Austin, Texas, June 3, 2026, 16:02 CDT
CrowdStrike shares slipped about 8% after the bell on Wednesday, according to Reuters, even as the cybersecurity company topped Wall Street’s revenue view, lifted its full-year guidance and unveiled a four-for-one stock split. Investors zeroed in on higher expenses linked to AI and new products.
CrowdStrike had a lot riding on this report. Cybersecurity stocks have run up as investors bet AI will mean more security threats, not less. Now, investors want to see that AI security spending will drive faster contract growth.
CrowdStrike said first-quarter revenue climbed 26% to $1.39 billion, topping the $1.36 billion average analyst estimate from LSEG cited by Reuters. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.10 per share, also ahead of the $1.07 expected by the market, Barron’s reported.
CrowdStrike said annual recurring revenue climbed 24% to $5.51 billion. Net new annual recurring revenue came in at $255.8 million, which is up 32% from the year before.
CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz described the company as “AI security infrastructure” and said it is seeing more adoption by current users, new customers coming in, and more activity from partners. CFO Burt Podbere told investors CrowdStrike beat its own targets on “all guided metrics” and pointed to record cash flow in the first quarter. Business Wire
The company bumped up its outlook for fiscal 2027, now expecting revenue of $5.91 billion to $5.96 billion. That’s up from its earlier forecast of $5.87 billion to $5.93 billion. Adjusted profit is now seen at $4.88 to $4.96 a share, compared with the previous range of $4.78 to $4.90.
CrowdStrike is giving shareholders three more shares for every one they own if they’re on record as of June 25, with the stock split distribution set after the July 1 close. Trading on the new split-adjusted basis should start July 2, the company said.
AI costs could keep expenses high for CrowdStrike, with unclear returns ahead. Operating expenses for the first quarter climbed to $1.07 billion, up from $934.3 million a year ago, according to Reuters. CrowdStrike flagged competition, longer sales cycles, and uncertainty tied to its July 19, 2024 software incident as risks for future results.
CrowdStrike came into the report with high expectations built into the stock price. Morningstar’s David Sekera said before earnings that CrowdStrike traded at a 59% premium to Morningstar’s fair value, questioning, “what can they do really to satisfy what the market is pricing in?” Morningstar
Palo Alto Networks shares dropped as well, even though the company beat quarterly estimates. Investors are watching high expectations and debating the company’s growth mix. CrowdStrike is still going up against Palo Alto, SentinelOne and Microsoft across the endpoint and security market. The pressure is showing across the group.
