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Technology
REINHARDT KRAUSE

Okta Earnings Beat; Fiscal 2025 Outlook Mixed. Data Breach Pressures Stock

Okta on Wednesday reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that topped consensus estimates. The cybersecurity firm issued mixed fiscal 2025 guidance for OKTA stock. But more company disclosures about a recent data breach overshadowed results.

Reported before the market open, Okta earnings were 48 cents per share on an adjusted basis for the quarter ending Oct. 31, up from zero-cent profit a year earlier. San Francisco-based Okta said revenue climbed 21% to $584 million.

Analysts had expected Okta earnings of 30 cents on revenue of $560.6 million.

Okta Guidance Mixed

For the current quarter ending in January, Okta said it expects revenue of $586 million vs. estimates of $580.4 million.

For fiscal 2025, Okta predicted at least 10% revenue growth to $2.46 billion to $2.47 billion, below estimates for 15% growth. But Okta forecast 17% operating margins, above estimates of 11.9%.

Fiscal 2025 starts with the quarter ending in April.

Okta Stock Pressured By Data Breaches

On the stock market today, Okta stock fell 2.5% to close at 70.77. The company released earnings before the market open rather than after the close as expected. Meanwhile, OKTA had climbed 7% in 2023 prior to the earnings report.

Data breaches have pressured the cybersecurity stock. The company disclosed late Tuesday that a recent hacking incident impacted more customers than previously disclosed.

"Okta's security incident update states that the malicious actor pilfered the names and email addresses of all Okta customer support system users for Okta Workforce and Customer Identity Clouds," said Raymond James analyst Adam Tindle in a report.

Okta's security software monitors and manages privileged accounts. Hackers often target employees or management with administrative access to company computer systems.

Heading into the earnings report, Okta owned a Relative Strength Rating of 67 out of a possible 99, according to IBD Stock Checkup.

Also, growing competition from Microsoft is another issue.

Last year, Okta stock dived nearly 70% amid sales challenges and a nettlesome acquisition.

Okta earnings follow strong results from cybersecurity peers Zscaler and CrowdStrike earlier in the week.

Follow Reinhardt Krause on X, formerly called Twitter, @reinhardtk_tech for updates on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and cloud computing.

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