Why SailPoint May Cruise Past Cybersecurity Rivals in 2025

Key Points

• SailPoint has drawn investor interest since its IPO in February and recently wowed with impressive earnings results.
• The cybersecurity firm's unique, AI-focused approach to enterprise security positions it well to continue to build ARR.
• In just a few months, SailPoint has announced major partnerships and geographic expansion, signaling strong interest among a diverse client pool.

Rising tech firm SailPoint Inc. NASDAQ: SAIL aims to address a critical issue facing companies and organizations across all sectors and industries: identity security. The cybersecurity company provides identity governance and administration services to clients, allowing them to automatically manage user identities, access rights, and other parameters within their rosters of personnel.

SailPoint has been a focus of cybersecurity investors since its IPO in February 2025, though notably, the company previously underwent an IPO in 2017 before going private in 2022. In the roughly four months since the most recent public offering, SAIL shares have climbed by over 6%. However, in the last month, they've skyrocketed by about 28% after reaching a low in mid-April.

The company is one of the most talked-about on the market today, due to its recent IPO and its even more recent rally, but also to what some investors believe to be its potential to dominate the crowded cybersecurity industry. Indeed, 10 analysts view shares of SAIL as a Buy, and analysts at JPMorgan, Barclays, Wells Fargo and elsewhere have all increased their price targets this month. So, what is the value proposition of SailPoint, and does the company have the potential to be a major player in cybersecurity?

Major Earnings Success

The most recent rally is likely attributable in large part to SailPoint's latest round of earnings, in which the company posted 23% year-over-year (YOY) improvement in revenue to reach $230 million for the quarter. Annual recurring revenue (ARR) is a key metric for software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies like SailPoint, showing stable revenue streams from clients that maintain their accounts from year to year.

In this area, SailPoint dominated in the first quarter of its fiscal 2026, which ended April 30 of this year: the firm reported a 30% YOY improvement in ARR to reach $925 million. Better yet, its SaaS ARR surged by 39% over the same period. Adjusted income from operations also soared by more than 16% YOY.

The sharp increase in ARR, particularly in SailPoint's SaaS business, is a reflection of the success that the company has seen with its subscription-based services and the sky-high demand for AI-based identity security offerings. Perhaps best of all, the company expects this trend to only continue through the remainder of this fiscal year. It boosted its full-year guidance for ARR, total revenue, adjusted income from operations, and adjusted earnings per share (EPS). The firm now expects ARR growth to be as high as 26% YOY in fiscal 2026.

Distinguished Product Offering

The cybersecurity space is growing rapidly, but it is also crowded. Fortunately for SailPoint, it offers an approach that distinguishes it from much of its potential competition. SailPoint's enterprise security systems specialize in AI agents, which are AI tools that are designed to operate independently of human input. The company's tools allow it to identify all agentic AI systems within an enterprise while also providing a singular perspective on system-wide activities, allowing organizations to monitor for security threats.

The slew of recent partnerships that SailPoint has announced confirms the unique strength of its approach. In June, the firm announced an expanded partnership with Big Four accounting firm Deloitte. Earlier this year, SailPoint expanded its reach into South America and the Middle East with new SaaS partnerships in those regions.

Time for Investors to Buy?

Without significant and recent performance data since going public most recently earlier this year, investors may be reluctant to jump in on SailPoint.

However, the company is nonetheless rapidly approaching the critical Rule of 40 threshold, which suggests that SaaS firms with a combined revenue growth rate and profit margin of 40% are generating profit sustainably.

Based on updated guidance for the current quarter, SailPoint aims to be in the high-30% area when considering revenue growth and operating margin together, and the trend has been an increase for both of them.

Given its substantial rally following the most recent earnings, it may be prudent for investors to monitor whether the momentum is just beginning or if there will be an opportunity to buy a relative dip before the company announces either its next earnings results or another major partnership.