The Zhitong Finance App learned that on the morning of March 6, Beijing time, the US cybersecurity service provider CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (CRWD.US) announced the results for the fourth quarter of the 2024 fiscal year ending January 31. The data showed that the company's performance completely broke the market's doubts about the company's enterprise-side cybersecurity spending. The company's total Q4 revenue and earnings per share exceeded Wall Street analysts' expectations. CrowdStrike's performance outlook for FY2025 Q1 was very strong and also exceeded Expectations reflect strong customer demand for the company's expanding AI-based cybersecurity product suite. Thanks to strong results and an optimistic outlook, the company's stock price once soared more than 27% after the US stock market.

For the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024, adjusted earnings per share under non-GAAP guidelines announced by CrowdStrike were 95 cents, exceeding the average Wall Street analysts' expectations of 83 cents. Total revenue for the fourth quarter also exceeded expectations, reaching US$845.3 million, an increase of 33% year over year, with analysts' average expectations of around US$839 million. Q4 subscription revenue was US$796 million, an increase of approximately 33% over the same period last year. As of January 31, CrowdStrike's annual recurring revenue (ARR) increased 34% year over year to US$3.44 billion, of which US$281.9 million was the net ARR added in the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter of FY2024, operating profit under CrowdStrike GAAP turned a loss into a profit, and operating profit reached 29.7 million US dollars, while the operating loss for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023 was 61.5 million US dollars. Operating profit under NON-GAAP standards was US$213.1 million, compared to only US$95.6 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023.

CrowdStrike generated net cash from Q4 operations of approximately $347 million, compared to $273.3 million in the fourth quarter of FY2023; Q4 free cash flow was approximately $283 million compared to $209.5 million in the fourth quarter of FY2023.

The outlook data for Q1 and the full year of FY2025 exceeded expectations

For the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, the company expects the NON-GAAP earnings range of $0.89 - $0.90 for the first quarter, higher than Wall Street analysts' average expectations of $0.82. The company estimates total revenue range for Q1 to be between $902.2 million and $905.8 million, which far exceeds analysts' average expectations of $840 million.

CrowdStrike also estimates that the earnings range per share for the full year of fiscal year 2025 is $3.77 to $3.97, higher than the average analysts' forecast of $3.76 billion; CrowdStrike expects the total revenue range for the full year of fiscal year 2025 to be between $3.92 billion and $3.99 billion. The median range is higher than the analysts' average forecast of $3.94 billion, while total revenue for the full year of fiscal year 2024 is about $3.06 billion.

The company, headquartered in Austin, Texas (Austin), USA, is in a period of sharp fluctuations in cybersecurity stock prices when cybersecurity technology companies announced results that exceeded expectations across the board. Despite an increase in the number of high-profile cybersecurity attacks, investors are still expressing lingering concerns about corporate customer control spending. In particular, last month, after cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks Inc. (PANW.US) lowered its full-year revenue forecast, the stock price plummeted 28% on the day of the earnings report. The company said that customers are facing “expenditure fatigue” in cybersecurity.

In the earnings report, CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz attributed the “unusually strong” fourth quarter results to the company's approach to integrating security products on a single platform. The company also said it has agreed to acquire Flow Security, a company that provides cloud data security solutions.

CEO Kurtz also said that unlike competitor Palo Alto, CrowdStrike products “are all on one platform, one agent, and one integrated workflow.” In a conference call with investors, Kurtz highlighted that an “unnamed financial services company” “replaced its original Palo Alto cloud product” in a major seven-digit deal.

In after-hours trading in the New York stock market, CrowdStrike's stock price once soared more than 27%. If this sharp increase continues, the company's stock price may hit a record high when the New York stock market opens on Wednesday. Other cybersecurity companies, including SentinelOne Inc. (S.US), Palo Alto Networks, ZScaler (ZS.US), and Fortinet Inc (FTNT.US), were all “driven” by CrowdStrike's strong performance after the US market. Stock prices all rose after the US market, and SentinelOne shares rose more than 9% after the market.

“AI+ Cybersecurity” is expected to be CrowdStrike's new revenue engine

Statistics show that after surging more than 140% in 2023, the stock price of CrowdStrike, one of the “biggest AI stocks” in the US, has risen by 16% so far this year, mainly because investors hope that global companies' investment in cybersecurity will continue to soar, and that CrowdStrike's valuation, which is expected to integrate AI technology into the cybersecurity field, continues to rise while taking advantage of the global AI investment frenzy.

Crowdstrike, which is currently committed to incorporating AI technology into the cybersecurity field, can be described as one of the biggest winners in the US stock investment frenzy surrounding AI. CrowdStrike's strong performance in 2024 surpassed most popular tech stocks such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon.

CrowdStrike strives to fully incorporate artificial intelligence technology into its cybersecurity products, particularly by introducing an artificial intelligence security analyst called “Charlotte.” This feature is designed to empower every user of the CrowdStrike Falcon platform to quickly create workflows based on generative artificial intelligence. By asking questions and interacting with Charlotte, a virtual AI analyst, users can understand real-time cybersecurity breaches, threats, and other security issues in real time, significantly enhancing the effectiveness and user experience of the platform.

Furthermore, CrowdStrike Falcon launched by CrowdStrike is a platform integrating a single lightweight agent architecture for various security markets, including enterprise workload security, managed security services, security and vulnerability management, IT operation management, threat intelligence services, identity protection and log management, etc., demonstrating its advanced and leading position in cybersecurity protection using AI and cloud technology. The CrowdStrike Falcon platform is powered by the CrowdStrikeSecurity Cloud and advanced artificial intelligence technology to ensure scalable deployment and effective defense against modern cyber threats.