Latest news with #Qualys'
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
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Qualys's (NASDAQ:QLYS) Q1 Sales Beat Estimates, Quarterly Revenue Guidance Slightly Exceeds Expectations
Cloud security and compliance software provider Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) reported revenue ahead of Wall Street's expectations in Q1 CY2025, with sales up 9.7% year on year to $159.9 million. Guidance for next quarter's revenue was better than expected at $161.2 million at the midpoint, 0.8% above analysts' estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $1.67 per share was 13.8% above analysts' consensus estimates. Is now the time to buy Qualys? Find out in our full research report. Qualys (QLYS) Q1 CY2025 Highlights: 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 Billings: $155.3 million at quarter end, up 7.6% year on year Market Capitalization: $4.66 billion "Our Q1 results reflect the success of new product initiatives and demonstrate customer demand for natively-integrated cybersecurity risk management solutions," said Sumedh Thakar, Qualys' president and CEO. Company Overview Founded in 1999 as one of the first subscription security companies, Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) provides organizations with software to assess their exposure to cyber-attacks. Sales Growth Examining a company's long-term performance can provide clues about its quality. Any business can experience short-term success, but top-performing ones enjoy sustained growth for years. Over the last three years, Qualys grew its sales at a 13.3% compounded annual growth rate. Although this growth is acceptable on an absolute basis, it fell short of our standards for the software sector, which enjoys a number of secular tailwinds. Qualys Quarterly Revenue This quarter, Qualys reported year-on-year revenue growth of 9.7%, and its $159.9 million of revenue exceeded Wall Street's estimates by 1.8%. Company management is currently guiding for a 8.4% year-on-year increase in sales next quarter. Looking further ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 6.4% over the next 12 months, a deceleration versus the last three years. This projection doesn't excite us and suggests its products and services will face some demand challenges.
Yahoo
04-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Are Investors Undervaluing Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) By 24%?
The projected fair value for Qualys is US$168 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity Qualys is estimated to be 24% undervalued based on current share price of US$128 Our fair value estimate is 23% higher than Qualys' analyst price target of US$137 In this article we are going to estimate the intrinsic value of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. Our analysis will employ the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. There's really not all that much to it, even though it might appear quite complex. Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. For those who are keen learners of equity analysis, the Simply Wall St analysis model here may be something of interest to you. Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit. We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years. Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars: 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 Levered FCF ($, Millions) US$220.0m US$245.8m US$264.3m US$288.8m US$316.8m US$338.2m US$357.0m US$373.9m US$389.3m US$403.8m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x16 Analyst x15 Analyst x5 Analyst x2 Analyst x2 Est @ 6.77% Est @ 5.57% Est @ 4.72% Est @ 4.13% Est @ 3.72% Present Value ($, Millions) Discounted @ 7.7% US$204 US$212 US$212 US$215 US$219 US$217 US$213 US$207 US$200 US$193 ("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = US$2.1b The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (2.8%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 7.7%. Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2034 × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = US$404m× (1 + 2.8%) ÷ (7.7%– 2.8%) = US$8.4b Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= US$8.4b÷ ( 1 + 7.7%)10= US$4.0b The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is US$6.1b. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of US$128, the company appears a touch undervalued at a 24% discount to where the stock price trades currently. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent. We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Qualys as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.7%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.136. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business. See our latest analysis for Qualys Strength Currently debt free. Weakness Earnings growth over the past year underperformed the Software industry. Opportunity Annual earnings are forecast to grow for the next 3 years. Good value based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value. Threat Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the American market. Although the valuation of a company is important, it shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. Can we work out why the company is trading at a discount to intrinsic value? For Qualys, we've put together three fundamental factors you should look at: Financial Health: Does QLYS have a healthy balance sheet? Take a look at our free balance sheet analysis with six simple checks on key factors like leverage and risk. Future Earnings: How does QLYS's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered! PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every American stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Channel Post MEA
14-03-2025
- Channel Post MEA
DeepSeek Fails 58% of the Jailbreak Tests by Qualys TotalAI
Qualys recently conducted a security analysis of the distilled DeepSeek-R1 LLaMA 8B variant using the company's newly launched AI security platform, Qualys TotalAI. The DeepSeek model had a failure rate of 61% when tested against Qualys TotalAI's Knowledge Base (KB) attacks and a failure rate of 58% when tested against Jailbreak attacks. TotalAI KB Analysis Qualys TotalAI's KB Analysis prompts the target LLM with questions across 16 categories — including controversial topics, factual inconssitencies, hate speech and discrimination, legal information, privacy attacks, profanity and sensitive information disclosure — and evaluates the responses using Qualys' Judge LLM. Responses are assessed for vulnerabilities, ethical concerns, and legal risks. If a response is deemed vulnerable, it receives a severity rating based on its directness and potential impact. This ensures a comprehensive assessment of the model's behavior and associated risks. In the Qualys KB testing, 891 assessments were conducted and the model failed 61% of the tests. The worst performing category was misalignment, where the model had a pass rate of just 8%. This was followed by controversial topics (13%), and factual inconsistencies (21%). On the other end of the spectrum, the model did prove to be very good at filtering out sexual content, passing 100% of the tests. TotalAI Jailbreak Testing Jailbreaking an LLM involves techniques that bypass built-in safety mechanisms, enabling the model to generate restricted responses. These vulnerabilities can result in harmful outputs, including instructions for illegal activities, misinformation, privacy violations, and unethical content. Successful jailbreaks expose weaknesses in AI alignment and present serious security risks, particularly in enterprise and regulatory settings. The model was tested against 18 jailbreak types through 885 attacks. It failed 58% of these attempts, demonstrating significant susceptibility to adversarial manipulation. During the analysis, DeepSeek R1 struggled to prevent several adversarial jailbreak attempts, including steps on how to make an explosive device, create content for websites that encourage hate speech, conspiracy theories and violent action, exploiting software vulnerabilities, promoting incorrect medical information, etc. 'As AI adoption accelerates, organizations must move beyond performance evaluation to tackle security, safety, and compliance challenges. Gaining visibility into AI assets, assessing vulnerabilities, and proactively mitigating risks is critical to ensuring responsible and secure AI deployment,' commented Dilip Bachwani, CTO, Qualys. 'