Cloudflare, Inc. (ticker: NET) is a technology company that provides internet security, performance, and reliability solutions through subscription-based services. The company offers various subscription plans with different levels of functionality, as well as add-on products and professional services to assist customers with migration and configuration. Cloudflare focuses on expanding its customer base, particularly among larger enterprises, while maintaining strategic relationships with third-party partners to support its growth objectives.
- Subscription Plans - Offers tiered subscription services that provide varying levels of internet security, performance, and reliability functionalities to customers.
- Add-On Products - Provides additional network functionalities and features that can be purchased separately to enhance the core subscription plans.
- Professional Services - Assists large customers with migration from existing vendors and the configuration and use of Cloudflare's products.
- Government Contracts - Delivers tailored solutions to government organizations, addressing compliance, certification, and audit requirements.
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| Name | Position | External Roles | Short Bio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Matthew Prince ExecutiveBoard | CEO, Chair of the Board | Chair of Unspam Technologies, Inc. | Co-founder of Cloudflare, serving as CEO since inception in July 2009. Previously co-founded Unspam Technologies, Inc. | View Report → |
Michelle Zatlyn ExecutiveBoard | President, Co-Chair of the Board | Board member at Atlassian Corporation, Plc | Co-founder of Cloudflare, transitioned from Head of User Experience to COO in 2016, then to President in 2020. Appointed Co-Chair of the Board in February 2025. | |
Douglas Kramer Executive | Chief Legal Officer, Secretary | None | Joined Cloudflare in August 2016 as General Counsel, later becoming Chief Legal Officer in January 2024. Previously held senior legal roles in U.S. government agencies and private law firms. | |
Thomas Seifert Executive | Chief Financial Officer (CFO) | Board member at First Derivatives plc | Joined Cloudflare as CFO in June 2017. Previously held CFO roles at Symantec, Brightstar, and AMD, where he also served as Interim CEO. | View Report → |
Carl Ledbetter Board | Director, Chair of Compensation Committee | CEO and CTO of SimpleRose, Inc. | Joined Cloudflare's Board in November 2009. Former Managing Director at Pelion Venture Partners. Currently chairs the Compensation Committee. | |
Katrin Suder Board | Director | Supervisory board member at LEG Immobilien SE and DHL | Former State Secretary for the German Federal Ministry of Defense. Joined Cloudflare's Board in August 2019 and serves on the Audit and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees. | |
Maria Eitel Board | Director | Supervisory board member at LEG Immobilien SE and DHL | Former Chair of the Nike Foundation and founder of Girl Effect. Joined Cloudflare's Board in December 2018 and currently chairs the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. | |
Mark Hawkins Board | Director, Chair of Audit Committee | Board member at Toast, SecureWorks, and Workday | Former CFO of Salesforce, Autodesk, and Logitech. Joined Cloudflare's Board in June 2022 and serves as Chair of the Audit Committee. | |
Scott Sandell Board | Lead Independent Director | Chairman, CEO, and CIO of NEA; Board member at Coursera, Bloom Energy | Venture capitalist with extensive board experience. Lead Independent Director at Cloudflare since September 2019. |
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Your full-year 2025 revenue guidance implies a deceleration compared to 2024; what factors are contributing to this slower growth expectation, and how confident are you in achieving the 25% year-over-year increase?
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You mentioned that pool of funds contracts can impact revenue recognition and dollar-based net retention; how are these contracts affecting your near-term revenue growth, and what are the implications for long-term revenue visibility?
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Despite adding a record number of large customers, your dollar-based net retention rate remains at 111%; what strategies are you implementing to drive higher net retention, and what challenges are you facing in upselling existing customers?
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With increased investments in sales capacity and go-to-market initiatives, how are you balancing these costs with your commitment to profitability, and what is the expected impact on operating margins in the coming quarters?
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Given the competitive landscape in the Zero Trust and SASE markets, how do you plan to differentiate your offerings and win against established incumbents, especially in securing large enterprise customers who may be hesitant to switch providers?
Research analysts who have asked questions during Cloudflare earnings calls.
Andrew Nowinski
Wells Fargo
4 questions for NET
Adam Borg
Stifel Financial Corp.
3 questions for NET
Jonathan Ho
William Blair & Company
3 questions for NET
Matthew Hedberg
RBC Capital Markets
3 questions for NET
Gabriela Borges
Goldman Sachs
2 questions for NET
Joel Fishbein
Truist Securities
2 questions for NET
Keith Weiss
Morgan Stanley
2 questions for NET
Mark Murphy
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
2 questions for NET
Shaul Eyal
TD Cowen
2 questions for NET
Brent Thill
Jefferies
1 question for NET
Fatima Boolani
Citi
1 question for NET
Hamza Fodderwala
Morgan Stanley
1 question for NET
James Fish
Piper Sandler Companies
1 question for NET
Matt Hedberg
RBC Capital Markets
1 question for NET
Michael Cikos
Needham & Company
1 question for NET
Patrick Colville
Scotiabank
1 question for NET
Roger Boyd
UBS
1 question for NET
Timothy Horan
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.
