Cloudflare stock rallies 25% following earnings beat, raised revenue outlook

Cloudflare Inc. shares surged in the extended session Thursday after the cybersecurity company reported results that topped Wall Street expectations and hiked its revenue outlook for the year.

Cloudflare 
NET,
+0.12%

shares rallied as much as 25% after hours, following a 0.1% advance in the regular session to close at $58.43.

The company reported a second-quarter loss of $63.5 million, or 20 cents a share, compared with a loss of $35.5 million, or 12 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted bottom-line results, which exclude stock-based compensation expenses and other items, came in at break-even a share, compared with a loss of 2 cents a share in the year-ago period.

Revenue rose to $234.5 million from $152.4 million in the year-ago quarter.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast a loss of a penny a share on revenue of $227.3 million.

“We delivered another strong quarter, with revenue growth up 54% year over year, driven by strength in our large customers, and a record number of large customer additions,” said Matthew Prince, Cloudflare’s chief executive and co-founder, in a statement. “Large customers now represent 60% of our revenue, and they are leaning forward to hear how Cloudflare can save them money and reduce IT complexity, all while increasing their security, performance and reliability.”

“Companies aren’t abandoning the internet, reverting back to outdated on-pre boxes backlogged with supply-chain issues, or ditching cybersecurity when attacks are larger than ever,” Prince said. “I’m confident Cloudflare will continue to grow stronger even through the tough economic times that may be ahead.”

Cloudflare expects bottom-line results of break-even to earnings of a penny a share on revenue between $250 million and $251 million for the third quarter, while analysts had forecast earnings of a penny a share on revenue of $246.9 million.

For the year, the company raised its estimated revenue range but held to its adjusted earnings forecast of 3 cents to 4 cents a share. Cloudflare now sees revenue of $968 million to $972 million, up from a previous estimate of $955 million to $959 million.

Analysts estimate earnings of 3 cents a share on revenue of $958.4 million.

Year-to-date, Cloudflare shares have dropped 56%, while the S&P 500 index 
SPX,
-0.08%

has declined 13%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index 
COMP,
+0.41%

 has fallen 19%.

Source: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/cloudflare-stock-rallies-25-following-earnings-beat-raised-revenue-outlook-11659648411?siteid=yhoof2&yptr=yahoo