(Reuters) - Software firm Cloudflare raised its annual revenue and profit forecasts after delivering better-than-expected results for the second quarter on Thursday, sending its shares up over 9% in premarket trading.
Companies are increasing their expenditure on technology as cooling inflation and the recent strength in consumer activity signal a stabilizing macroeconomic outlook.
Cloudflare now sees 2023 revenue in the range $1.283 billion to $1.287 billion, compared with its earlier forecast of $1.280 billion to $1.284 billion. It also raised its adjusted per-share profit forecast by more than 2 cents.
San Francisco, California-based Cloudflare sells tools and software, grouped as content delivery network (CDN) services, that help companies manage their applications on the internet. It was founded in 2009 and went public at a valuation of over $4 billion in 2019.
For the quarter ended June 30, its revenue grew 32% to $308.5 million, inching past analysts' average estimate of $305.6 million, according to Refinitiv.
Gross profit margin, a key measure for software businesses with high recurring revenue, came in at 75.6%, compared with 75.7% in the preceding quarter and 76.2% in the corresponding quarter last year.
The company forecast third-quarter revenue of between $330 million and $331 million, while analysts expect $329.4 million.
