CrowdStrike delivers strong Q1, ups outlook

CrowdStrike reported better-than-expected first quarter earnings, announced a 4-for-1 stock split and raised its outlook.

The company reported first quarter earnings of $27.8 million, or 11 cents a share, on revenue of $1.39 billion, up 26% from a year ago. Non-GAAP earnings were $1.10 a share.

Wall Street was expecting non-GAAP earnings of $1.07 a share on revenue of $1.36 billion.

• Palo Alto Networks Q3 strong as CEO says Mythos boosted demand
• Zscaler Q3 strong, outlook hit by component costs, sales turnover

Like Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike said Mythos raised awareness of AI cybersecurity.

• Claude Mythos and the New Cybersecurity Operating Model

CEO George Kurtz said:

"In Q1, the worlds of cybersecurity and frontier AI collided: this was the Mythos moment. We’re seeing platform adoption from existing customers, new logo lands, and increased partner engagement, each giving me the conviction to significantly raise our FY27 net new ARR guidance."

By the numbers for the first quarter:

• Net annual recurring revenue for the first quarter was $256 million, up 32%.
• Free cash flow was $468 million.
• ARR overall for the first quarter was up 24% from a year ago to $5.51 billion.
• CrowdStrike ended the quarter with cash and equivalents of $4.55 billion.

As for the outlook, CrowdStrike projected second quarter revenue of $1.436 billion to $1.442 billion with non-GAAP earnings of $1.16 a share to $1.17 a share. Annual recurring revenue guidance for the second quarter is $5.793 billion to $5.795 billion.

For fiscal 2027, CrowdStrike is projecting revenue of $5.915 billion to $5.96 billion with non-GAAP earnings of $4.88 a share to $4.96 a share. ARR is projected to be between $6.532 billion to $6.555 billion.