CrowdStrike Q1 revenue rises 20% to USD $1.10 billion as ARR grows

CrowdStrike has reported its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, ending 30 April 2025.

The company's total revenue for the first quarter reached USD $1.10 billion, representing a 20% increase from the USD $921.0 million recorded during the same period in the previous fiscal year. Subscription revenue matched this growth, moving to USD $1.05 billion compared to USD $872.2 million a year earlier.

Annual recurring revenue (ARR) grew by 22% year-over-year to stand at USD $4.44 billion at the end of the quarter. Net new ARR added during the quarter amounted to USD $193.8 million.

CrowdStrike reported a record net cash generated from operations of USD $384.1 million, edging up from USD $383.2 million in the first quarter of the previous year. Free cash flow for the period was USD $279.4 million, compared to USD $322.5 million year-over-year. The company's cash and cash equivalents increased to a record USD $4.61 billion as of 30 April 2025.

For the first quarter, GAAP subscription gross margin stood at 77%, down one percentage point from the same period a year ago, while the non-GAAP subscription gross margin came in at 80%. The company reported a GAAP loss from operations of USD $124.7 million, compared to a GAAP income from operations of USD $6.9 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2025. On a non-GAAP basis, income from operations was USD $201.1 million, down from USD $213.3 million for the same period last year.

The GAAP net loss attributable to CrowdStrike was USD $110.2 million for the quarter, compared to GAAP net income of USD $42.8 million in the first quarter of the previous fiscal year. GAAP net loss per diluted share was USD $0.44, compared to GAAP net income per diluted share of USD $0.17 a year ago. On a non-GAAP basis, net income attributable to CrowdStrike was USD $184.7 million, compared to USD $196.8 million, with non-GAAP net income per diluted share at USD $0.73.

The board of directors approved a USD $1 billion share repurchase programme. The authorisation provides flexibility for the timing and method of common stock repurchases based on market conditions, legal considerations, and other factors.

Commenting on the results, George Kurtz, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We started the fiscal year with record Q1 large deal and MSSP momentum alongside sustained 97% gross retention and consistently strong net retention as the market consolidates on Falcon as its cybersecurity platform of choice for the agentic AI era. The scale of Falcon Flex demand and the pace of innovation across AI, next-gen SIEM, cloud, identity, and exposure management advances us towards USD $10 billion in ending ARR. Today's announced share repurchase reflects our confidence in CrowdStrike's future and unwavering mission of stopping breaches."

Burt Podbere, Chief Financial Officer, added, "We achieved net new ARR and bottom-line results ahead of our expectations and generated record cash flow from operations. Our conviction in net new ARR re-acceleration and margin expansion in the second half of fiscal year 2026 is reinforced by Falcon Flex deal momentum and early Falcon Flex expansions, strong competitive win rates and robust pipeline for the second half of fiscal year 2026."

CrowdStrike highlighted recent product and partnership developments, including the general availability of Falcon Privileged Access, a new module within Falcon Identity Protection. The company also introduced Charlotte AI Agentic Response and Charlotte AI Agentic Workflows and announced new features such as AI Model Scanning and detection of Shadow AI to address cloud risk. CrowdStrike delivered a managed threat hunting solution for third-party data through Falcon Adversary OverWatch Next-Gen SIEM and added Falcon Data Protection features for securing sensitive data across multiple environments.

The company revealed new CrowdStrike Falcon Exposure Management capabilities and announced a collaboration with Microsoft to improve clarity and coordination in tracking cyber threat actors across security vendors. CrowdStrike also launched a new Services Partner Programme designed to encourage adoption of its Next-Gen SIEM among global system integrators, managed service providers, and managed security service providers.

During the quarter, CrowdStrike received the 2025 Google Cloud Security Partner of the Year Award for Workload Security and expanded its partnership with Google Cloud. The company was recognised as a partner of the year by Optiv, achieved FedRAMP High Authorisation, and was named a leader in multiple industry reports.

Looking ahead, CrowdStrike has issued guidance for the second quarter of fiscal 2026, with expected total revenue between USD $1.1447 billion and USD $1.1516 billion. For the full year fiscal 2026, the company forecast total revenue in the range of USD $4.7435 billion to USD $4.8055 billion. Non-GAAP income from operations for the second quarter is projected at USD $226.9 million to USD $233.1 million, while full-year non-GAAP income from operations is anticipated at USD $970.8 million to USD $1.0108 billion.