CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWD)

Trend in Net Operating Profit After Taxes (NOPAT)

The net operating profit after taxes showed a significant upward trajectory from 2020 through 2024, increasing from approximately 139 million US dollars to nearly 691 million US dollars. However, in 2025, there is a notable decline to about 516 million US dollars, indicating a reversal in prior growth momentum.

Cost of Capital Movement

The cost of capital remained relatively stable throughout the periods, fluctuating marginally between 16.14% and 16.39%. There is no significant trend upward or downward, suggesting a consistent capital cost environment over the assessed years.

Invested Capital Growth

Invested capital expanded markedly over the years, rising from approximately 670 million US dollars in 2020 to over 7.6 billion US dollars by 2025. This continuous growth signals aggressive capital deployment and scaling of business operations.

Economic Profit Analysis

The economic profit presents a contrasting narrative compared to NOPAT. Starting with a positive 29 million US dollars in 2020, it turned negative in 2021 and remained so thereafter, with increasing losses each year. By 2025, economic profit reached a negative value of around 727 million US dollars, highlighting that despite growing operating profits and invested capital, the returns did not surpass the cost of capital, implying value destruction in economic terms.

Overall Financial Insights

The company’s financial data depicts strong operational profit growth accompanied by substantial capital investments. Nevertheless, the persistent negative economic profit from 2021 onward reveals challenges in achieving returns sufficient to cover capital costs, raising concerns about the efficiency and effectiveness of invested capital utilization in generating shareholder value.

Net Income (Loss) Attributable to CrowdStrike

The net income figures demonstrate significant variability over the periods. Starting with a net loss of approximately $141.8 million in the year ending January 2020, the loss decreased to about $92.6 million in January 2021. However, this was followed by an increased loss to roughly $234.8 million in January 2022. Thereafter, the loss narrowed to $183.2 million in 2023. Notably, in 2024, there was a reversal to a positive net income of $89.3 million, indicating a substantial recovery. In the following year, 2025, the figure returned to a loss, though much smaller than previous years, at approximately $19.3 million.

Net Operating Profit After Taxes (NOPAT)

The NOPAT values exhibit a consistent and strong upward trend over the years observed. Starting at $139.1 million in 2020, there was a steep increase to $246.0 million in 2021. The upward momentum continued in 2022 with $389.9 million, then sharply increased to $625.9 million in 2023. In 2024, NOPAT further grew to $690.7 million before experiencing a decline to $516.4 million in 2025. Despite the decrease in the final year, the overall trend across the period indicates strong growth in operational profitability after taxes.

Summary of Trends and Insights

The financial data reveals a divergence between net income and NOPAT trends. While net income shows volatility with alternating losses and positive results, NOPAT consistently increased until 2024 before slightly declining in 2025. This suggests that operational efficiency and profitability improvements were achieved, but other factors such as non-operating expenses, taxes, or one-time items might have adversely impacted the net income figures. The significant positive net income in 2024 stands out as an anomaly compared to other years with net losses. The decreasing net loss in 2025 alongside a decline in NOPAT might indicate emerging challenges or increased costs affecting overall profitability despite strong operational earnings.

Provision for Income Taxes

The provision for income taxes shows significant fluctuation over the observed periods. From 2020 to 2021, there is a noticeable increase from approximately 2 million to nearly 4.8 million US dollars. This upward trend continues sharply into 2022, reaching over 72 million US dollars. However, in 2023, the provision declines substantially to around 22 million US dollars before increasing again in the subsequent years, rising to about 32 million and then further to approximately 71 million US dollars by 2025. This pattern indicates periods of considerable variability in tax provisioning, suggesting changes in taxable income or adjustments in tax strategy during these years.

Cash Operating Taxes

Cash operating taxes follow a somewhat similar but less volatile pattern compared to the provision for income taxes. Starting at close to 2.8 million US dollars in 2020, the cash taxes increase to around 6 million US dollars in 2021. There is a significant spike in 2022 reaching over 91 million US dollars, which is a marked increase from previous years. Following this peak, the cash tax payments decrease sharply to approximately 15.8 million US dollars in 2023, then decline further to just over 10 million in 2024, before increasing again to about 45.9 million US dollars in 2025. The fluctuations in cash taxes suggest variability in actual tax payments that may reflect changes in cash flows or timing differences relative to the provision for income taxes.

Comparison and Insights

Both provision for income taxes and cash operating taxes exhibit significant fluctuations, with peaks around 2022, followed by declines and then increases toward 2025. The provision generally exceeds the cash taxes in some years, particularly noticeable in 2022, indicating potential deferred tax liabilities or adjustments in tax accounting treatments. The volatile nature of both metrics implies an underlying variability in taxable income or strategic tax management, possibly linked to changes in operating performance or tax regulations during the analyzed periods.

