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Cloudflare (NET) Expands Presence in the Middle East Region

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Cloudflare, Inc. (NET - Free Report) intensifies its investment efforts in the Middle East, bolstering its longstanding commitment to the region. The company's strategic initiatives include establishing a new office in Dubai Internet City and enhancing its team to drive partner enablement, innovation and customer success.

Why is Cloudflare Investing in the Middle East?

With the inauguration of its new office in Dubai Internet City, Cloudflare underscores its dedication to serving the Middle Eastern market. Michelle Zatlyn, Cloudflare's co-founder, president, and chief operating officer, emphasized the region's significance as a hub for Internet access, driving growth and innovation.

Cloudflare's proactive cybersecurity measures have been pivotal in safeguarding the Middle East's digital landscape. In fourth-quarter 2023 alone, Cloudflare thwarted an average of 9.5 billion cyber threats per day, highlighting its key role in protecting Internet infrastructure in the region.

The company's global network, spanning more than 310 cities across 120 countries, includes 17 locations in the Middle East. This extensive presence underscores Cloudflare's commitment to providing fast, secure and reliable connectivity solutions to regional customers.

Cloudflare's expansion strategy extends beyond establishing a physical presence. Collaborations with key partners, such as Mindware, enhance its channel-driven approach, ensuring robust sales support and comprehensive cybersecurity solutions for Middle Eastern enterprises.

The Middle East's dynamic digital landscape presents significant growth opportunities for Cloudflare. With accelerating digital transformation and increasing cloud adoption, Cloudflare aims to double its regional workforce over the next two years, reaffirming its commitment to supporting customers and driving innovation in the region.

Enhancing Portfolio to Drive Growth

Cloudflare continues to focus on strengthening its portfolio by adding new capabilities that include Defensive.AI, Cloudflare One Data Protection Suite, Hyperdrive and Magic WAN Connector.

Moreover, the company has acquired multiple companies to expand its portfolio. NET expanded its product offerings by acquiring Area 1 Security, one of the top phishing attack mitigation solution providers. The company also acquired Vectrix, which offers businesses easy visibility and control over all their SaaS applications with just one click.

Cloudflare is witnessing huge growth in customer numbers for its core application services, Zero Trust solutions, and network services like Magic Transit in Cloudflare One. Given the risks posed by advanced cyber threats to businesses' finances and reputations, NET is rapidly expanding its role in this area with its advanced global cloud security platforms.

All this has been driving Cloudflare’s financial performance. The company’s fourth-quarter 2023 revenues and adjusted EPS surged 32% and 150%, respectively, on a year-over-year basis. The robust top-line growth was aided by client wins and growing momentum among large enterprise customers, driven by the heightened need for stronger security and a zero-trust approach.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Currently, Cloudflare carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Shares of NET have risen 17.7% year to date (YTD).

Some better-ranked stocks from the broader technology sector are NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) , Meta Platforms (META - Free Report) and Amazon.com (AMZN - Free Report) , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NVIDIA’s fiscal 2025 earnings has been revised 15.3% upward to $23.22 per share in the past 30 days, which suggests year-over-year growth of 79.2%. The long-term estimated earnings growth rate for the stock stands at 29.7%. Shares of NVDA have jumped 76.7% YTD.

The consensus mark for Meta’s 2024 earnings has been revised upward by 12 cents to $19.94 per share over the past 30 days, indicating a 34.1% increase from 2023. It has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 19.5%. In the trailing 12 months, META stock has surged 42.9% YTD.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Amazon’s 2024 earnings has been revised upward by 2 cents to $4.08 per share in the past seven days, which implies an increase of 40.7% on a year-over-year basis. The long-term expected earnings growth rate for the stock is pegged at 28.1%. AMZN stock has returned 15.4% YTD.

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