Connect with us

Published

on

George Kurtz, co-founder and CEO of CrowdStrike, during a Bloomberg Technology television interview at the RSA Conference in San Francisco on April 26, 2023.

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

CrowdStrike shares surged as much as 21% in after-hours trading Tuesday after the cybersecurity company reported a beat on the top and bottom lines, plus issued stronger-than-expected guidance for the upcoming quarter and full year.

Here’s how the company did compared to consensus estimates based on a survey of analysts by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:

  • Earnings per share: 95 cents adjusted vs. 82 cents expected
  • Revenue: $845 million vs. $839 million expected

For the period that ended Jan. 31, CrowdStrike saw net income of $54 million, or 22 cents per share, from a $48 million loss, or a 20 cent loss per share, in the year-ago period.

CrowdStrike has now reported GAAP net income for the past four quarters, Chief Financial Officer Burt Podbere said in the earnings release. Full-year revenue rose 36% year over year, from $2.24 billion to $3 billion.

The company also announced it would acquire Flow Security for an undisclosed price in a cash-and-stock deal, slated to close in the company’s fiscal first quarter. The company has been stepping up its merger and acquisition activity in recent months.

“CrowdStrike is cybersecurity’s consolidator of choice, innovator of choice, and platform of choice to stop breaches,” co-founder and CEO George Kurtz said in a release.

The company also guided to fiscal first-quarter revenue between $902 million and $906 million, better than a consensus estimate of $899 million. CrowdStrike also expects earnings per share for the period between 89 cents and 90 cents, better than the consensus estimate of 82 cents.

Podbere also reiterated the company’s focus on achieving $10 billion in annual recurring revenue by 2030. The company reached $3.4 billion in annual recurring revenue in January.

Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO:

Continue Reading

Technology

Amazon CEO Jassy says AI will lead to ‘fewer people doing some of the jobs’ that get automated

Published

on

By

Amazon CEO Jassy says AI will lead to 'fewer people doing some of the jobs' that get automated

AI will change the workforce, says Amazon CEO Andy Jassy

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the rapid rollout of generative artificial intelligence means the company will one day require fewer employees to do some of the work that computers can handle.

“Like with every technical transformation, there will be fewer people doing some of the jobs that the technology actually starts to automate,” Jassy told CNBC’s Jim Cramer in an interview on Monday. “But there’s going to be other jobs.”

Even as AI eliminates the need for some roles, Amazon will continue to hire more employees in AI, robotics and elsewhere, Jassy said.

Earlier this month, Jassy admitted that he expects the company’s workforce to decline in the next few years as Amazon embraces generative AI and AI-powered software agents. He told staffers in a memo that it will be “hard to know exactly where this nets out over time” but that the corporate workforce will shrink as Amazon wrings more efficiencies out of the technology.

It’s a message that’s making its way across the tech sector. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff last week claimed AI is doing 30% to 50% of the work at his software vendor. Other companies such as Shopify and Microsoft have urged employees to adopt the technology in their daily work. The CEO of Klarna said in May that the online lender has managed to shrink its headcount by about 40%, in part due to investments in AI and natural attrition in its workforce.

Jassy said on Monday that AI will free employees from “rote work” and “make all our jobs more interesting,” while enabling staffers to invent better services more quickly than before.

Amazon and other tech companies have also been shrinking their workforces through rolling layoffs over the past several years. Amazon has cut more than 27,000 jobs since the start of 2022, and it’s announced smaller, more targeted layoffs in its retail and devices units in recent months.

Amazon shares are flat so far this year, underperforming the Nasdaq, which has gained 5.5%. The stock is about 10% below its record reached in February, while fellow megacaps Meta, Microsoft and Nvidia are all trading at or very near record highs.

