This cybersecurity stock will be the next to join the S&P 500

By Bill Peters

Okta is slated to join the index on Wednesday, replacing Kenvue

Okta shares have more than doubled this year.

Following a massive rise in its stock this year, workplace cybersecurity platform Okta has landed a spot on the S&P 500.

The company (OKTA) will join the benchmark stock index SPX before the opening of trading on Wednesday, S&P Dow Jones Indices said in a statement on Friday.

Okta shares were up 2.5% after hours in the wake of the news. The company will replace Kenvue (KVUE), the maker of Benadryl and Tylenol that's in the process of being acquired by Kimberly-Clark (KMB).

The change comes after a nearly 141% tear higher for Okta's stock so far this year. The company now has a market value of around $38.8 billion.

More broadly, annual revenue for the company has risen since 2017, according to FactSet data, alongside the rise of cloud services, mobile usage, remote work, artificial intelligence and AI agents.

"As AI agents transform every layer of technology, every agent needs a trusted identity and clear controls over what it can access and do," Okta CEO Todd McKinnon said in the company's earnings release in August.

The idea is that as businesses outsource more tasks to AI, they'll need to make sure that those AI tools have the credentials they need to access relevant applications - and that AI doesn't inadvertently get access to sensitive areas.

Cybersecurity stocks in general have had a strong year, with the Amplify Cybersecurity ETF HACK up 55% over the course of 2026 to date.

-Bill Peters

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10-30-26 1821ET