Analysis
Cloudflare shares jumped as much as 17% in after-hours trading Thursday after the company beat second-quarter estimates and raised its full-year guidance, with AI-driven demand for network security and infrastructure cited as the key driver, according to Investing.com and StockStory. Adjusted earnings came in at $0.29 per share on revenue of $696.06 million, ahead of analyst estimates of $0.27 per share and $664.67 million.
Cloudflare raised its full-year 2026 adjusted earnings forecast to $1.25-$1.26 per share, up from $1.19-$1.20, and lifted its revenue outlook to $2.864-$2.870 billion from $2.805-$2.813 billion. Third-quarter guidance of $736-$737 million implies roughly 31% year-over-year growth. The stock has now gained 44.1% year to date, well ahead of the broader tech-software sector, which is down nearly 6% over the same period.
“Third-quarter guidance of $736-$737 million implies roughly 31% year-over-year growth.”
The result adds Cloudflare, which Pulse has covered before, to a growing list of infrastructure and security vendors -- rather than model labs -- posting some of 2026's strongest AI-linked growth numbers. Whether that growth rate holds as AI infrastructure spending faces its own scrutiny over payback timelines remains an open question the next two quarters of guidance will answer.
