 2025.

Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images

OpenAI has been awarded a $200 million contract to provide the U.S. Defense Department with artificial intelligence tools.

The department announced the one-year contract on Monday, months after OpenAI said it would collaborate with defense technology startup Anduril to deploy advanced AI systems for “national security missions.”

“Under this award, the performer will develop prototype frontier AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges in both warfighting and enterprise domains,” the Defense Department said. It’s the first contract with OpenAI listed on the Department of Defense’s website.

Anduril received a $100 million defense contract in December. Weeks earlier, OpenAI rival Anthropic said it would work with Palantir and Amazon to supply its AI models to U.S. defense and intelligence agencies.

Sam Altman, OpenAI’s co-founder and CEO, said in a discussion with OpenAI board member and former National Security Agency leader Paul Nakasone at a Vanderbilt University event in April that “we have to and are proud to and really want to engage in national security areas.”

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Defense Department specified that the contract is with OpenAI Public Sector LLC, and that the work will mostly occur in the National Capital Region, which encompasses Washington, D.C., and several nearby counties in Maryland and Virginia.

Meanwhile, OpenAI is working to build additional computing power in the U.S. In January, Altman appeared alongside President Donald Trump at the White House to announce the $500 billion Stargate project to build AI infrastructure in the U.S.

The new contract will represent a small portion of revenue at OpenAI, which is generating over $10 billion in annualized sales. In March, the company announced a $40 billion financing round at a $300 billion valuation.

In April, Microsoft, which supplies cloud infrastructure to OpenAI, said the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency has authorized the use of the Azure OpenAI service with secret classified information. 

WATCH: OpenAI hits $10 billion in annual recurring revenue

OpenAI hits $10 billion in annual recurring revenue

Continue Reading

Trending