NEW YORK, June 26, 2026, 15:01 EDT
- Freshworks gained 5.1% to $9.64 as of 3:01 p.m. EDT. Volume reached 30.64 million shares, about 2.5 times its 65-day average.
- Friday’s trading volume topped the 18.78 million shares that were sold short as of June 15, making up around 15% of the stock’s listed public float.
- Freshworks CEO Dennis Woodside told the Times of India the company is targeting over $1 billion in ARR this year and reported 7,000 paid AI customers.
- Freshworks picked up 5.7 million shares in Q1, paying an average of $7.97 each. Friday’s price was around 21% higher.
Freshworks Inc. NASDAQ:FRSH was up over 5% in Friday afternoon trading. By 3:01 p.m. EDT, volume had spiked, with 30.64 million shares traded, hitting about 249% of the 65-day average. The stock last changed hands at $9.64.
Trading volume topped the 18.78 million shares that were sold short as of June 15, matching about 15% of MarketWatch’s 204.03 million-share public float. There’s no clear evidence of short covering here. But trading was heavy enough to affect bearish bets.
The stock is off 21.35% so far this year and 34.99% for the last 12 months. It has traded between $6.79 and $15.47 in the past 52 weeks. Any changes in the growth or margin story could move the shares.
Freshworks CEO Dennis Woodside told the Times of India on Friday the company wants to hit $1 billion in annual recurring revenue this year. He said 7,000 customers are paying for AI products, and that AI revenue—directly monetized—had topped $20 million as of January.
Woodside said the focus for equity holders was still on margins. “Profitability is equally as important as growth,” he said. He added that Freshworks is guiding for GAAP profitability in the second half of 2026, with cash-flow margins expected in the high-20% range. The Times of India
That’s notable since Freshworks posted Q1 revenue of $228.6 million, a 16% increase, and set its full-year outlook at $958 million to $964 million. The company finished Friday with a $2.64 billion market cap, which puts the stock at around 2.7x the midpoint of its projected sales.
Freshworks bought back 5.7 million shares in Q1 at an average of $7.97, and had $354.6 million left on its February repurchase plan as of March 31. Shares closed Friday at $9.64, about 21% higher than what the company paid last quarter.
Cash helps make the stock swing. Freshworks said it had $780.4 million in cash, restricted cash and marketable securities as of March 31, which is about 30% of its market cap at Friday’s close.
Freshworks outperformed a few tech benchmarks in the session. The Invesco QQQ Trust NASDAQ:QQQ slipped roughly 1.0% as of 2:46 p.m. EDT. The iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (NYSEARCA:IGV) gained 3.0%, and WisdomTree Cloud Computing Fund NASDAQ:WCLD added 4.2%.
AI risk is still the main bearish argument. Back in May, Reuters said Freshworks planned to cut 11% of staff, about 500 roles, with AI shifting how the company runs its software business. Woodside told Reuters at the time: “Over half of our code is written by AI,” adding that automation slashed “rote work that technology can take care of.” Reuters
Freshworks is guiding for second quarter revenue between $232 million and $235 million, with non-GAAP EPS seen at 13 cents, according to its outlook.
