Okta projects strong quarterly revenue on rising demand for cybersecurity tools

Audio By Carbonatix

By Jaspreet Singh

Dec 2 (Reuters) – Cybersecurity company Okta forecast fourth-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on Tuesday, betting on growing demand for its identity and access management solutions.

Clients turn to companies such as Okta to safeguard identities of both humans and a growing number of artificial intelligence-powered systems, as hackers frequently target these identities as entry points to steal sensitive business data.

“The opportunity to be the access and identity layer for the AI agents and enterprises is probably bigger than the customer and workforce identity businesses,” Okta CEO Todd McKinnon told Reuters in an interview.

Okta’s platform automates user access to applications and resources through products such as single sign-on (SSO) and uses AI to monitor and respond to risks in real time.

The company expects fourth-quarter revenue of $748 million to $750 million, above analysts’ average estimate of $737.9 million according to data compiled by LSEG.

It forecast adjusted profit per share of 84 cents to 85 cents, largely in line with estimates of 84 cents.

Revenue for the third quarter rose 12% to $742 million, beating estimates of $730.4 million.

Adjusted profit per share of 82 cents also exceeded estimates of 76 cents.

The company also raised its forecasts for fiscal 2026.

Okta now expects annual revenue of $2.906 billion to $2.908 billion, up from its prior expectations of $2.88 billion to $2.89 billion.

It also raised its annual adjusted earnings forecast to between $3.43 and $3.44 per share, up from its previous projection of $3.33 to $3.38.

(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)