WATCH: Jassy says robots that will eventually do delivery and transportation

Over time we will have robots that will do delivery and transportation, says Amazon CEO Andy Jassy

Continue Reading

Technology

Stablecoin issuer Circle applies for a national bank charter

Published

on

By

Stablecoin issuer Circle applies for a national bank charter

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), on the day of Circle Internet Group’s IPO, in New York City, U.S., June 5, 2025.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

Stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group has applied for a national trust bank charter, moving forward on its mission to bring stablecoins into the traditional financial world after the firm’s big market debut this month, CNBC confirmed.

Shares rose 1% after hours.

If the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency grants the bank charter, Circle will establish the First National Digital Currency Bank, N.A. Under the charter, Circle, which issues the USDC stablecoin, will also be able to offer custody services in the future to institutional clients for assets, which could include representations of stocks and bonds on a blockchain network.

Reuters first reported on Circle’s bank charter application.

There are no plans to change the management of Circle’s USDC reserves, which are currently held with other major banks.

Anchorage Digital is the only other crypto company to obtain such a license.

Circle’s move comes after a wildly successful IPO and debut trading month on the public markets. Shares of the company are up 484% in June. The company is also benefiting from a wave of optimism after the Senate’s passage of the GENIUS Act, which would give the U.S. a regulatory framework for stablecoins.

Having a federally regulated trust charter would also help Circle meet requirements under the GENIUS Act.

“Establishing a national digital currency trust bank of this kind marks a significant milestone in our goal to build an internet financial system that is transparent, efficient and accessible,” Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said in a statement shared with CNBC. “By applying for a national trust charter, Circle is taking proactive steps to further strengthen our USDC infrastructure.”

“Further, we will align with emerging U.S. regulation for the issuance and operation of dollar-denominated payment stablecoins, which we believe can enhance the reach and resilience of the U.S. dollar, and support the development of crucial, market neutral infrastructure for the world’s leading institutions to build on,” he said.

Don’t miss these cryptocurrency insights from CNBC Pro:

Continue Reading

Technology

Meta shares hit all-time high as Mark Zuckerberg goes on AI hiring blitz

Published

on

By

Meta shares hit all-time high as Mark Zuckerberg goes on AI hiring blitz

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive officer of Meta Platforms Inc., during the Meta Connect event on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images


Meta shares hit a record high on Monday, underscoring investor interest in the company’s new AI superintelligence group.

The company’s shares reached $747.90 during midday trading, topping Meta’s previous stock market record in February when it began laying off the 5% of its workforce that it deemed “low performers.”

Meta joins Microsoft and Nvidia among tech megacaps that have reached new highs of late, all closing at records Monday. Apple, Amazon, Alphabet and Tesla remain below their all-time highs reached late last year or early this year.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been on an AI hiring blitz amid fierce competition with rivals such as OpenAI and Google parent Alphabet. Earlier in June, Meta said it would hire Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang and some of his colleagues as part of a $14.3 billion investment into the executive’s data labeling and annotation startup.

The social media company also hired Nat Friedman and his business partner, Daniel Gross, the chief of Safe Superintelligence, an AI startup with a valuation of $32 billion, CNBC reported on June 19. Meta’s attempts to buy Safe Superintelligence were rebuffed by the startup’s founder and AI expert Ilya Sutskever, the report noted.

Wang and Friedman are the leaders of Meta’s new Superintelligence Labs, tasked with overseeing the company’s artificial intelligence foundation models, projects and research, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC. The term superintelligence refers to technology that exceeds human capability.

Bloomberg News first reported about the new superintelligence unit.

Meta has also snatched AI researchers from OpenAI. Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, said during a podcast that Meta was offering signing bonuses as high as $100 million.

Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s technology chief, spoke about the social media company’s AI hiring spree during a June 20 interview with CNBC’s “Closing Bell Overtime,” saying that the talent market is “really incredible and kind of unprecedented in my 20-year career as a technology executive.”

WATCH: Meta’s AI talent spending spree

Meta escalated talent war with OpenAI

Continue Reading

Trending