11:12 AM EST, 02/07/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Cloudflare ( NET ) had a lot to crow about after reporting its Q4 results but not enough to justify the most optimistic expectations for the cloud-services company over the next 12 months, Oppenheimer analyst Timothy Horan said Friday in a new research note.

The company overnight beat consensus estimate for the three months ended Dec. 31 by narrow margins on both its bottom- and top-lines. Its revenue forecast for Q1 and 2025 revenue were also in line with analyst views but the company's outlook for adjusted per-share earnings for the current quarter and fiscal year lagged.

Revenue growth, however, continued to slow, slipping to 27% during the final three months of 2024 from the 30% year-over-year pace during the first half of the year and likely needing another quarter before bottoming out, Horan said.

Other Q4 metrics are positive, he said, with a "very strong" increase in billings and its dollar-based net retention rate also edging higher. Sales force productivity and bookings also increased and Horan said he believes revenue growth at Cloudflare ( NET ) can again top 30%, supported by product improvements and a "dominant" inferencing advantage for its artificial intelligence applications.

Nevertheless, Horan said he was cutting his stock rating for Cloudflare ( NET ) to perform from outperform based on valuation, explaining its projected discounted cash flow "does not support a price target a $180+ price target."

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