As the craze of earnings season draws to a close, here’s a look back at some of the most exciting (and some less so) results from Q1. Today, we are looking at cybersecurity stocks, starting with Okta (NASDAQ:OKTA).
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 9 cybersecurity stocks we track reported a slower Q1; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 1.4%. while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 0.5% below consensus. Inflation progressed towards the Fed’s 2% goal at the end of 2023, leading to strong stock market performance. The start of 2024 has been a bumpier ride, as the market switches between optimism and pessimism around rate cuts due to mixed inflation data, but cybersecurity stocks have shown resilience, with share prices up 7% on average since the previous earnings results.
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 $617 million, up 19.1% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 2.1%. Overall, it was a solid quarter for the company with optimistic revenue guidance for the next quarter and a decent beat of analysts’ ARR (annual recurring revenue) estimates.
“We began the new fiscal year with record non-GAAP profitability and cash flow as we continue to benefit from the operating efficiency actions we’ve taken over the past several quarters,” said Todd McKinnon, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Okta.
Okta achieved the highest full-year guidance raise of the whole group. The stock is up 2.6% since reporting and currently trades at $98.92.
Is now the time to buy Okta? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Best Q1: 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 $553.2 million, up 32.1% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 3.2%. It was a very strong quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ billings estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ ARR (annual recurring revenue) estimates.
Zscaler pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 31.5% since reporting. It currently trades at $204.49.
Is now the time to buy Zscaler? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Weakest Q1: 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 $205.1 million, up 12% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. It was a weak quarter for the company with underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter and decelerating customer growth.
Rapid7 had the weakest full-year guidance update in the group. The company lost -64 customers and ended up with a total of 11,462. As expected, the stock is down 13.4% since the results and currently trades at $39.69.
Read our full analysis of Rapid7’s results here.
Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW)
Founded in 2005 by cybersecurity engineer Nir Zuk, Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) makes hardware and software cybersecurity products that protect companies from cyberattacks, breaches, and malware threats.
Palo Alto Networks reported revenues of $1.98 billion, up 15.3% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. Overall, it was an ok quarter for the company with a narrow beat of analysts’ billings estimates but a decline in its gross margin.
The stock is up 5.5% since reporting and currently trades at $341.96.
Read our full, actionable report on Palo Alto Networks here, it’s free.
CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD)
Founded by George Kurtz, the former CTO of the antivirus company McAfee, CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) provides cybersecurity software that protects companies from breaches and helps them detect and respond to cyber attacks.
CrowdStrike reported revenues of $921 million, up 33% year on year, surpassing analysts’ expectations by 1.8%. Overall, it was a mixed quarter for the company with a narrow beat of analysts’ ARR (annual recurring revenue) estimates but a miss of analysts’ billings estimates.
The stock is up 24.3% since reporting and currently trades at $379.89.
Read our full, actionable report on CrowdStrike here, it’s free.
Join Paid Stock Investor Research
Help us make StockStory more helpful to investors like yourself. Join our paid user research session and receive a $50 Amazon gift card for your opinions. Sign up here.
This post was originally published on 3rd party site mentioned in the title of this site
