New York, January 26, 2026, 20:48 EST — Market closed.
- Cloudflare shares surged Monday, leaving many network and security rivals in the dust.
- Traders highlighted chatter around “Clawdbot” alongside a Wolfe Research report on AI-agent traffic surging across the internet.
- Attention now turns to whether the rally sticks in the next session and how the company addresses it in upcoming results.
Shares of Cloudflare Inc surged 9.2% to close at $189.35 on Monday, after fluctuating between $172.84 and $194.87 during the session and exchanging roughly 7.9 million shares. Content-delivery competitors Fastly and Akamai also climbed, up 5.3% and 3.8%, respectively. Cybersecurity company Zscaler added 2.2%.
The rally pushed the stock into the heart of a well-worn trade: investors wagering that fresh AI software will boost internet traffic, and that companies handling that traffic can monetize it. This is crucial because “AI agents” — software capable of acting on users’ behalf — might ramp up demand for security scans and speedy delivery at the network edge.
Cloudflare operates in that crucial plumbing layer. Its global network accelerates and protects websites and apps, while the company offers tools enabling developers to run software nearer to end users instead of relying on centralized data centers.
Investing.com linked the surge to weekend chatter about “Clawdbot,” an open-source AI agent based on Anthropic’s Claude. Developers are already turning to Cloudflare’s tools for hosting and routing these requests. Wolfe Research’s Joshua Tilton noted that the Clawdbot hype “flowed through” to Cloudflare’s stock, while CEO Matthew Prince has described the tech as an “agentic Internet of the future.” 1
The wider market lent a hand. The S&P 500 climbed 0.5% on Monday, with the Dow up 0.6%. That kind of environment usually bodes well for more volatile tech stocks when investors show more risk appetite. 2
Cloudflare offers web security and performance solutions, including a content delivery network—a distributed system of servers that accelerates online content—and a serverless platform called Workers, which executes code across its network. Part of its revenue depends on usage, making any factor that boosts traffic a key focus for traders.
The tough challenge now is turning all that buzz into actual sales. If the surge in interest doesn’t lead to real usage—and cash-paying customers—the market is likely to lose interest quickly.
The downside risk remains. Cloudflare faces stiff competition from bigger players in content delivery and security. Any miss on guidance or growth could hit the stock hard, amplifying investor disappointment.
Cloudflare’s fourth-quarter earnings are set for release after the U.S. market closes on Feb. 10, with an investor call scheduled for 5 p.m. ET. Traders will be watching closely for insights on security demand and any revenue contributions from Workers and AI-related traffic. 3
