What happened
Shares of Okta (OKTA +0.21%) spiked 120.4% last year, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, as investors flocked to technology stocks to ride out lockdowns and a pandemic-induced recession.
So what
Okta is a leader in identity and access management, and as companies pivoted to working from home last year, many tapped Okta's services to manage their employees' online permissions.
Image source: Getty Images.
As demand for Okta's services increased, so did the company's sales. In the first nine months of 2020, revenue jumped 43% compared to the same period in 2019. One of the biggest factors in the company's growth throughout the year was its subscription sales, which popped 43% in the third quarter.
Investors were also pleased to see Okta grow its customer base. At the end of the third quarter, the company had a total of 9,400 customers, a 27% increase from the year-ago quarter. It's also adding more-lucrative customers. The number of customers with an annualized contract value of more than $100,000 increased 34% in the most recent quarter.
Now what
Management believes that the company's momentum will continue through its fiscal 2021 and beyond. CFO Bill Losch said on the company's third-quarter earnings call, "We remain confident that the factors that are driving our business today will continue to drive our business well into the future."
Okta estimates that it will end fiscal 2021 with revenue of about $822.5 million, an increase of 40% from the previous year, and that it will surpass $1 billion in sales in fiscal 2022.
