Cloudflare (NYSE: NET) stock has gained roughly 280% over the past three years through Nov. 5, 2026. But it could still reward patient investors for one reason: The business remains small compared with the market management is targeting.
Cloudflare helps businesses keep their websites, applications, and networks fast and secure. At its June 9 investor day, management estimated a $238 billion addressable market for 2026, based on Gartner research. That’s the potential annual spending in the markets its products serve, not a revenue forecast. Management projects that opportunity will reach $384 billion by 2029.
Missed AI’s “Act 1”? Act 2 Could Be 16x Bigger. Most investors think they missed the AI boat because they didn’t buy Nvidia in 2005. But according to our analysts, we’re only at the end of “Act 1″—the R&D phase. “Act 2” is the global rollout. Continue »
Against that backdrop, Cloudflare expects its full-year 2026 revenue to be nearly $3 billion — representing only about 1% of the addressable market. It doesn’t need to dominate every market it serves to become a much larger business. Winning even a modest share of that spending could support years of growth.
Priced for growth, but still early
Cloudflare is growing rapidly. Third-quarter revenue grew 39% year over year to $783 million — its fastest growth in nearly four years. Management expects fourth-quarter revenue to be up about 38% year over year, indicating strong momentum heading into 2027.
The stock is priced for growth, trading at 34 times trailing sales as of Nov. 5. Companies operating in an expanding market and growing revenue rapidly are usually worth holding at a premium. With just a tiny fraction of its opportunity captured, it’s not too late to buy the stock. It looks more like a company in the early stages of growth than one nearing maturity.
Should you buy stock in Cloudflare right now?
Before you buy stock in Cloudflare, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Cloudflare wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $341,966!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,146,819!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 852% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 203% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
