Technology billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookesβ net worth soared on Friday morning, after Atlassian posted its first quarterly operating profit in more than two years and its shares jumped as much as 38 per cent in after-hours trading on the Nasdaq.
Atlassian, the Sydney-founded maker of Jira and Trello, is listed in New York. Co-founder and chief executive Cannon-Brookes holds 47.3 million shares in a family trust. At Thursdayβs close, that stake was worth $US5.2 billion ($7.4 billion). Hours later, it had jumped to roughly $US7 billion ($10 billion).
Scott Farquhar, who stepped back from the co-chief executive role in August 2024 but kept a comparable holding, gained a similar amount.
Atlassianβs fourth-quarter revenue rose 28 per cent to $US1.77 billion, ahead of the $US1.66 billion that analysts had forecast, while operating income was $US211 million, against a $US28 million loss in the same quarter a year earlier. Earnings of $US1.87 a share beat a consensus of about $US1.50.
Cannon-Brookes said Atlassianβs latest AI-powered developer tools had passed 1 million monthly active users, more than doubling in a single quarter. He also told investors that he would enter a trading plan to buy up to $US250 million of Atlassian class A stock on the open market, a signal that helped drive the rally.
Atlassian traded above $US189 a year ago, then plummeted through the software sell-off known as the βSaaSpocalypseβ, in which investors panicked and sold off software companies that charge βper userβ, fearing that AI agents would soon replace the human workers requiring those software licences. The stock was ejected from the Nasdaq 100 in April and bottomed at $US56.01 on April 10. In March, Atlassian cut 1600 jobs, about 10 per cent of its workforce.
βAI is the best thing thatβs ever happened to Atlassian,β Cannon-Brookes said in a video message to shareholders on Friday, arguing that models themselves are becoming a commodity while a companyβs accumulated internal context cannot be bought. Rovo, the companyβs AI agent, is now used by more than 80 per cent of the Fortune 500, he said, and assisted actions grew 50 per cent on the previous quarter.
Atlassian expects total revenue growth to slow to about 13 per cent in the 2027 financial year, roughly half the 26 per cent it delivered in 2026, as it shifts customers off a data centre product due for retirement in 2029. Despite the strong quarter, the company still posted a $US54 million accounting loss for the full year, and executives warned that profit margins will remain tight next year. Chief financial officer James Chuong said Atlassian had built extra prudence into the second half of its forecast.
The rally also came weeks after Atlassian shut what had been the most reliable wealth machine in Australian technology. From the pay cycle beginning July 1, staff rated as meeting expectations now receive their annual bonuses entirely in cash rather than company shares. Those employees have no exposure to Fridayβs move.
βAI is the best thing thatβs ever happened to Atlassian.β
Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes
Atlassian has said that the change protects existing investors from having the value of their shares watered down. Stock-based compensation cost the company $US1.36 billion in the 2025 financial year, about a quarter of revenue, and the board has authorised billions of dollars in buybacks to mop up the shares issued to staff.
Cannon-Brookes, whose Grok Ventures owns the Sun Cable project and a stake in AGL Energy, is also building a 40-storey Atlassian headquarters beside Sydneyβs Central Station, due to open in 2028. He closed Fridayβs earnings call by telling analysts that the best was yet to come for the company.
The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.
David Swan is the technology editor for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. He was previously technology editor for The Australian newspaper.Connect via X or email.