Summary
CrowdStrike ended fiscal 2022 with accelerating demand. Fourth-quarter revenue rose 62.7% to $431.0 million. Full-year revenue rose 66.0% to $1.45 billion. Annual recurring revenue grew 65% year over year to $1.73 billion as of January 31, 2022. Net new ARR was $216.9 million in the quarter, a record for the company. CrowdStrike added 1,638 net new subscription customers, ending the quarter with 16,325, up 65% year over year. The quarter included general availability of the Falcon XDR module, the launch of Falcon Identity Threat Protection Complete, and new Zero Trust assessments on macOS and Linux. Deloitte selected CrowdStrike to power critical components of its Managed Extended Detection and Response suite.
Gross profit rose 60.6% to $318.4 million in the quarter. Gross margin was 73.9%, down 0.9 percentage points from the prior-year quarter. GAAP operating loss was $23.5 million, and the loss widened from the prior-year quarter. GAAP net loss was $42.0 million, and it widened from the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was -5.5%, up 0.5 percentage points. For the full year, GAAP net loss was $234.8 million, and it widened from the prior year. GAAP net loss per share was $1.03, and the loss widened from the prior year. Non-GAAP income from operations was $80.4 million in the quarter, compared with $34.4 million in the prior-year quarter. Non-GAAP net income was $70.4 million, compared with $31.6 million. Non-GAAP diluted net income per share was $0.30, compared with $0.13. The gap between GAAP and non-GAAP results reflects stock-based compensation, amortization of acquired intangibles, acquisition-related expenses, legal reserve and settlement charges, and tax costs related to the Humio acquisition.
Operating cash flow rose 39.5% to $159.7 million in the quarter. Capital expenditures rose 112.9% to $26.7 million. Free cash flow was $127.3 million for the quarter, compared with $97.4 million in the prior-year quarter, and $441.8 million for the fiscal year. Full-year operating cash flow rose 61.2% to $574.8 million. Deferred revenue rose 67.7% to $1.53 billion. Remaining performance obligations rose 64.3% to $2.30 billion. The dollar-based net retention rate was 123.9% as of January 31, 2022. Module adoption deepened: 69% of customers used four or more modules, 57% used five or more, and 34% used six or more. CrowdStrike also launched Falcon Fund II, a $100 million investment vehicle in partnership with Accel.
Management issued guidance for the first quarter of fiscal 2023 and for the full fiscal year. The first-quarter non-GAAP income from operations outlook is $61.7 million to $66.4 million, and the full-year outlook is $289.2 million to $311.8 million. Non-GAAP net income guidance is $52.0 million to $56.7 million for the first quarter and $251.1 million to $273.6 million for the full year. Non-GAAP diluted net income per share guidance is $0.22 to $0.24 for the first quarter and $1.03 to $1.13 for the full year. Management expects weighted average diluted shares of 240 million for the first quarter and 243 million for the full year. Revenue guidance was also provided for both periods, and the company did not reconcile the non-GAAP outlook to the most directly comparable GAAP measures.
The outlook depends on execution against a large market opportunity. CrowdStrike faces risks from managing rapid growth, integrating Humio and SecureCircle, new product and subscription introductions, defects or vulnerabilities in its offerings, customer acquisition and retention, and longer sales cycles. General market, political, economic, and business conditions, including COVID-19 and geopolitical uncertainty, could also affect results. The company has a $600.0 million cloud services commitment with AWS through September 2026, with $53.2 million utilized as of January 31, 2022. The company also expects to continue investing in sales and marketing and research and development, and it may pursue additional acquisitions to expand the Falcon platform.
