Latest news with #ETM
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
QLYS Q1 Earnings Call: Channel Partnerships and AI Security Drive Outperformance
Cloud security and compliance software provider Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) beat Wall Street's revenue expectations in Q1 CY2025, with sales up 9.7% year on year to $159.9 million. The company expects next quarter's revenue to be around $161.2 million, close to analysts' estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $1.67 per share was 13.8% above analysts' consensus estimates. Is now the time to buy QLYS? Find out in our full research report (it's free). Revenue: $159.9 million vs analyst estimates of $157.1 million (9.7% year-on-year growth, 1.8% beat) Adjusted EPS: $1.67 vs analyst estimates of $1.47 (13.8% beat) Adjusted Operating Income: $71.22 million vs analyst estimates of $63.8 million (44.5% margin, 11.6% beat) The company slightly lifted its revenue guidance for the full year to $652.5 million at the midpoint from $651 million Management raised its full-year Adjusted EPS guidance to $6.15 at the midpoint, a 7.9% increase Operating Margin: 32.4%, up from 30.7% in the same quarter last year Free Cash Flow Margin: 67.3%, up from 26.3% in the previous quarter Net Revenue Retention Rate: 103%, in line with the previous quarter Annual Recurring Revenue: $639.6 million at quarter end, up 9.7% year on year Billings: $153.1 million at quarter end, up 6.1% year on year Market Capitalization: $4.97 billion Qualys delivered better-than-expected results in Q1, with revenue and non-GAAP profit both exceeding Wall Street's expectations. Management attributed the performance to ongoing customer demand for cloud-native cybersecurity risk management and a strategic focus on channel partnerships. CEO Sumedh Thakar highlighted the company's integrated Enterprise TruRisk Management (ETM) platform and continued product expansion as key differentiators, stating that Qualys is 'increasingly well armed with fresh new capabilities to further strengthen our strategic position.' Looking ahead, Qualys' leadership pointed to a more cautious operating environment, with CFO Joo Mi Kim noting increased budget scrutiny among customers and a challenging upsell environment. Despite this, the company modestly raised its full-year revenue and non-GAAP EPS guidance, reflecting confidence in its partner-first sales approach and product innovation. Kim emphasized, 'We intend to continue to responsibly align our product and marketing investments to focus on high impact initiatives.' Q1 results were driven by continued investment in product development and deeper engagement with channel partners. Management discussed how enterprise customers are consolidating security tools and seeking solutions that unify risk data across multiple platforms. Channel Partnerships Expand Reach: Revenue from channel partners grew significantly faster than direct sales, with the channel now representing nearly half of total revenue. Management credited this to the partner-first sales strategy and indicated that partner-led deal registration increased again in Q1. Integrated Risk Operations Center (ROC): The new ROC offering helps organizations consolidate risk signals across various security tools, including those from other vendors. This solution is designed to provide actionable insights and prioritize remediation, which management says leads to operational efficiency and cost savings for customers. Cloud Security and TotalCloud CNAPP: Adoption of Qualys' cloud-native security tools, especially the TotalCloud Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP), continued to gain traction. Management mentioned several seven-figure annual bookings, particularly among large enterprises needing unified multi-cloud and container security. AI Security Posture Management Growth: The company expanded its TotalAI and AI Security Posture Management (AI-SPM) solutions to address risks associated with machine learning and large language models. Management described this as an early but important area, with pilot projects underway at select customers. Audit Readiness Automation: New solutions for policy audit and automated evidence collection were introduced, targeting regulatory compliance needs and helping customers reduce manual audit workloads. Management views this as a growing area of IT security spending. Management expects the rest of the year to be shaped by continued partner channel expansion, growing adoption of its cloud and AI security solutions, and persistent macroeconomic caution. Partner-First Sales Strategy: The transition toward working more closely with channel partners is expected to drive incremental pipeline and revenue, as more customers seek managed risk operations and integrated security solutions. Cloud and AI Security Adoption: Expanded offerings in cloud workload protection and AI risk management are anticipated to support future growth, particularly as enterprise customers increase investment in these areas. Budget Scrutiny and Upsell Challenges: Management highlighted ongoing customer cost controls and budget reviews as potential headwinds, which may temper new business growth and upsell rates, especially in North America. Jonathan Ho (William Blair): Asked about the impact of macroeconomic uncertainty on customer spending. Management noted longer decision cycles and increased ROI scrutiny, but said no major deals were pushed or lost. Patrick Colville (Scotiabank): Inquired about competition from endpoint security players