CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD) reported strong fourth-quarter 2024 results, with revenue and earnings surpassing Wall Street estimates. However, the cybersecurity firm's stock plunged over 9% in after-hours trading as its guidance for the upcoming fiscal year 2026 fell short of analysts' projections, raising concerns about slowing growth and profitability.

For the quarter ended January 31, 2025, CrowdStrike posted revenue of $1.06 billion, a 25.2% year-over-year increase, beating analyst estimates of $1.03 billion. The company's adjusted earnings per share of $1.03 also exceeded expectations of $0.86.

However, CrowdStrike's guidance for fiscal 2026 overshadowed its strong quarterly performance. The company forecasted revenue between $4.74 billion and $4.81 billion, implying a growth rate of around 20.8%, significantly lower than the previous year's 29.6% growth. Furthermore, the company's operating profit guidance of $965 million at the midpoint was below analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion.

The weaker-than-expected guidance raised concerns among investors about the company's ability to sustain its rapid growth and profitability in the face of rising expenses. CrowdStrike's operating expenses surged to $870 million from $607 million a year earlier, driven by higher costs in sales and marketing, research and development, and one-time charges related to an outage last year.