Forecast
Reported figures
GAAP, from SEC filings| Metric | Q4 FY2022 | Q3 FY2022 | QoQ | Q4 FY2021 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $431.0M | $380.1M | +13.4% | $264.9M | +62.7% |
| Gross profit | $318.4M | $278.4M | +14.4% | $198.2M | +60.6% |
| Gross margin | 73.9% | 73.3% | +0.6 pp | 74.8% | -0.9 pp |
| Research & development | $105.0M | $97.6M | +7.6% | $66.1M | +58.9% |
| Sales & marketing | $162.6M | $165.0M | -1.4% | $112.4M | +44.6% |
| General & administrative | $74.3M | $56.1M | +32.6% | $35.5M | +109.4% |
| Total operating expenses | $341.9M | $318.7M | +7.3% | $214.0M | +59.8% |
| Operating income (loss) | -$23.5M | -$40.3M | +41.6% | -$15.8M | -48.9% |
| Operating margin | -5.5% | -10.6% | +5.1 pp | -6.0% | +0.5 pp |
| Net income (loss) | -$41.7M | -$50.5M | +17.3% | -$19.0M | -119.7% |
| Net margin | -9.7% | -13.3% | +3.6 pp | -7.2% | -2.5 pp |
| Diluted EPS | -$0.18 | -$0.22 | +$0.04 | — | — |
| Net retention rate | 120.0% | 100.0% | +20.0 pp | 100.0% | +20.0 pp |
Risks
CrowdStrike has incurred net losses in all periods since inception, including net losses of $234.8 million in fiscal 2022, $92.6 million in fiscal 2021, and $141.8 million in fiscal 2020, and had an accumulated deficit of $964.9 million as of January 31, 2022. MD&A states it expects to continue to incur operating losses for the foreseeable future.
Headcount grew from 2,309 employees as of January 31, 2020 to 4,965 employees as of January 31, 2022, straining management, systems, and controls; failure to manage growth effectively could impair platform quality and compliance.
The security market is intensely competitive with legacy antivirus, alternative endpoint, network security, and service providers. Competitive pricing pressure may reduce gross profits, and subscription gross margin slightly decreased by 1% in fiscal 2022 while professional services gross margin decreased by 3%, both compared to fiscal 2021.
As a cybersecurity provider, CrowdStrike has been and expects to continue to be targeted by sophisticated cyber adversaries, including nation-state actors, and compromise of its internal systems or customer data could damage reputation and financial results.
The business depends on key technical, sales, and management personnel, especially CEO George Kurtz. Competition for cybersecurity, engineering, and sales talent is intense, and equity vesting or stock price volatility may make it harder to retain employees.
The Falcon platform relies on third-party data centers, primarily AWS. In October 2021, CrowdStrike committed to purchase a minimum of $600.0 million of cloud services from AWS through September 2026, with only $53.2 million utilized as of January 31, 2022; disruption or less favorable renewal terms could harm operations.
Sales cycles for the Falcon platform can be long and unpredictable, especially with large organizations and government entities, requiring considerable time and expense before a sale. The sales force has expanded significantly and a large percentage of sales personnel are new to the company.
Future results depend on customers renewing subscriptions and adding cloud modules or endpoints. Customers have no obligation to renew after terms that are generally one year, and the dollar-based net retention rate was 123.9% as of January 31, 2022 and 124.8% as of January 31, 2021.
International customers contributed approximately 28% of total revenue in fiscal 2022 and 28% in fiscal 2021. Expansion exposes CrowdStrike to regulatory, tax, currency, and compliance risks, and a strengthening U.S. dollar could increase costs for international customers.
The provision for income taxes increased by $67.6 million in fiscal 2022 compared to fiscal 2021, primarily due to the intercompany sale of intellectual property from Humio of $57.2 million. Tax law changes, audits, and OECD reform could increase liabilities.
The Senior Notes and revolving facility contain restrictive covenants and cross-default provisions. Noncompliance could result in accelerated repayment and harm liquidity.
CrowdStrike acquired Humio and SecureCircle and may pursue future acquisitions. Integration may divert management, disrupt business, dilute stockholders, and expose the company to unidentified liabilities or control deficiencies.
The COVID-19 pandemic could continue to disrupt customer spending, lengthen sales cycles, increase churn, and affect collections. MD&A notes the impact has been modest so far and dollar-based net retention was above 120% throughout fiscal 2022, but effects may not be fully reflected until future periods.
SaaS KPIs
All quarters →Free Cash Flow Margin
Non-GAAP Operating Margin
Net New ARR
Free Cash Flow
Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)
Non-GAAP Subscription Gross Margin
Dollar-Based Net Retention Rate
Subscription Customers
Net New Subscription Customers
Customers with 5+ Modules
Customers with 6+ Modules
Customers with 4+ Modules
Summary, forecast, risks and KPIs are extracted from CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc.'s SEC filings for Q4 FY2022 (10-Q / 10-K and the 8-K earnings release); GAAP figures in the summary are checked against the reported XBRL data. They can contain errors; the filings are authoritative. Processed Oct 2, 2026.