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Investing.com -- SentinelOne Inc (NYSE:S) reported first-quarter fiscal 2026 results that met expectations, but its shares tumbled more than 14% in premarket trading Thursday due to disappointing guidance.
The cybersecurity firm posted adjusted earnings per share of $0.02, in line with analyst estimates. Revenue for the quarter rose 23% YoY to $229 million, slightly above the consensus of $228.34 million. Annualized recurring revenue (ARR) grew 24% YoY to $948.1 million.
"Our top-tier growth and margin improvement reflect continued platform momentum and customer success," said CEO Tomer Weingarten (NYSE:WRI). "Our innovation engine is fueling adoption across AI, Data, Cloud, and Endpoint."
However, SentinelOne’s outlook fell short of expectations. The company forecast second-quarter revenue of $242 million, below the $245 million analysts anticipated. For fiscal year 2026, SentinelOne expects revenue between $996 million and $1.001 billion, also below the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion.
Bank of America analysts downgraded SentinelOne shares to Neutral after the report, citing "lowered expectations and weak business trends."
Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) also cut its rating on the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight and trimmed the price target to $18 from $22. "We are downgrading shares to EW and lowering our PT to $18, as we believe SentinelOne has missed the opportunity to drive strong growth in net new ARR."
Despite the weak guidance, SentinelOne highlighted its improving profitability metrics. The company achieved a record free cash flow margin of 20%, up 2 percentage points YoY. Non-GAAP operating margin improved to -2% from -6% a year ago.
CFO Barbara Larson noted, "We delivered strong revenue growth and achieved record free cash flow margin, demonstrating the scalability of our model and ongoing operational discipline."
In a show of confidence, SentinelOne’s board authorized a $200 million share repurchase program. The company ended the quarter with $1.2 billion in cash and investments.
(Luke Juricic contributed to this report.)