CrowdStrike stock exploded 12% Thursday after the cybersecurity giant unveiled aggressive long-term guidance at its investor day, projecting annual recurring revenue to hit $20 billion by 2036. The rally comes as the company doubles down on AI security with its acquisition of Pangea and a strategic Salesforce partnership, positioning itself as the dominant force in enterprise cybersecurity's next evolution.
CrowdStrike just threw down the gauntlet in enterprise cybersecurity. The company's stock rocketed 12% Thursday after management delivered what analysts are calling the most aggressive long-term guidance in the industry - projecting annual recurring revenue will double from $10 billion in 2031 to $20 billion by 2036.
The Austin-based security giant didn't stop at bold numbers. During Wednesday's investor day, CEO George Kurtz announced the acquisition of AI security platform Pangea and unveiled a strategic partnership with Salesforce, sending a clear signal that CrowdStrike is betting big on AI-powered enterprise security.
"CrowdStrike is by far the most advanced security platform in the industry, and the plethora of AI-based solutions announced today will further separate CrowdStrike from the competition," Wells Fargo analyst Andrew Nowinski wrote in a note following the event. Multiple Wall Street firms responded by boosting their price targets.
The timing couldn't be better. Cybersecurity has become the hottest sector in enterprise software as companies scramble to protect themselves in the AI era. Sophisticated threats are evolving faster than traditional security can handle, creating massive demand for platforms that can think and adapt in real-time.
This year alone has seen over $57 billion in cybersecurity deals, with Google's $32 billion pursuit of Israeli startup Wiz and Palo Alto Networks' $25 billion CyberArk acquisition leading the charge. The market is clearly consolidating around platforms that can handle AI-scale threats.
CrowdStrike's confidence stems from its Falcon platform's ability to process billions of security events daily using machine learning. The company expects net new ARR to grow at least 20% in 2027, well ahead of analyst expectations. That's a remarkable projection for a company already generating over $3 billion in annual revenue.
The acquisition adds critical AI security capabilities at the infrastructure level, while the partnership opens doors to millions of enterprise customers already using AI tools. It's a one-two punch that addresses both the technical and go-to-market sides of AI security.
