Earnings results often give us a good indication what direction will the company take in the months ahead. With Q4 now behind us, let’s have a look at Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA) and its peers.
Cybersecurity continues to be one of the fastest growing segments within software for good reason. Almost every company is slowly finding itself becoming a technology company and facing rising cybersecurity risks. Businesses are accelerating adoption of cloud based software, moving data and applications into the cloud to save costs while improving performance. This migration has opened them to a multitude of new threats, like employees accessing data via their smartphone while on an open network, or logging into a web-based interface from a laptop in a new location.
The 8 cybersecurity stocks we track reported a slower Q4; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 2.33%, while on average next quarter revenue guidance was 0.06% under consensus. There has been a stampede out of high valuation technology stocks as raising interest rates encourage investors to value profits over growth again, but cybersecurity stocks held their ground better than others, with the share prices up 0.54% since the previous earnings results, on average.
Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA)
Founded during the aftermath of the financial crisis in 2009, Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA) is a cloud-based software as a service platform that helps companies manage identity for their employees and customers.
Okta reported revenues of $510 million, up 33.2% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 4.2%. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with strong top line growth but underwhelming guidance for the next year.
“We’re pleased with our fourth quarter financial performance and the continued improvement of our go-to-market execution,” said Todd McKinnon, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Okta.
The stock is up 15.8% since the results and currently trades at $82.79.
Is now the time to buy Okta? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.
Best Q4: Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS)
After successfully selling all four of his previous cybersecurity companies, Jay Chaudhry's fifth venture, Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) offers software as a service that helps companies securely connect to applications and networks in the cloud.
Zscaler reported revenues of $387.6 million, up 51.7% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 6.26%. Despite the stock dropping on the results, it was a very strong quarter for the company, with exceptional revenue growth and a solid beat of analyst estimates.
Zscaler achieved the strongest analyst estimates beat and highest full year guidance raise among its peers. The stock is down 15.8% since the results and currently trades at $112.93.
Is now the time to buy Zscaler? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.
Weakest Q4: Rapid7 (NASDAQ:RPD)
Founded in 2000 with the idea that network security comes before endpoint security, Rapid7 (NASDAQ:RPD) provides software as a service that helps companies understand where they are exposed to cyber security risks, quickly detect breaches and respond to them.
Rapid7 reported revenues of $184.5 million, up 21.7% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 2.72%. It was a weak quarter for the company, with full year revenue guidance missing analysts' expectations.
The stock is down 22.3% since the results and currently trades at $40.01.
Read our full analysis of Rapid7's results here.
SentinelOne (NYSE:S)
With roots in the Israeli cyber intelligence community, SentinelOne (NYSE:S) provides software to help organizations efficiently detect, prevent, and investigate cyber attacks.
SentinelOne reported revenues of $126.1 million, up 92.1% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 1.13%. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with an increase in gross margin and full year sales guidance missing analysts' expectations.
SentinelOne scored the fastest revenue growth but had the weakest full year guidance update among the peers. The company added 78 enterprise customers paying more than $100,000 annually to a total of 905. The stock is up 1.87% since the results and currently trades at $14.73.
Read our full, actionable report on SentinelOne here, it's free.
Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW)
Founded in 2005 by a cybersecurity engineer Nir Zuk, Palo Alto Networks makes hardware and software cybersecurity products that protect companies from cyberattacks, breaches and malware threats.
Palo Alto Networks reported revenues of $1.66 billion, up 25.7% year on year, in line with analyst expectations. It was a slower quarter for the company, with underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter.
Palo Alto Networks had the weakest performance against analyst estimates among the peers. The stock is up 14.9% since the results and currently trades at $191.79.
Read our full, actionable report on Palo Alto Networks here, it's free.
The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned