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Live: Will CrowdStrike’s Q2 Earnings Tonight Send the Stock Higher?

By Thomas Richmond · Updated Aug 26, 3:17pm ET · Published Aug 26, 3:18pm ET

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CrowdStrike’s Faces a Major AI Test in Tonight's Q2 Earnings Report

CrowdStrike reports tonight with guidance calling for $284-$286 million in net new annual recurring revenue, representing growth of 28-29%. The stock has already fallen nearly 6% over the past week, but its valuation still leaves little room for disappointing guidance.

CrowdStrike trades at 153x forward earnings and 37 times sales, requiring its AI security business to deliver meaningful additional growth.

A clean ARR beat with visible contribution from AI Detection and Response would reinforce CEO George Kurtz’s argument that cybersecurity is becoming foundational AI infrastructure.

A weaker result could reopen concerns about CrowdStrike’s pricing power as rival security platforms continue pressing for market share.

This article is updated throughout the trading day. Check back for more.

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The story so far

CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD | CRWD Price Prediction) is expected to report Q2 FY27 results at 4:05 PM ET tonight, August 26. The report lands with the stock at $189.95, up 58.19% year to date after a sharp one-week pullback.

CRWD price target

Momentum Meets a Tighter Bar

Last quarter delivered a record. Net new ARR hit $255.8 million, up 32% year over year, and total ARR reached $5.51 billion. Free cash flow came in at $468.5 million, or 34% of revenue, and non-GAAP operating margin expanded to 24% from 18% year over year.

Management raised the FY27 outlook, lifting net new ARR growth by 520 basis points to 27.7% at the midpoint. Sentiment shifted with it: CEO George Kurtz called Q1 “the Mythos moment,” framing Falcon as core AI security infrastructure. Shares completed a 4-for-1 split in July, drawing fresh retail attention just as the near-term chart softened.

Consensus Estimates

Metric Q2 FY27 Guide YoY Change FY27 Guide Implied Growth
Revenue $1.436B to $1.442B 23% $5.915B to $5.959B 23% to 24%
Non-GAAP EPS $1.16 to $1.17 n/a $4.88 to $4.96 n/a
Net New ARR $284M to $286M 28% to 29% $1.279B to $1.303B 27% to 29%

Revenue growth is expected to stabilize in the low-20s while net new ARR accelerates, a rare pairing that suggests the platform is landing larger deals with faster consumption. The FY27 non-GAAP EPS band implies operating leverage even as stock-based compensation stays elevated at $317.6 million.

AIDR, Flex, And Margin Signal Take Center Stage

Tonight, I’ll be watching five items closely:

  • Net new ARR delivery. The bar is $284 million to $286 million. A visible beat validates the Mythos narrative; anything at the low end resets it.
  • AIDR ramp. CEO Kurtz said AIDR ending ARR grew more than 250% sequentially, with a Q2 pipeline exceeding $50 million. Booked ARR versus pipeline is the tell.
  • Falcon Flex depth. Flex accounts ended Q1 at more than $1.9 billion in ending ARR, growing 99% year over year. Investors will focus on Reflex uplift, last reported at 51% ARR uplift across 480 customers.
  • FCF margin cadence. Management guided Q2 free cash flow margin to 24.5%, seasonally the lowest. I’ll track how that squares with the FY27 at least 30% target.
  • Module adoption. Q1 hit 51% on 6+ modules and 25% on 8+. Higher attach rates support the consolidation thesis Kurtz keeps pitching.

Options positioning shows put open interest edging call open interest into the August 28 expiration (23,061 puts versus 21,488 calls), a mildly defensive tilt. Polymarket traders assign a 79.5% probability of an EPS beat.

Earnings History

Quarter EPS Surprise Day-Of Move One-Week Move Thirty-Day Move
Q1 FY27 +3.04% -3.81% -3.83% +6.31%
Q4 FY26 +1.56% +4.15% +8.43% -2.22%
Q3 FY26 +1.99% +1.48% -0.88% -12.56%
Q2 FY26 +12.05% +4.59% -5.51% +10.95%
CRWD earnings explorer

On average, shares moved 0.61% seven days after earnings across the last year of beats.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

Thomas Richmond

Thomas Richmond is a financial writer and content strategist with 5+ years of experience covering stocks and financial markets. He has published over 250 articles focused on individual stock analysis, helping investors better understand business fundamentals, stock valuations, and long-term opportunities.

Thomas previously served as a Content Lead at TIKR, a stock research platform, where he helped scale the company’s blog to hundreds of articles per month and contributed to a weekly newsletter reaching more than 100,000 investors.

He specializes in breaking down complex companies into clear, actionable insights for everyday investors, with a focus on fundamentals-driven research.

His work has also been featured on platforms including Seeking Alpha and Sure Dividend.

Outside of work, Thomas enjoys weight lifting and soccer.

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