What happened
Shares of Okta Inc. (OKTA +1.32%) moved higher in September after the cloud-based security specialist posted another strong earnings report, as the company's results easily topped its own guidance and analyst estimates. According to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, the stock finished September up 14%.
As you can see from the chart below, Okta shares spiked on the earnings report early in the month, and held those gains from there.
So what
Shares of Okta, which provides enterprises with cloud-based identity-verification and security tools, jumped 19% on Sept. 7 after the company issued another blowout earnings report. Okta's strong momentum continued as the company posted 57% revenue growth to $94.6 million, crushing estimates at $84.8 million and the company's own guidance of 39% to 41%. On the bottom line, margins improved, but the company's adjusted per-share loss remained even with a year ago at -$0.15, in part due to an increased share count after last April's IPO. That figure did beat expectations of -$0.19.
Image source: Okta.
Once again, Okta scored a number of new customer relationships in the quarter, including the Orlando Magic basketball team, Pret a Manger, and Cisco Meraki. And it expanded existing ones, showing the scalability potential of its model.
CEO Todd McKinnon said: "Growth in customers with over $100,000 annual recurring revenue accelerated to 55% year over year in Q2, which is a testament to the increasing strategic need for an identity solution as organizations move to the cloud. This need is pervasive and imperative, and I believe we are in the early stages of capitalizing on this high-growth opportunity."
Now what
Okta also lifted its guidance in the quarter, now calling for full-year revenue growth of 45% to 46% and an adjusted per-share loss of $0.48 to $0.46, an improvement from a previous forecast of 38% to 39% top-line growth and an adjusted per-share loss of $0.58 to $0.54.
The company continues to execute in all areas, and management expects to be breakeven on a cash flow basis. Like many fast-growing cloud stocks, Okta appears to have a bright future.
