SentinelOne’s quarterly profit forecast falls short of estimates amid stiff competition

March 12 (Reuters) – Cybersecurity firm SentinelOne forecast quarterly profit below Wall Street estimates on Thursday, signaling a cautious stance amid intense competition from larger rivals and a finance leadership transition.

Shares of the Mountain View, California-based company were down over 2% after the bell.

The company faces competition from larger rivals such as CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks, as well as from Microsoft, which is bundling security features into its enterprise software. 

The cybersecurity market has also been rattled by concerns over the rise of artificial intelligence tools, which could commoditize certain security functions.

The company’s biggest product is an AI-powered cybersecurity platform called Singularity, which aims to autonomously prevent, detect and respond to cyberattacks across devices, cloud workloads and data centers.

It also offers Purple AI, designed to help security teams speed up the process of hunting for digital threats.

A cautious macroeconomic environment continues to pressure corporate IT budgets, which could also temper the company’s growth.

Ahead of the results, analysts said SentinelOne could provide a more conservative initial guidance for fiscal 2027, as incoming finance chief Sonalee Parekh gets established.

The company expects adjusted profit per share between 1 cent and 2 cents for the fiscal first quarter, below analysts’ average estimate of 5 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.

It expects revenue between $276 million and $278 million for the quarter, largely in line with estimates of $277 million.

For the fourth quarter ended January 31, SentinelOne’s revenue rose 20% to $271.2 million, in line with estimates. Adjusted profit came in at 7 cents per share, beating estimates of 6 cents apiece.

(Reporting by Anhata Rooprai in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)