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CrowdStrike Falls After Disappointing Earnings Outlook

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(Bloomberg) — CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. Earnings forecasts were weaker than expected, disappointing investors who were watching for signs that the cybersecurity company had recovered from a faulty update that crashed computers around the world.

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Adjusted earnings will range from 84 cents to 86 cents per share in the fiscal fourth quarter, CrowdStrike said Tuesday in a statement. Analysts had expected 87 cents, according to Bloomberg estimates.

CrowdStrike shares fell about 5% in extended trading after the results were announced.

This is the company’s second report since a flawed CrowdStrike update crashed millions of devices running Microsoft Corp’s Windows systems. The power outage, which occurred on July 19, disrupted a wide range of industries, including air travel, banking and health care. The company reported sales that beat expectations three months ago, a sign that investors understood that the global IT outage would not significantly impact its finances.

Third-quarter revenue represented a bright spot in Tuesday’s report. Sales for the period reached $1.01 billion, exceeding Wall Street expectations. Earnings, excluding certain items, were 93 cents per share, compared with an average estimate of 81 cents.

CrowdStrike also raised its revenue guidance for the full fiscal year from $3.92 billion to $3.93 billion. Analysts had expected $3.9 billion.

The company also surpassed $4 billion in closing annual recurring revenue as of Oct. 31, making CrowdStrike “the fastest and only cybersecurity software company to reach this reported milestone,” CEO George Kurtz said in the statement.

Delta Air Lines operations were halted for several days as a result of the outage, costing the airline at least $500 million in out-of-pocket losses, according to a lawsuit it filed against CrowdStrike in October. CrowdStrike said Delta was shifting blame “from its failure to modernize its legacy IT infrastructure,” in a statement at the time.

“After this summer’s incident, we were tested as a company,” Kurtz said on a call with investors on Tuesday. “We responded with speed, care and determination and focused on getting better.”

(Updates with additional information in paragraphs six and seven.)

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