expanding into network-based vulnerability management. CEO Sumedh Thakar responded that Qualys can integrate competitor data, and prioritizes actionable risk remediation over simply finding more vulnerabilities. Kingsley Crane (Canaccord): Questioned the demand environment for AI security solutions. Management described the market as still in the exploratory phase, with most customers evaluating risks and formulating future budgets for AI security. Rudy Kessinger (D.A. Davidson): Queried a decline in large customer counts above $500K in annual contract value. Management stated there were no unusual losses, attributing fluctuations to normal business dynamics and improved gross retention. Trevor Walsh (Citizens): Asked about the rollout and ramp of managed risk operations partners. Management explained that initial focus is on a few strategic partners, with plans to expand based on partner investment and customer demand. In coming quarters, the StockStory team will monitor (1) the pace at which channel partner contributions continue to grow as a share of overall revenue, (2) adoption rates for Qualys' new AI and cloud security solutions, and (3) any changes in customer renewal and upsell trends amid ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty. Progress toward federal market certifications and additional strategic partner certifications will also be key markers of execution. Qualys currently trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 7.6×. In the wake of earnings, is it a buy or sell? See for yourself in our free research report. The market surged in 2024 and reached record highs after Donald Trump's presidential victory in November, but questions about new economic policies are adding much uncertainty for 2025. While the crowd speculates what might happen next, we're homing in on the companies that can succeed regardless of the political or macroeconomic environment. Put yourself in the driver's seat and build a durable portfolio by checking out our Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 176% over the last five years. Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Kadant (+351% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Epoch Times
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Michigan's Public Schools Get a Bad Report Card From Research Group
Michigan's K-12 education system has a 'statewide pandemic recovery problem,' and more money is the answer, a nonprofit research group says. As a result of two decades of 'underinvestment,' the recovery of Michigan students from learning loss caused by school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic is 'not going well,' according to a 2025 State of Michigan Education ETM stated that 'Michigan is woefully underfunding public schools.' From 1995–2015, Michigan was the 'worst in the nation for education revenue growth,' the report said. Ranking seventh among the 50 states, Michigan currently spends $9,608 per pupil. New Jersey leads the nation, spending $13,946 per student, according to the report. The learning loss is reflected by the continued poor academic performance of Michigan's K–12 students. Related Stories 5/7/2025 5/1/2025 ETM researchers put Michigan in the bottom five of the 50 states for post-pandemic reading recovery, as measured from 2019 to the present. Nebraska experienced the greatest learning loss and Hawaii the least. Louisiana experienced no learning loss during the same period, according to the report. Students Lag in Reading and Math The report revealed that Michigan's third- through eighth-graders are 40 percent of a grade level behind in math and 75 percent of a grade level behind in reading from where they were in 2019. In the 2023–2024 school year, ETM found that 60.4 percent of all Michigan third-graders were nonproficient in reading. Nearly 68 percent of seventh-grade students were found to be nonproficient in math during the same year. In 2024, Michigan's fourth-graders were 44th in reading, and its eighth-graders ranked 31st in math among the 50 states. According to the report, one out of every eight Michigan students entering college is required to take remedial courses to make up for deficiencies in their high school education. The number is double for black students. Supt. Doug Muxlow of Carsonville-Port Sanilac Community Schools, Carsonville, Mich. Courtesy of Doug Muxlow The ETM report also warned of the potential impact of the Trump administration's quest to do away with the U.S. Department of Education (DOE). The report found that federal funding of Michigan schools amounted to $3.7 billion and accounted for 13.8 percent of their budgets in 2023. According to the report, federal dollars are used by Michigan school districts to pay for things that the state does not fully fund, such as programs for disabled students, English learners, and even first-time applicants for college loans. In a March 20 ETM researchers found that, beyond financial support, the DOE benefits Michigan schools by collecting and analyzing useful data concerning education. The DOE also serves as a source of oversight and accountability to school districts to ensure equity in the use of grant funds, they said. Racial and Income Disparities In the 2023–2024 school year, 83.4 percent of black third-graders in Michigan tested nonproficient in reading. The rate was 53.3 percent for white third-graders. During the same year, 90.6 percent of black seventh-graders tested nonproficient in math, while the nonproficiency rate among white seventh-graders was 61.1 percent, according to the report. According to data from the 2023-2024 Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress cited in the ETM report, 57.1 percent of third-graders with higher income backgrounds tested proficient in reading, while 26.9 percent of third-graders from low-income backgrounds tested proficient in reading. The same test found that 48.9 percent of seventh-graders from higher income brackets were proficient in math. By contrast, 18.1 percent of seventh-graders from low-income backgrounds were proficient in math. The Most Needy According to the ETM report, nine states provide their highest poverty-rate school districts with between 10 percent and 40 percent more state funding than their low poverty-rate school districts. Michigan is not one of them. 