1 question for NET
Trevor Walsh
Citizens JMP
1 question for NET
Notable M&A activity and strategic investments in the past 3 years.
| Company | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
Kivera, Inc. | 2024 | Cloudflare, Inc. acquired Kivera, Inc. on October 7, 2024, for approximately $29.4 million in cash; Kivera specializes in cloud security, data protection, and compliance technology, and the purchase accounting is still in progress. |
BastionZero | 2024 | Acquired in May 2024 for a total consideration of $13.1 million (including $11.3 million in cash and a $1.6 million cash holdback), this deal strengthened the firm's Zero Trust access platform and its Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) portfolio while adding $5.1 million of intangible assets and $8.1 million of goodwill. |
Area 1 Security, Inc. | 2022 | Acquired on April 1, 2022 with a total purchase consideration of $156.6 million (a mix of cash, stock, and holdbacks), this acquisition brought in cloud-native email security technology alongside significant goodwill from the assembled workforce and synergies, including detailed asset and liability assumptions. |
Vectrix Security, Inc. | 2022 | Completed on January 14, 2022 for a total purchase price of $7.6 million (involving cash, shares, and a cash holdback), the deal acquired developed technology valued at $3.1 million and goodwill of $4.951 million, with additional stock-based compensation arrangements that included vesting conditions. |
Recent press releases and 8-K filings for NET.
- Cloudflare positions itself as "the network" that makes the Internet faster and protects it, fundamentally differing from hyperscalers by focusing on moving data efficiently rather than hoarding it.
- The company is transitioning from a product-led growth model to a more sophisticated enterprise sales strategy, which has led to an earlier-than-expected upswing in sales, particularly in APAC, EMEA, and North America.
- Growth is increasingly driven by "pool of funds" deals, where customers commit to spending a certain amount and are encouraged to adopt Cloudflare's entire platform, including its "Act one" (security/performance), "Act two" (Zero Trust), and "Act three" (developer platform like Workers) products.
- The Workers developer platform (Act three) is growing significantly faster than anticipated and is expected to surpass Act one and Act two in revenue within the next few years.
- Cloudflare is exploring a new initiative, referred to as "Act Four," to act as a broker between AI companies and content creators, aiming to compensate creators for their content used by AI, drawing parallels to the music industry's shift to streaming models.
- Cloudflare has launched a permission-based model that defaults to blocking AI crawlers from accessing website content, requiring explicit consent from website owners.
- This initiative aims to re-establish control for content creators and foster a new economic model, addressing the issue of AI models using content without compensation or attribution.
- Since September 2024, over one million customers have already utilized Cloudflare's option to block AI crawlers.
- Cloudflare is actively involved in developing a new standardized protocol for AI bot authentication and identification, providing enhanced control for website operators.
- The new model is supported by major global publishers and media companies, including Condé Nast, Dotdash Meredith, Gannett Media, Pinterest, Reddit, Universal Music Group, and TIME.
- Cloudflare held its FY 2025 AGM on June 05, 2025, conducting the meeting virtually with clear proxy instructions and a record date of 04/10/2025.
- All three board nominees—Stacy Cunningham, Mark Hawkins, and Carl Ledbetter—were elected as class three directors based on preliminary voting results.
- The meeting ratified KPMG LLP as the independent auditor for the year ending 12/31/2025 and approved advisory executive compensation proposals.
- Q1 2025 revenue reached $479.1 million demonstrating robust YoY growth (20% / 27% ).
- Secured its largest contract in company history (exceeding $100M) and its longest-term SASE agreement .
- Updated guidance for Q2 2025 and FY 2025 with Q2 revenue expected in the $500M range and FY revenue projected between $2.09B and $2.094B .
- Profitability highlights included an operating profit of $56M, a GAAP loss from operations of $53.2M, and a 77% Non-GAAP gross margin .
- Expanded customer base to 250,819 paying customers with 3,527 large customers now contributing 69% of total revenue .
- Improved operational efficiency with free cash flow of $52.9M and strong APAC performance up 54% YoY .
- Leadership transformation: In 2024, Cloudflare enhanced its management team with key hires including Mark Anderson, Stephanie Cohen, and CJ Desai, positioning the company to overcome recent operational challenges and reinvigorate its innovation engine in 2025.
- Strategic network and revenue growth: The executives emphasized strengthening a resilient, integrated network platform to support enterprise and developer products, with an ambitious target of reaching $5 billion in revenue by 2028 through improved go-to-market operations.
- Adapting to market evolution: The call highlighted efforts to address emerging challenges such as evolving content monetization in the AI-driven web and enterprise technology debt, underscoring Cloudflare’s initiatives to align with changing internet business models.
- Cloudflare has outlined its strategy to scale its business to over $5B in revenue, emphasizing investments in product and engineering enhancements aimed at driving future growth.
- The company reinforced its commitment to innovation, detailing advancements in AI, application services, and network capabilities to support digital modernization and a seamless developer experience.
- A robust go-to-market plan was highlighted, focusing on accelerating sales productivity through enhanced AE momentum, pipeline growth, and alignment with customers' digital imperatives.