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👉 Week in Review — Too Long; Didn’t Read:
Key Earnings Announcements:
Palo Alto Networks’ free cash flow margin hit a record 38.5%.
CrowdStrike continues to benefit from Anthropic’s Mythos.
Broadcom paid $3B in dividends to their shareholders.
Investor Events / Global Affairs:
A deal to end the war continues to be complicated.
Google signed a $920M deal with SpaceX for compute.
Anthropic’s pending IPO will have massive network effects.
Economic Updates:
The labor market appears to be much stronger than most analysts expected.
President Trump is still pushing for rate cuts.
Let’s dive right in!
👉 Best and Worst ETF Performers of the Week
What happens when you throw out the GTM playbook
That investor was wrong. Gamma is now worth $2B, with 50M users and more than half their growth driven by word of mouth.
They're one of 6 AI-native startups in HubSpot for Startups' free Bold Bets Playbook. Replit grew revenue 50x after half the team pushed back on the strategy. Ramp generated 100M+ views from a single stunt. Clay's co-founder wouldn't hang up a sales call until the prospect DMed him in Slack.
Each one took a GTM risk most founders would never greenlight. Each one paid off.
👉 Key Earnings Announcements:
Palo Alto Networks’ free cash flow margin hit a record 38.5%, CrowdStrike continues to benefit from Anthropic’s Mythos, and Broadcom paid $3B in dividends to their shareholders.
Palo Alto Networks (PANW)
Key Metrics
Revenue: $3.0 billion, an increase of +31% YoY
Operating Loss: -$183.0 million, compared to $219.0M last year
Net Loss: -$177.0 million, compared to $262.0 million last year
Earnings Release Callout
“Q3 was a standout quarter for Palo Alto Networks, with accelerating organic bookings growth as customers turn to us to secure their AI deployments at scale. The latest advancements at the AI frontier have increased the level of urgency around cybersecurity, and redefined the shape of the industry for the coming years. Our Q3 results reflect strong growth across each of our platforms as we scale.”
My Takeaway
The company reported revenue growth that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations driven by unprecedented demand for their AI-native security architectures and data center protection. However, the company swung to an operating loss of $183.0 million and a net loss of $177.0 million. This deficit was squarely tied to $517.0 million in share-based compensation and nearly $200.0 million in acquisition-related expenses from the CyberArk and Chronosphere deals.
Stripping away these accounting and integration costs, the underlying business is incredibly lucrative, generating $814.0 million in non-GAAP operating income.
Their Next-Generation Security ARR grew +60% to $8.13 billion. Their next-generation firewall bookings grew +40%, delivering the strongest hardware quarter in a decade as enterprises and sovereign entities rushed to secure massive new AI data centers. The company successfully migrated another 110 customers onto its unified security platform, proving the thesis that Chief Information Security Officers are actively looking to reduce vendor sprawl.
The company produced $871M in operating cash flow and massive $910M in adjusted free cash flow — a 38% margin. Management actively deployed this cash to execute $1 billion in share repurchases during the quarter. The company’s Remaining Performance Obligation (RPO) also grew by +36% to $18.4 billion, providing revenue visibility for the quarters ahead.
Their CEO highlighted the escalating threat landscape driven by "agentic AI," asserting that organizations must now deploy AI-native defense platforms to counter autonomous, AI-driven cyber attacks. Looking ahead, PANW guided for $3.4B in revenue next quarter and raised their NGR ARR targets to $9B.
Long PANW.
Crowdstrike (CRWD)
Key Metrics
Revenue: $1.4 billion, an increase of +26% YoY
Operating Income: $325.7 million, an increase of +62% YoY
Profits: $27.8 million, compared to -$104.3 million last year
Earnings Release Callout
"In Q1, the worlds of cybersecurity and frontier AI collided: this was the Mythos moment. CrowdStrike is AI security infrastructure, critical to successful AI adoption. Our record Q1 net new ARR, QuiltWorks coalition, and AIDR innovation are indicators of our own AI inflection point. We’re seeing platform adoption from existing customers, new logo lands, and increased partner engagement, each giving me the conviction to significantly raise our FY27 net new ARR guidance. The technology is here. The team is here. And the market opportunity is ours.”
