Review|NET 26Q2: Growth Accelerates Further, Enterprise and Workers Begin to Deliver

Key Takeaway

26Q1 was characterized by “strong revenue, but relatively conservative and less transparent forward KPIs and guidance, leaving the market concerned about a potential growth slowdown.” 26Q2 reversed that setup: “revenue growth accelerated further, while RPO, DBNRR, large customers, and guidance all improved simultaneously.”

26Q1 revenue growth itself did not decelerate, but RPO, DBNRR, gross margin, and full-year guidance were relatively conservative, leading investors to question the quality of growth. 26Q2 saw a broad-based recovery: revenue growth accelerated from 33.5% to 36%; DBNRR recovered from 118% to 120%; large-customer growth improved from 25% to 27%; total RPO grew ~7% q/q; 26Q3 guidance still implies ~31% y/y growth; and the magnitude of the FY26 revenue guidance raise was meaningfully greater than simply flowing through the 26Q2 beat.

The results also validated the core thesis in the 26Q2 preview: growth drivers are shifting from traditional CDN/WAF toward broader enterprise platform expansion, with Workers, Zero Trust/SASE, the partner channel, and large-customer consolidation all becoming increasingly important. At the same time, Workers monetization is progressing faster than anticipated in the preview; the preview’s concern around H2 IT-budget/financing constraints has not yet shown up in 26Q2 results or 26Q3 guidance.

1. 26Q2’s Biggest Highlight: Growth Accelerated Further, with a Meaningfully Better-Quality Guidance Raise

26Q2 revenue was $696.1mn, up 36% y/y, accelerating further from 33.5% in 26Q1 and materially above the $664–665mn guidance issued with 26Q1 (which implied ~30% 26Q2 growth), indicating that underlying 26Q2 business momentum was materially stronger than management had assumed three months earlier.