The financial data indicates significant changes in the capital structure and equity position over the observed periods.

Total Reported Debt & Leases

The reported debt and leases showed a substantial increase from approximately $50.7 million in early 2020 to around $779.0 million in early 2021. From 2021 through 2025, the value of reported debt and leases remained relatively stable, fluctuating slightly around the $780 million mark. This suggests that after a sharp rise in debt, the company maintained a consistent level of liabilities related to debt and leases.

Total Stockholders’ Equity

Stockholders’ equity consistently increased throughout the period, starting from approximately $742.1 million at the beginning of 2020 and rising to nearly $3.28 billion by January 2025. The growth trend appears to accelerate over time, with a remarkable increase especially after 2022, indicating a significant strengthening of the company's equity base and potentially reflecting retained earnings growth, capital raises, or other equity improvements.

Invested Capital

Invested capital experienced a dramatic increase, jumping from about $669.5 million in 2020 to roughly $2.52 billion in 2021. This upward trend continued steadily, reaching over $7.61 billion by early 2025. The data reflects substantial investments and growth in company assets financed by both debt and equity over these years, underscoring rapid expansion or capital deployment activities.

Overall, the data reveals a period of rapid growth in invested capital accompanied by a stable level of debt and a strong expansion of stockholders’ equity. The company's capital structure appears to have shifted towards greater equity financing while maintaining a steady debt position. This trend suggests increased financial strength and capacity to support ongoing operations and growth initiatives.

Economic Profit

The economic profit demonstrates a negative trend over the analyzed periods after an initial positive value of 29,351 thousand USD as of January 31, 2020. Beginning from January 31, 2021, economic profit turned negative, recording -163,289 thousand USD and continuing on a downward trajectory, reaching -727,294 thousand USD by January 31, 2025. This consistent negative economic profit suggests increasing losses in economic value generated by the company beyond the cost of capital.

Invested Capital

Invested capital exhibits a substantial increase over the period. It grew from 669,497 thousand USD in early 2020 to 7,614,215 thousand USD by early 2025, indicating significant capital investment and business expansion. The increase appears mostly steady, with accelerated growth particularly notable between January 31, 2023, and January 31, 2025.

Economic Spread Ratio

The economic spread ratio, which reflects the difference between the return on invested capital and the company's cost of capital, starts positively at 4.38% in 2020 but falls into negative territory afterward. Subsequent years show a decline to -6.47% in 2021, with fluctuations remaining negative through 2025, reaching -9.55%. This suggests that the company’s returns on invested capital have been consistently lower than its cost of capital, with a worsening trend over time.

Overall Analysis

The combined data indicate a challenging financial position with increasing invested capital but deteriorating economic profitability. The persistent negative economic spread ratio and economic profit imply that the company is not generating sufficient returns to cover the cost of capital. The expansion in invested capital alongside declining economic profit raises concerns about the efficiency and effectiveness of capital utilization during the period under review.

The financial data reveals several critical trends over the examined periods. Revenue growth has been robust and consistent, with adjusted revenue increasing every year from approximately US$762.5 million in 2020 to an estimated US$4.63 billion in 2025. This represents a significant expansion in the company's top line.

Conversely, economic profit has declined markedly throughout the same timeframe. Starting from a positive US$29.4 million in 2020, economic profit turned negative in 2021 and has deepened its losses each subsequent year. By 2025, economic profit is projected to reach a negative level of approximately US$727.3 million.

This decline in economic profit is reflected in the economic profit margin, which shifts from a positive 3.85% in 2020 to consistently negative values in all following years. The margin deteriorates from -13.44% in 2021 to an anticipated -15.71% in 2025, indicating decreasing profitability relative to revenue.

Revenue Trend

Steady and substantial growth, with adjusted revenue increasing more than sixfold from 2020 to 2025.

Economic Profit Trend

Shift from positive economic profit to worsening losses, with a continuous decline after 2020, culminating in significant negative figures projected through 2025.

Economic Profit Margin Trend

Transition from a positive margin to sustained negative margins, highlighting increasing inefficiency or rising costs relative to revenue generation.

Overall, while revenue expansion is very strong, the persistent and growing negative economic profit and margin suggest challenges in managing costs, investments, or operational efficiency that are limiting the conversion of revenue into economic value. This divergence implies that growth is not currently translating into economic profitability, warranting attention to cost structure and strategic spending to improve financial health.