SAN FRANCISCO, March 4, 2026, 14:42 PST
- Okta shares dipped nearly 1% after hours as the company projected around 9% revenue growth for fiscal 2027.
- Fourth quarter revenue came in at $761 million, up 11%. Adjusted earnings landed at 90 cents a share.
- Okta is rolling out security features aimed at “AI agents”—autonomous software operating within company systems.
Okta projected revenue growth in the single digits for its current fiscal year on Wednesday, sending shares lower after hours as investors weighed the cautious guidance, despite an earnings beat.
The guidance comes as software firms face a tough backdrop—customers remain cautious about big tech spending, budgets still in flux. Identity solutions usually make the cut, but lately, buyers have been delaying deals and scrutinizing per-user pricing more closely.
Okta’s latest bet is on AI agents—software that performs tasks with minimal human direction—as these tools shift from demo stages into real business applications. The identity challenge isn’t just “who’s logging in” anymore; it’s shifting to questions like “what can this agent actually access?”
The company posted revenue of $761 million for the quarter ended Jan. 31, up 11%. Adjusted profit, which excludes certain costs, came in at 90 cents per share, according to its report.
Okta reported a 15% jump in remaining performance obligations (RPO), bringing its total contracted subscription backlog up to $4.827 billion. Current RPO—expected to convert to revenue within a year—rose 12% to $2.513 billion. Operating cash flow landed at $258 million.
Okta put its revenue outlook for the current quarter between $749 million and $753 million, with adjusted earnings forecast in the 84 to 86 cent range per share. Looking out to fiscal 2027, the company expects revenue of $3.17 billion to $3.19 billion, and adjusted earnings per share of $3.74 to $3.82. Okta also noted that moving professional services work more quickly to partners will shave roughly one percentage point from its reported revenue growth.
CEO Todd McKinnon, in a statement, pointed to AI’s role in reshaping software and ramping up the urgency around security for AI agents. Okta, he said, is out to “secure every identity — from humans to AI agents.” https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/202…
Speaking with MarketWatch, McKinnon said the latest security updates for agentic AI now give customers more say over agent identity, access, and authorization. “These agents need to be tracked and the customers need to know what they’re connecting to,” he said. Back in January, Okta rolled out a $1 billion share buyback. “We’re aggressively buying back shares,” McKinnon said. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/oktas-st…
Still, tighter budgets and sluggish hiring threaten to squeeze seat-based software sales, security included. Okta’s chief operating officer Eric Kelleher told Reuters the company hasn’t “yet seen any meaningful impact from seat reductions,” though he acknowledged Okta has noticed economic uncertainty and more hesitant decision-making from some customers. https://www.reuters.com/business/okta-fore…
Okta’s rivals in identity and access management include Ping Identity and SailPoint, plus it faces pressure from bigger platform players muscling into the space. After Wednesday’s report, investors are left juggling two opposing takeaways: demand fueled by AI is clearly happening, yet growth is becoming tougher to sustain.
