Squawk on the Street · Oct 30, 2026 · 4 min
With Khozema Shipchandler, CEO of Twilio
Photo via twilio.com
Twilio shares fell 17% after a third quarter that beat expectations and came with raised guidance. Khozema Shipchandler, CEO of Twilio, told CNBC's Squawk on the Street that the guidance carries conservatism built into Twilio's usage-based model, and that AI agents are a multi-year tailwind still in its early innings.
Twilio does not build AI agents. It sells the communications infrastructure that AI companies use, and it serves all of them rather than competing with any.
"We don't participate at the application layer, we participate at the infrastructure layer." — Khozema Shipchandler
Khozema runs Twilio, whose usage-based model ties its revenue to how much customers use its network. In the interview he also named what is slowing AI agents down.
The full segment is covered here so you can skip it.
Here are the 5 takeaways that matter.
Key Takeaways
Twilio shares fell 17% despite a beat and raised guidance
Usage-based guidance always carries some conservatism, Khozema says
Voice AI is only 1% penetrated, so the AI-agent tailwind has years to run
Twilio is neutral infrastructure for every AI company, not a competitor at the application layer
Businesses blocking inbound AI calls are slowing adoption, and regulated industries will move last
A private-beta Twilio product verifies who an AI agent represents
1. A Clean Beat, a 17% Drop
Khozema described the third quarter in plain terms.
Twilio beat across the board and still fell 17%
"It was a clean beat across the board." — Khozema Shipchandler
Twilio also raised its guidance. Khozema tied the market's reaction to how that guidance is set under Twilio's usage-based model, saying "there's always some degree of inherent conservatism" in it.
