CrowdStrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRWD) stock popped as investors responded positively to the company’s long-term financial targets and upbeat guidance outlined at its recent Fal.Con 2025 conference.
The cybersecurity firm set an ambitious goal of reaching $20 billion in annual recurring revenue (ARR) by fiscal 2036, which would represent a compound annual growth rate of about 15%.
In the nearer term, management projected more than 20% year-over-year net new ARR growth for fiscal 2027, well above the consensus estimate of 14%.
The company also reaffirmed plans to achieve non-GAAP operating margins above 24% and free cash flow margins above 30% by that year.
CrowdStrike reiterated its fiscal 2026 outlook, expecting ARR of approximately $6.32 billion, a 22% increase from the prior year. Executives also expressed confidence in at least 40% net new ARR growth during the second half of fiscal 2026.
Wedbush, which attended the conference, reaffirmed its 'Outperform' rating and a $525 price target on the company, highlighting CrowdStrike’s leadership in AI-driven cybersecurity.
The firm pointed to the company’s unveiling of 32 new modules and 22 innovations, including “its new agentic AI solution that leverages the company’s vast data pool as CrowdStrike looks to build the world’s first security AGI.”
Wedbush called CrowdStrike “the cybersecurity gold standard,” noting that its seven newly launched AI agents automate complex, repetitive tasks through the Charlotte framework.
The company also introduced AgentWorks, described as “a no-code platform that allows security teams to build an agent with natural language that can reason, decide, and act with analyst judgment and runs 24/7 while being fully transparent.”
The brokerage highlighted acquisitions such as Pangea, which supports safe AI adoption, and Onum, which accelerates next-generation SIEM integration and can improve incident response times by up to 70%.
These additions, according to Wedbush, strengthen CrowdStrike’s ability to capture market share as the cybersecurity total addressable market is expected to reach $300 billion by 2030, with around $90 billion tied to AI security.
For fiscal 2027, Wedbush noted CrowdStrike’s expectations for net new ARR growth of more than 20%, a non-GAAP operating margin above 24%, and free cash flow margin above 30%, all supported by internal AI-driven efficiencies.
The analysts see a clear path to $20 billion in ARR by fiscal 2036, underpinned by demand in agentic SOC, next-generation identity, and next-generation SIEM solutions.
“We believe that CrowdStrike remains the cybersecurity gold standard with the tools and foundation necessary to be positioned as the protector of agents through this industry transformation,” Wedbush wrote, pointing to rising adoption of AI within enterprise security teams.
Shares of CrowdStrike added 10.2% at $490 late morning on Thursday.