'For many years, Michigan's school funding formula mandated an additional 11.5 percent in what is called 'at-risk' funding on top of the foundation allowance—or base student spending —for students from low-income backgrounds. Yet that amount was often underfunded, with districts receiving on average only 9 percent per student more in additional 'at risk' funding,' the report said. ETM said its research suggests that students from low-income backgrounds should receive between '100 and 200 percent more funding than their peers from more advantaged backgrounds to close gaps in opportunity and outcomes.' Michael Rice, the state superintendent of schools, told The Epoch Times that despite historic investments in education in recent years, 'Our schools remain underfunded by billions of dollars.' Beyond an increase in funding, Rice said other reforms are needed to improve student achievement, particularly in low-income schools, such as smaller class sizes in K-3 high-poverty classrooms and better teacher training in the science of reading. Rice pointed to a few bright spots like a rise in the high school graduation rate and the rate of postsecondary credential attainment, as well as large increases in the number of black and Latino high school students taking and completing Advanced Placement classes. A View From the Ground Superintendent Doug Muxlow of Carsonville-Port Sanilac Community Schools, a district in rural Michigan serving just over 400 K-12 students, told The Epoch Times that the financial impact of declining enrollment is probably the biggest concern of most Michigan school systems. Muxlow said that the reduction of revenue resulting from a loss of students, when coupled with the annual rise in expenses due to inflation, can result in a district breaking even or sometimes losing ground, despite increases in the state's contribution per student. 'Our state's small town and rural school districts are typically low-income. They are really struggling with the financial challenges stemming from enrollment decline. 'Michigan does have a small program to help deal with this by giving additional dollars to school districts losing enrollment, but it needs to be greatly expanded,' said Muxlow. Muxlow said learning loss from the COVID-19 lockdowns is not a major factor in his district. 'Socio-economic factors are huge when it comes to disparities in academic achievement. For example, there are some students in our district whose families still do not have internet access at home,' he said. He also said the dismantling of the DOE would have a minor impact on Carsonville-Port Sanilac Community Schools.
TECHx
13-05-2025
- Business
- TECHx
Qualys Expands mROC Partner Alliance with Teksalah
Home » Tech Value Chain » Global Brands » Qualys Expands mROC Partner Alliance with Teksalah Qualys has expanded its exclusive mROC Partner Alliance, adding seven global partners, including Teksalah from the Middle East. This move supports Qualys' goal of building a strong Risk Operations Center (ROC) ecosystem. It aims to make cyber risk management more accessible, measurable, and aligned with business needs. The ROC framework is powered by the Qualys Enterprise TruRisk™ Management Platform. It brings together risk signals across an organization's digital footprint. This enables Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM), cyber risk quantification, and risk remediation. It allows CISOs to align cyber risk with business objectives and enhance audit readiness. The mROC Partner Alliance helps partners offer advanced ROC services. These services change how companies handle cyber risk. With this expansion, more organizations can access: Unified visibility across cybersecurity tools Practical risk response at scale Business-aligned insights to support resilience Sumedh Thakar, President and CEO of Qualys, said, 'When we introduced the concept of the Risk Operations Center, we knew it had the potential to redefine how organizations manage cyber risk. Today, with the launch of our inaugural global mROC partners, we're delivering on that vision.' The mROC partners are trained to run a ROC using Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Management (ETM). They combine data from Qualys and third-party tools. This gives clients a complete view of their risk exposure. Murali Konasani, CEO of Teksalah, commented, 'The Teksalah and Qualys partnership is built on a shared vision to embed a holistic, risk-based, proactive approach at the core of enterprise cybersecurity. Through our platforms, tools, and services, covering real-time risk monitoring to remediation, we are enabling organizations to manage risk with precision and drive secure innovation.' The updated alliance marks progress in making cyber risk operations more practical, effective, and global.
