Okta Leverages AI for Security

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Corporate identity management software company Okta (NASDAQ: OKTA) recently announced its third quarter results that continued to outpace market expectations. The company added several AI-focused products during the quarter.

Okta’s Financials

Revenues for the third quarter grew 21% to $584 million, ahead of the market’s forecast of $560.6 million. EPS was $0.48, significantly better than the Street’s estimate of $0.30 per share.

By segment, subscription services revenues increased 22%?to?$569 million. Revenue from the Professional Services and Others segment was flat at $15 million.

Among key metrics, Remaining Performance Obligations (RPO) grew 8% to $3.07 billion.

Okta expects to end the fourth quarter with revenue of $585-$587 billion and non-GAAP net income per share of $0.50-$0.51. The market was looking for revenues of $580.4 million.

For the full fiscal year 2024, Okta forecast revenues of $2.243-$2.245 billion and an EPS of $1.47-$1.48 per share. The market was looking for revenues of $2.21 billion and a net income of $1.18 per share.?

Okta expects a total revenue of?$2.46-$2.47 billion for fiscal year 2025.

Okta’s AI Focus

During the quarter, Okta announced several new AI-based tools to leverage this emerging technology into its products. It announced a suite of AI capabilities that it will embed across both Workforce Identity Cloud and Customer Identity Cloud to enable real-time Identity actions. The first such capability slated to be released is the?Identity Threat Protection with Okta AI (Identity Threat Protection). It is a new product for Okta Workforce Identity Cloud that delivers real-time detection and response for identity-based threats.

Built with Okta AI, the solution is powered by insights pulled from an organization’s security stack. It extends security beyond initial authentication to any time a user is logged in, thus allowing admins and security teams to continuously assess user risk throughout active sessions, and automatically respond to identity threats across their entire ecosystem.

Some of the initial capabilities of the solution include a continuous risk evaluation process that enforces security policies both at login and during an active user session, shared signals pipeline that amplifies threat visibility across an organization’s tech ecosystem, and an adaptive action capability that responds to real-time threats with targeted actions such as Universal Logout from supported applications. The solution will be available in Limited Early Access in Q1 of 2024.

It is also improving its authentication products, and recently announced support for passkeys in early access as a?passwordless?authentication method for Okta Customer Identity Cloud. The?passwordless?authentication will allow developers and digital teams to quickly add passkey support to their apps, thus increasing the adoption of phishing-resistant,?passwordless?authentication.

Passkeys are supported by major tech platforms and are known for being both phishing-resistant and easy to use. However, their adoption is dependent on the developers’ capabilities to integrate passkeys into consumer apps and websites. Okta’s solution allows for a simple, no-code configuration in Customer Identity Cloud, thus making it easier for developers to move away from a password-focused sign on system.

Okta’s stock is currently trading at $81.06 with a market cap of $13.4 billion. It touched a 52-week high of $91.50 in?May, and?has recovered from the 52-week low $61.71 it was trading at in October.

Disclosure:?All investors should make their own assessments based on their own research, informed interpretations, and risk appetite. This article expresses my own opinions based on my own research of product-market fit, channel execution, and other factors. My primary interest is in product strategy. While this may have bearing on stock movements, my writings tend to focus on long-term implications. The information presented is illustrative and educational, but should not be regarded as a complete analysis nor recommendation to buy or sell the securities mentioned herein. I am not a registered investment adviser and I am not receiving compensation for this article. I am an investor in this company.

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