Cloudflare Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2020 Financial Results

• Fiscal year 2020 revenue totaled $431 million, representing an increase of 50% year-over-year; Q4 revenue totaled $126 million, also representing an increase of 50% year-over-year
• Fiscal year 2020 GAAP operating margin of (24.8)%, representing an improvement of 1,280 basis points year-over-year; non-GAAP operating margin of (7.9)%, representing an improvement of 1,690 basis points year-over-year
• Dollar-based net retention of 119%, representing an improvement of 300 basis points sequentially, driven by continued strength from large enterprise customers

San Francisco, CA, February 11, 2021 — Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE: NET), the security, performance, and reliability company helping to build a better Internet, today announced financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.

“We had a remarkable end to a year we’ll never forget, delivering a record fourth quarter and full year 2020. Our paid customer count grew to more than 111,000, with our largest customers continuing to be our strongest growth area,” said Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare. “We helped our customers shift away from the weight of the appliances that held them down when they needed flexibility to succeed, and delivered more than 550 products and capabilities during 2020 that also supported needs bigger than all of us—whether it was helping to secure the US election from cyberattacks or ensuring COVID-19 vaccine registration sites withstand demand with Project Fair Shot. Innovation is the energy that fuels Cloudflare, differentiates us in the market, and enables us to help build a better Internet.”

Fourth Quarter 2020 Financial Highlights

• Revenue: Total revenue of $125.9 million, representing an increase of 50% year-over-year.
• Gross Profit: GAAP gross profit was $96.9 million, or 76.9% gross margin, compared to $65.7 million, or 78.3%, in the fourth quarter of 2019. Non-GAAP gross profit was $98.3 million, or 78.1% gross margin, compared to $66.0 million, or 78.7%, in the fourth quarter of 2019.
• Operating Loss: GAAP loss from operations was $24.7 million, or 19.6% of total revenue, compared to $29.9 million, or 35.7% of total revenue, in the fourth quarter of 2019. Non-GAAP loss from operations was $5.5 million, or 4.3% of total revenue, compared to $18.3 million, or 21.8% of total revenue, in the fourth quarter of 2019.
• Net Loss: GAAP net loss was $34.0 million, compared to $28.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. Non-GAAP net loss was $7.4 million, compared to $16.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. GAAP net loss per share was $0.11, compared to $0.10 in the fourth quarter of 2019. Non-GAAP net loss per share was $0.02, compared to $0.06 in the fourth quarter of 2019.
• Cash Flow: Net cash flow from operations was negative $8.8 million, compared to negative $8.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2019. Free cash flow was negative $23.5 million, or 19% of total revenue, compared to negative $23.5 million, or 28% of total revenue, in the fourth quarter of 2019.
• Cash, cash equivalents, and available-for-sale securities were $1,032.1 million as of December 31, 2020.

Full Year 2020 Financial Highlights

• Revenue: Total revenue of $431.1 million, representing an increase of 50% year-over-year.
• Gross Profit: GAAP gross profit was $330.0 million, or 76.6% gross margin, compared to $223.6 million, or 77.9%, in fiscal 2019. Non-GAAP gross profit was $334.6 million, or 77.6% gross margin, compared to $224.4 million, or 78.2%, in fiscal 2019.
• Operating Loss: GAAP loss from operations was $106.8 million, or 24.8% of total revenue, compared to $107.9 million, or 37.6% of total revenue, in fiscal 2019. Non-GAAP loss from operations was $33.9 million, or 7.9% of total revenue, compared to $71.2 million, or 24.8% of total revenue, in fiscal 2019.
• Net Loss: GAAP net loss was $119.4 million, compared to $105.8 million for fiscal 2019. Non-GAAP net loss was $35.1 million, compared to $69.5 million for fiscal 2019. GAAP net loss per share was $0.40, compared to $0.72 for fiscal 2019. Non-GAAP net loss per share was $0.12, compared to $0.48 for fiscal 2019.
• Cash Flow: Net cash flow from operations was negative $17.1 million, compared to negative $38.9 million for fiscal 2019. Free cash flow was negative $92.1 million, or 21% of total revenue, compared to negative $96.2 million, or 34% of total revenue, for fiscal 2019.

The section titled "Non-GAAP Financial Information" below describes our usage of non-GAAP financial measures. Reconciliations between historical GAAP and non-GAAP information are contained at the end of this press release following the accompanying financial data.

Financial Outlook

The following forward-looking statements regarding our financial outlook are subject to substantial uncertainty as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, reflect our estimates as of February 11, 2021 regarding the impact of the pandemic on our operations, and are highly dependent on numerous factors that we may not be able to predict or control, including, among others: the duration, spread, and severity of the pandemic; actions taken by governments and businesses in response to the pandemic and the resulting impact on our customers, vendors, and partners; the impact of the pandemic on global and regional economies and economic activity generally; our ability to continue operating in impacted areas; and customer demand and spending patterns.

