CrowdStrike Holdings is bullish on its ability to grow a financial metric tied to subscription customer growth. The cybersecurity firm expects to hit $5 billion in annual recurring revenue, or ARR, for CRWD stock by fiscal 2026.
At an investor briefing on Thursday, CrowdStrike told analysts it expects to reach $3 billion in ARR by fiscal 2024, a year earlier than projected. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company also for the first time forecast $5 billion in ARR by fiscal 2026.
The cybersecurity firm had $1.73 billion in ARR in fiscal 2022, which ended Jan. 31. That was up 65% from the prior year.
CRWD Stock: Acquisitions Expand Market
"Management's guidance for $5 billion ARR in fiscal 2026 was above our survey of buy-side expectations heading into the event," Deutsche Bank analyst Patrick Colville said in a report. "This ARR, about 3 times larger than current levels, is impressive given the company's scale."
CrowdStrike stock rose 0.5% to close at 218.21 on the stock market today.
The cybersecurity company uses machine learning, a form of artificial intelligence. It has a specialized database to detect malware on laptops, mobile phones and other devices that access corporate networks.
Also, CrowdStrike is building a broad, threat-detection cybersecurity platform. Called XDR, or extended detection and response, it monitors endpoints as well as web/email gateways, web application firewalls and cloud business workloads.
CrowdStrike has expanded its offerings by acquiring Preempt, SecureCircle, Humio and FileVantage.
CrowdStrike Stock: Mandiant Partnership
Plus, CrowdStrike on Thursday announced a strategic partnership with Mandiant.
Google parent Alphabet in March announced its intent to acquire Mandiant for $5.4 billion in cash. Analysts said CrowdStrike should be able to forge closer ties with Google with the Mandiant deal.
Mandiant provides cyber-incident response and cybersecurity testing services. Mandiant will use CrowdStrike's cybersecurity platform and subscription offerings for its incident response services.
CrowdStrike stock has climbed 6% in 2022. CRWD stock holds an IBD Relative Strength Rating of 74 out of a best-possible 99, according to IBD Stock Checkup.
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Follow Reinhardt Krause on Twitter @reinhardtk_tech for updates on 5G wireless, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and cloud computing.
