Cloudflare stock jumps 21% on earnings beat as the company wins larger deals

Published

1 year ago

February 8, 2024

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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

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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

Technology

Reddit stock jumps after company rolls out new AI advertising tools

Published

2 hours ago

June 17, 2025

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Reddit stock jumps after company rolls out new AI advertising tools

Thomas Fuller | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Reddit shares popped about 5% after the social media company debuted new artificial intelligence-powered advertising tools.

The two new features, announced Monday in a post during the Cannes Lions festival, will help brands better leverage discussions on the platform. The company said the tools are powered by an engine called Reddit Community Intelligence that turns “posts and comments into structured intelligence.”

Reddit announced a “listening tool” called Reddit Insights, which shares real-time insights with marketers to help them identify trends and launch campaigns. The other tool, called Conversation Summary Add-ons, allows brands to show “positive” user content under their ads.

“These are tools for a new era of community marketing, one where brands can tap into Reddit’s authenticity and connect meaningfully with high-intent communities around the world,” the company wrote.

Spotify’s Daniel Ek leads $694 million investment in defense startup Helsing

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4 hours ago

June 17, 2025

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Spotify's Daniel Ek leads 4 million investment in defense startup Helsing

Helsing uses AI to analyze large amounts of sensor and weapons system data from the battlefield.

Pavlo Gonchar | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

European defense technology startup Helsing on Tuesday said that it’s raised 600 million euros ($693.6 million) in a bumper new round of funding.

The investment was led by Prima Materia, the venture capital firm founded by Spotify CEO Daniel Ek and by Shakil Khan, an early investor in the popular music streaming app. Ek is also chairman of Helsing.

Existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners, Accel, Plural, General Catalyst and Saab also put money in, alongside new investors BDT & MSD Partners.

Defense and the technology behind it have become a hot area for investors lately, amid major global conflicts, including the Ukraine war to Israel-Gaza. Last week saw a further escalation of war in the Middle East as Israel launched a series of airstrikes against Iran.

In 2024, venture funding in Europe’s defense, security and resilience sector reached an all-time high of $5.2 billion, according to a recent report from the NATO Innovation Fund. The sector grew 30% in the past two years, outperforming the broader VC market, which saw a 45% decline over the same period.

Founded in 2021, Helsing sells software that uses artificial intelligence technology to analyze large amounts of sensor and weapons system data from the battlefield to inform military decisions in real time. Last year, the startup also began manufacturing its own line of military drones, called HX-2.

Helsing, which operates in the U.K., Germany and France, said it would use the fresh cash to invest in Europe’s “technological sovereignty” — which refers to attempts to onshore the development and production of critical technologies, such as AI.

“As Europe rapidly strengthens its defence capabilities in response to evolving geopolitical challenges, there is an urgent need for investments in advanced technologies that ensure its strategic autonomy and security readiness,” Ek said in a statement out Tuesday.

Helsing did not disclose its new valuation following the latest financing round, which is subject to “certain approvals,” according to a statement. The firm was previously valued at around 5 billion euros in a 450 million euro funding round led by General Catalyst last year.

90% of defense executives say the future will be dictated by software-defined products, says Accenture A&D Lead

Technology

Pain management startup Sword Health expands into mental health, raises $40 million

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5 hours ago

June 17, 2025

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Pain management startup Sword Health expands into mental health, raises million

Sword Health, a startup focused on helping people deal with pain through digital services, is expanding into mental health and has raised additional capital to fuel its growth.

The 10-year-old company is introducing Mind, which uses a combination of artificial intelligence, hardware and human mental health professionals to treat patients with mild depression and anxiety. Sword said Mind will help users access care whenever they need it, rather than during sporadic, hourlong appointments.

“It’s really a breakthrough in terms of how we address mental health, and this is only possible because we have AI,” Sword CEO Virgílio Bento told CNBC in an interview.

Also on Tuesday, Sword announced a $40 million funding round, led by General Catalyst, in a deal that values the company at $4 billion. The fresh cash will support Sword’s efforts to grow through acquisitions, as well as its global expansion and AI model development, the company said.

The round included participation from Khosla Ventures, Comcast Ventures and other firms. Sword had raised a total of more than $450 million as of September, according to PitchBook.

The financing lands as the digital health market shows signs of recovery following a difficult post-Covid stretch, when rising inflation, higher interest rates and a return to in-person activities led to a dramatic retreat in the industry.

Earlier this month, Omada Health, which offers virtual care programs to supports patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension, held its Nasdaq debut, though the stock is trading below its initial public offering price. Weeks before that, digital physical therapy provider Hinge Health hit the New York Stock Exchange. The shares are trading a few dollars above their offer price.

Sword, which was founded in Portugal and is now based in New York, offers tools for digital physical therapy, pelvic health and movement health to help patients manage pain from home and avoid other treatments such as opioids and surgery. Patients can sign up for Sword if it’s supported by their employer or their health plan.

Mind users will receive a wrist wearable called the “M-band” that can measure environmental and physiological signals such as heart rate, sleep and the lighting in a user’s environment. Mind also includes access to an AI Care agent and human mental health professionals, who can deliver services such as traditional talk therapy.

Bento said a human is always involved with a patient’s care, and that AI is not making clinical decisions.

For example, if a patient has an anxiety attack, Sword’s AI will recognize that and could ask a clinician to approve some physical activity for later that day to help with recovery. The clinician would either approve the physical activity that the AI suggested, or override it and propose something else.

“You have an anxiety issue today, and the way you’re going to manage is to talk about it one week from now? That just doesn’t work,” Bento said. “Mental health should be always on, where you have a problem now, and you can have immediate help in the moment.”

Bento said Sword has some clients that have been on a waiting list for Mind, and the startup has been testing the offering with some of its design partners. He said early users have approved of Mind’s personalized approach and convenience.

“We believe that it is really the future of how mental health is going to be delivered in the future, by us and by other companies,” Bento said. “AI plays a very important role, but the use of AI — and I think this is very important — needs to be used in a very smart way.”

Disclosure: Comcast, the parent of Comcast Ventures, is the owner of NBCUniversal, parent company of CNBC.

WATCH: Billionaire investor Vinod Khosla on Sword Health investment, opportunities in AI and AI competition