For the first quarter of 2021, we expect:

• Total revenue of $130 to $131 million
• Non-GAAP loss from operations of $9 to $8 million
• Non-GAAP net loss per share of $0.03 to $0.02, utilizing weighted average common shares outstanding of approximately 306 million

For the full year 2021, we expect:

• Total revenue of $589 to $593 million
• Non-GAAP loss from operations of $25 to $21 million
• Non-GAAP net loss per share of $0.09 to $0.08, utilizing weighted average common shares outstanding of approximately 309 million

Conference Call Information

Cloudflare will host an investor conference call to discuss its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 earnings results today at 2:00 p.m. Pacific time (5:00 p.m. Eastern time). Interested parties can access the call by dialing (866) 211-4146 from the United States or (647) 689-6734 internationally with conference ID 2367983. A live webcast of the conference call will be accessible from the investor relations website at cloudflare.NET. A replay will be available approximately two hours after the conclusion of the live event and will remain available for approximately 30 days.

Supplemental Financial and Other Information

Supplemental financial and other information can be accessed through the Company’s investor relations website at https://cloudflare.NET. Beginning with the quarter ended March 31, 2020, we have transitioned the method for calculating our key business metrics from a billings-based methodology to a revenue-based methodology. We believe the change in methodology to GAAP-based metrics provides improved disclosures for our investors by better aligning our key business metrics with GAAP and our financial statements and will provide a better representation of these important components of our operating model and business performance as we continue to scale. We have recast these metrics for the historical period prior to March 31, 2020 to reflect this new methodology in our supplemental materials.

Non-GAAP Financial Information

Cloudflare believes that the presentation of non-GAAP financial information provides important supplemental information to management and investors regarding financial and business trends relating to the Company’s financial condition and results of operations. Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable financial results as determined in accordance with GAAP are included at the end of this press release following the accompanying financial data. A reconciliation of non-GAAP guidance measures to corresponding GAAP measures is not available on a forward-looking basis without unreasonable effort due to the uncertainty of expenses that may be incurred in the future. For further information regarding why Cloudflare believes that these non-GAAP measures provide useful information to investors, the specific manner in which management uses these measures, and some of the limitations associated with the use of these measures, please refer to the “Explanation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” section at the end of this press release.

Available Information

Cloudflare intends to use its press releases, website, investor relations website, news site, blog, Twitter account, and Instagram account, in addition to filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and public conference calls, as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “explore,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “could,” “intend,” “target,” “project,” “contemplate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” or “continue,” or the negative of these words, or other similar terms or expressions that concern our expectations, strategy, plans, or intentions. However, not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements expressed or implied in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our future financial and operating performance, our reputation and performance in the market, general market trends, our estimated and projected revenue, non-GAAP net loss from operations and non-GAAP net loss per share, shares outstanding, the benefits to customers from using our products, the expected functionality and performance of our products, our plans and objectives for future operations, growth, initiatives, or strategies, and comments made by our CEO and others. There are a significant number of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from statements made in this press release, including: the extent and duration of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and adverse conditions in the general domestic and global economic markets; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our and our customers’, vendors’, and partners’ operations and future financial performance; our history of net losses; our limited operating history; risks associated with managing our rapid growth; our ability to attract and retain new customers; our ability to retain and upgrade paying customers and convert free customers to paying customers; problems with our internal systems, network, or data, including actual or perceived breaches or failures; rapidly evolving technological developments in the market; length of sales cycles; and general market, political, economic, and business conditions. Our actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including but not limited to, risks detailed in our filings with the SEC, including our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on November 10, 2020, as well as other filings that we may make from time to time with the SEC.

The forward-looking statements made in this press release relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions, or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements.

About Cloudflare

Cloudflare, Inc. (www.cloudflare.com / @cloudflare) is on a mission to help build a better Internet. Cloudflare’s platform protects and accelerates any Internet application online without adding hardware, installing software, or changing a line of code. Internet properties powered by Cloudflare have all web traffic routed through its intelligent global network, which gets smarter with every request. As a result, they see significant improvement in performance and a decrease in spam and other attacks. Cloudflare was named to Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top Company Cultures 2018 list and ranked among the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company in 2019. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Cloudflare has offices in Austin, TX, Champaign, IL, Seattle, WA, New York, NY, San Jose, CA, Washington, D.C., Lisbon, London, Munich, Paris, Beijing, Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo.

Investor Relations Information

Jayson Noland [email protected]

Press Contact Information

Daniella Vallurupalli [email protected]

Source: Cloudflare, Inc.