New York, January 27, 2026, 13:27 EST — Regular session
- Cloudflare shares jumped roughly 11.5% in afternoon trading, fueled by a surge in “agentic AI” buzz around the stock
- Investors link the viral Clawdbot project directly to Cloudflare’s edge network and its suite of developer tools
- Attention now turns to the Feb. 10 results for signs that AI-driven traffic is translating into revenue
Cloudflare shares jumped 11.5% to $211.06 on Tuesday, leaving the broader software sector behind as investors zeroed in on a new AI-related angle linked to the company’s network. The stock briefly touched an intraday peak of $218.10.
This shift isn’t driven by a new contract or filing, but by positioning. Investors are chasing “picks-and-shovels” plays tied to the next wave of AI spending, and Cloudflare fits the bill—handling security, connectivity, and traffic management right at the internet’s edge.
The focus is shifting from just training AI models to how they’re actually used. When AI tools begin booking, buying, or moving data for users, the surge in web traffic and automated requests will hit the very networks that manage content delivery and security checks today.
The buzz this week centered on “Clawdbot,” a viral AI agent built with Anthropic’s Claude. Developers have been running it locally while tapping Cloudflare’s infrastructure for secure connections. Wolfe Research analyst Joshua Tilton noted that as agentic tools ramp up—making more API calls, which let software communicate—“we believe NET is positioned to capture that activity.” Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince said the company estimates roughly 80% of top AI firms already use its infrastructure, adding, “The agents of the future will inherently have to pass through our network and abide by its rules.” (Reuters)
Cloudflare offers a package of services covering web security and content delivery, placing servers near users to boost connection speed. A significant portion of its revenue comes from usage-based fees, so customer bills can climb as traffic and requests increase.
This move places Cloudflare alongside Akamai and Fastly in the delivery and edge services arena, while also encroaching on the turf of security providers as clients streamline their vendors for both protection and performance.
Separately, Cloudflare rolled out a web-application-firewall update on Monday, introducing new detections for denial-of-service attacks tied to a recently revealed React vulnerability, according to its product changelog. (Cloudflare Docs)
Bulls face a risk as the tape seems to be running ahead of the fundamentals. Barron’s noted that the bot, also called “Moltbot,” isn’t a Cloudflare product. Plus, the Cloudflare Tunnel service linked to the bot is free, casting doubt on how much of the buzz will turn into paying customers. (Barron’s)
An older concern lingers: reliability. Cloudflare’s business hinges on customers sending vital traffic through its network. A major outage could swiftly lead to customer losses, despite rising demand for AI infrastructure.
Investors are focusing on Feb. 10, when Cloudflare is set to release earnings after the U.S. market closes. Traders want to see if AI-driven traffic and revenue gains hold up, and whether guidance supports Tuesday’s narrative.
