Cloudflare, Inc.
Cloudflare, Inc. operates as a cloud services provider that delivers a range of services to businesses worldwide. The company provides a cloud-based security solution to secure a range of combination of platforms, including public and private cloud, on-premises, software-as-a-service applications, and Internet of things (IoT) devices; and application security products comprising web application firewall, bot management, distributed denial of service mitigation, API security, SSL/TLS encryption, client-side security, and security center products. It also offers application performance solutions, such as content delivery, load balancing, DNS, smart shield, video stream delivery, web optimization, cloudfare waiting room, and cloudfare data localization suite; SASE platform that combines network services and Zero Trust and workplace security products that provides a cloud-based network and security-as-a-service; network services, including magic WAN, magic transit, magic firewall, cloudflare network interconnect, and spectrum. In addition, the company provides zero trust security services which include cloudflare zero trust network access, secure web gateway, and one client; and remote browser isolation, cloud access security broker, cloud email security, digital experience monitoring, and data loss prevention products. Further, it provides developer-based solutions comprising workers AI, vectorize, AI gateway, cloudflare workers, cloudflare pages, R2 object storage, workers KV, durable objects, D1, hyperdrive, queues, cloudfare stream, cloudfare images, and cloudflare realtime; and consumer offerings, such as 1.1.1.1 DNS and with WARPm and cloudfare registrar that offers secure registration and management of domain names. The company serves customers in technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer and retail, industrial, and non-profit industries, as well as government. The company was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.
What does it do?
Cloudflare is a company that acts like a security guard and speed booster for websites and apps. When you visit a website, your request often passes through Cloudflare's network before it reaches the actual site — Cloudflare checks for attacks, blocks bad traffic, and delivers the page faster. Think of it like a smart middleman sitting between the internet and millions of businesses. Over 20% of all websites on the internet use Cloudflare in some way.
As businesses move everything to the cloud and cyber attacks grow more frequent, Cloudflare sits right at the intersection of two of the biggest spending priorities in tech: security and network infrastructure. The rise of AI has also made Cloudflare newly relevant — AI apps need fast, secure connections, and Cloudflare is positioning its global network as the backbone for that. Investors are watching to see if Cloudflare can expand from a security tool into something bigger: the operating system for the modern internet.
How does it make money?
Cloudflare makes almost all of its money through subscriptions — businesses pay monthly or annually to use its security and performance services. Revenue grew from $1.7 billion to $2.2 billion in the latest year, a roughly 29% increase. Larger enterprise customers (big companies signing bigger contracts) are an increasingly important part of that mix. The company is not yet profitable on a net basis, losing around $100 million last year, but its gross profit margins are very high, meaning it keeps a large chunk of each dollar it earns from subscriptions before operating costs.
Why do investors care?
The growth story is about Cloudflare turning small customers into big ones — a strategy called 'land and expand.' A startup signs up for a basic free or cheap plan, grows, and gradually buys more of Cloudflare's products. Cloudflare now offers over 100 services, from stopping hackers to running code at the network edge (processing data closer to users for speed). For the thesis to work, Cloudflare needs to keep winning larger enterprise deals, expand into AI-related infrastructure, and eventually turn its strong revenue growth into consistent profits.
Deep Dive
MemberA full investor briefing on Cloudflare, Inc. — history, leadership, risks, and outlook.