Okta (OKTA -0.89%) has been on a tear. The stock is up more than 85% over the past 12 months as the company fortifies its leadership position in the nascent digital identity-management market. Of course, with such strong performance in the rearview mirror, expectations were high going into the company's third-quarter update on Thursday.
The tech company delivered. Both the company's top and bottom lines came in above management's guidance range for the metrics. In addition, Okta boosted its outlook for the full year.
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Okta's third-quarter results
On Thursday afternoon, Okta reported 45% year-over-year revenue growth, putting the top-line figure at $153 million. This easily beat a consensus analyst forecast for $143.7 million. It was also significantly ahead of management's guidance for third-quarter revenue between $143 million and $144 million.
Okta's non-GAAP (adjusted) loss per share of $0.07 similarly beat expectations. Management had guided for its adjusted loss per share during the period to be between $0.13 and $0.12. Analysts, on average, were expecting an adjusted loss per share of $0.12.
Key drivers for the quarter included strong product and operational execution, robust secular tailwinds from organizations' digital transformations and their ongoing adoption of cloud applications, and "deployment of zero trust security environments," explained Okta CEO Todd McKinnon in the company's third-quarter update. "Businesses of all sizes around the world are turning to Okta's cloud-based solutions for a modern, highly customizable identity platform that meets their business needs and security challenges," he added.
Of particular note was the tech company's 52% year-over-year growth in current remaining performance obligations (current RPO). Indicative of revenue expected to be recognized over the next 12 months, this 52% growth was in line with the 52% growth Okta saw in the metric in Q2.
What's next?
Management seems to think this is just the tip of the iceberg, noting that there's a "large and growing market opportunity" ahead for the company. Given its strong fiscal third-quarter performance, powerful tailwinds at its back, and the big opportunity ahead, Okta lifted its full-year outlook.
The company now expects full-year fiscal 2020 revenue to be between $574 million and $575 million, representing 44% year-over-year growth. Previously, management had expected full-year revenue to rise between 40% and 41% year over year.
Management also offered an improved view for its non-GAAP loss per share. Okta now expects its adjusted net loss per share in fiscal 2020 to be between $0.35 and $0.34, up from a previous forecast for an adjusted loss per share between $0.44 and $0.42.
