Crowdstrike Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:CRWD) stock fell 8.83% (As on March 5, 11:31:26 AM UTC-4, Source: Google Finance) after the company issued disappointing earnings guidance but posted strong fourth-quarter results. The company posted $4.24 billion in annual recurring revenue, reflecting 23% growth. That topped the $4.21 billion estimate from analysts surveyed by StreetAccount and included $224 million in net annual recurring revenue. The company is seeing strong momentum in the Next-Gen SIEM, Cloud Security, and Identity Protection businesses, surpassing $1.3 billion in combined ending ARR. With 97% gross retention and accounts adopting Falcon Flex adding over $1 billion of in-quarter deal value, customers are increasingly consolidating on the Falcon platform as their AI-native SOC for today and tomorrow.  Non-GAAP income from operations was $217.3 million, compared to $213.1 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024. Non-GAAP net income attributable to CrowdStrike was $260.9 million, compared to $236.2 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024. Net cash generated from operations was $345.7 million, compared to $347.0 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024. Free cash flow was $239.8 million, compared to $283.0 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024. Cash and Cash Equivalents was $4.32 billion as of January 31, 2025.

CRWD in the fourth quarter of FY24 has reported the adjusted earnings per share of $1.03, beating the analysts’ estimates for the adjusted earnings per share of 86 cents. The company had reported the adjusted revenue growth of 25 percent to $1.06 billion in the fourth quarter of FY24, beating the analysts’ estimates for revenue of $1.03 billion, as per LSEG estimates. Subscription revenue was $1.01 billion, a 27% increase, compared to $795.9 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024. Non-GAAP subscription gross margin was 80% for both the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025 and 2024.

For the year, CrowdStrike said it expects earnings, excluding some items, to range between $3.33 and $3.45 per share, falling short of the $4.42 expected by analysts polled by LSEG. First-quarter earnings are expected to be between 64 cents and 66 cents per share, versus the average estimate of 95 cents.

CrowdStrike said it expects revenue of between $4.74 billion and $4.81 billion for the year, versus an LSEG estimate of $4.77 billion. The company forecasts revenue of $1.10 billion to $1.11 billion for the current quarter. At the midpoint, that’s slightly less than the $1.11 billion anticipated by analysts. It projects annual sales of $10 billion by its 2031 fiscal year.