My Takeaway
Crowdstrike’s annual recurring revenue reached $5.5 billion, up 24% YoY. Net new ARR added during the quarter hit a record $255.8 million, growing +32%. This growth was fueled almost entirely by subscription revenue, which rose +26% to $1.32 billion.
The company produced a record $590.9 million in operating cash flow and a record $468.5 million in free cash flow. Achieving a 34% free cash flow margin while growing revenue at 26% places the company in rare territory. This cash generation further strengthened a balance sheet that now has $4.6 billion in cash and cash equivalents.
Management emphasized that the industry is experiencing a "Mythos moment" where frontier AI and cybersecurity are colliding. They noted that as organizations adopt more AI, their attack surface expands, directly driving demand for CrowdStrike's Falcon platform. They described the company as providing the "picks and shovels" for the ongoing AI technology gold rush. Management also approved a 4-for-1 stock split scheduled for early July.
Looking ahead, Crowdstrike expects revenue to be $1.4B next quarter and $6.0B over the coming 12 months.
Long CRWD.
Broadcom (AVGO)
Key Metrics
Revenue: $22.2 billion, an increase of +48% YoY
Operating Income: $15.2 billion, an increase of +52% YoY
Profits: $9.3 billion, an increase of +88% YoY
Earnings Release Callout
“Broadcom achieved record revenue, operating profit and free cash flow in Q2 driven by accelerating growth in AI semiconductor revenue and strong operating leverage. Q2 semiconductor revenue from AI of $10.8 billion grew 143% year-over-year, above our forecast, driven by increasing demand for custom AI accelerators and AI networking.”
My Takeaway
Broadcom’s earnings far exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. Semiconductor Solutions served as the primary revenue driver, increasing +79% YoY to $15.0 billion. Within this segment, AI semiconductor revenue reached $10.8 billion, a +143% increase compared to last year. Management also reported that total AI semiconductor bookings exceeded $30 billion during the quarter.
Their Infrastructure Software division grew +9% year-over-year to $7.18 billion, supported by a stable +17% ARR growth rate. Broadcom posted $10.3 billion in free cash flow, representing a 46% margin. They paid $3B back to shareholders in the form of a dividend.
Management noted that growth was driven by custom AI accelerators and the associated backend networking hardware required for large data center deployments. Management stated that visibility remains consistent, with hyperscaler infrastructure commitments extending through calendar years 2028 and 2029.
Looking ahead, Broadcom’s guidance points toward sequential expansion, expecting revenue of $29.4 billion next quarter.
Long AVGO.
👉 Investor Events / Global Affairs:
A deal to end the war continues to be complicated, Google signed a $920M deal with SpaceX for compute, and Anthropic’s pending IPO will have massive network effects.
100 Days Into the Conflict, a U.S.-Iran Deal Still Looks Elusive
President Trump speaks with reporters while aboard Air Force One, en route to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, on June 5. Photographer: Samuel Corum/Getty Images
One hundred days after the conflict began, the U.S. and Iran appear no closer to a lasting agreement, with negotiations stalled over key issues including frozen Iranian assets, the future of the Strait of Hormuz, and ongoing fighting involving Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The past week marked the most serious escalation since the ceasefire was established in April. Both sides exchanged military strikes, including U.S. actions against Iranian military assets and continued drone and missile attacks across the region. Meanwhile, fighting between Israel and Hezbollah intensified, adding another layer of complexity to the negotiations.
A major sticking point remains the fate of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian funds. Iran continues to push for access to those assets, while the Trump administration has indicated sanctions relief and asset releases would only come after significant concessions.
Markets are closely watching the situation because disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz continue to threaten global energy supplies. While oil prices have pulled back from their highs, they remain well above pre-war levels, keeping inflation concerns elevated and increasing pressure on policymakers around the world.
“I’d like to see Lebanon have a better life. I’d like to see a more surgical attack on Hezbollah. I think it should be more surgical. And we can help them with that.”
Google Signs Massive AI Compute Deal With SpaceX Ahead of Historic IPO
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