Time of India
09-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Chamarajanagar KSRTC crosses Rs 3.2 crore in UPI transactions
Mysuru: The introduction of a cashless payment system five months ago by Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) received a good response from passengers in KSRTC Chamarajanagar system, introduced to promote digital payments and reduce cash handling in the state-run buses, registered Rs 3.2 crore in payments through Unified Payment Interface (UPI) in five months since new payment system not only resolved the issues of exact change between passengers and conductors, but also eliminated the need for cash to commute on the Chamarajanagar KSRTC division, which includes Kollegal, Gundlupet, and Chamarajanagar sub-divisions, has a fleet of 429 buses. It also operates inter-state buses to Tamil Nadu and Kerala and inter-district facilitate digital payments, the division equipped its buses with advanced electronic ticketing machines (ETM) that accept UPI payments as well as debit and credit cashless payment system, which received a lukewarm response in the initial month of launching the scheme in Nov due to a lack of awareness, server glitches, and other technical problems, has now picked up gradually after passengers realised its division recorded cashless payments of Rs 7.9 lakh during Nov, which increased to Rs 46.3 lakh in Dec, Rs 77.5 lakh in Jan, and jumped to Rs 83.3 lakh in Feb, crossing Rs 1 crore in March the Intelligent Transport System, the division purchased 480 electronic ticketing machines. Operation Sindoor PM Modi meets NSA, chiefs of armed forces amid spike in tensions with Pak India's air defence systems shoot down Pak drones in J&K, Punjab & Rajasthan Several airports in India to be closed till May 15 - check list Passengers can purchase tickets by scanning the QR code available at ETMs with conductors using their mobile phone digital payment to TOI, Chamarajanagar KSRTC divisional controller Ashok Kumar said the introduction of the system helped both passengers and conductors. Digital payments became popular among citizens of the nation after the promotional measures initiated by govt, he was also a huge demand from passengers and conductors for the introduction of the same due to disputes arising out of tendering changes. Passengers can obtain tickets by scanning the QR code available with all conductors during travel. They can also purchase tickets using their debit/credit network, server, and technical glitches, if the tickets are not issued, passengers must pay cash and obtain a ticket during travel. "The introduction of digital payment has helped a lot for commuters like me during travel in state-run buses as there is no need for cash all the time," said Uma Mahadev, a passenger from Kollegala.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Qualys Inc (QLYS) Q1 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Revenue Growth and Strategic ...
The company's direct sales growth has been slower compared to its channel partner growth, highlighting a need for improved execution in North America. Qualys Inc ( NASDAQ:QLYS ) experienced a decline in the number of customers spending $500,000 or more annually, indicating potential challenges in retaining large accounts. Qualys Inc ( NASDAQ:QLYS ) has maintained a strong focus on innovation, with advancements in AI security solutions and audit readiness capabilities, enhancing its competitive edge. The company is seeing increased adoption of its cloud security solutions, with Total Cloud Snap making up 5% of LTM bookings. Qualys Inc ( NASDAQ:QLYS ) has launched innovative security solutions, including the Enterprise TruRisk Management (ETM) solution, which provides comprehensive AI-powered orchestration of security findings. The company has successfully expanded its channel partner ecosystem, with revenues from channel partners growing by 19%, outpacing direct sales growth. Qualys Inc ( NASDAQ:QLYS ) reported better-than-expected revenue growth, strong profitability, and solid cash flow generation for the first quarter of 2025. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript . Story Continues Q & A Highlights Q: Can you provide insights on the macro environment and its impact on customer spending and guidance? A: Sumedh Thakar, President and CEO, noted that cybersecurity remains a critical aspect of risk management, but there is increased scrutiny on spending and ROI. Decision cycles are longer, and while no specific changes have been observed, there is prudence in expectations due to potential budget scrutiny across the board. Q: How does the Risk Operations Center (ROC) function from a customer journey perspective, and what financial impact does it have? A: Sumedh Thakar explained that the ROC consolidates risk signals from multiple tools, providing contextual business insights and remediation plans. It helps customers prioritize actionable risks, potentially saving costs by avoiding unnecessary remediation efforts. Customers pay Qualys for these cost savings, which justifies additional budget allocation for the ROC. Q: Were there any significant deal shifts due to macroeconomic challenges at the end of the quarter? A: Joo Mi Kim, CFO, stated there were no material deal shifts. The commentary was more about anticipated upsell rates not materializing as expected, rather than deals being pushed to the next quarter. Q: How is Qualys addressing competition from other cybersecurity players expanding into network-based vulnerability management (VM)? A: Sumedh Thakar mentioned that Qualys focuses on prioritizing and remediating vulnerabilities rather than just finding them. The company provides higher value by adding context to vulnerability data from competitors, allowing customers to choose their preferred solutions while still benefiting from Qualys's risk management capabilities. Q: What is the competitive landscape for TotalAI, and how are security budgets expected to evolve in this market? A: Sumedh Thakar noted that the market is in an exploratory phase, with customers assessing AI-related risks. While there is interest and some early adoption, significant budget allocations for AI security are expected to take a couple of years as organizations evaluate potential losses and formulate budget requests. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
