The co-founders of Atlassian were about $5 billion richer on Friday, after the workplace software firm’s chief executive Mike Cannon-Brookes delivered better-than-expected earnings, and a long-awaited new executive hire, in his first quarter running the company without co-founder Scott Farquhar.

Shares in Atlassian surged 18 per cent in after-hours trade on Wall Street on Thursday evening, climbing above $US222 ($337), which pushed the Sydney-based software company’s market capitalisation beyond $US57.3 billion.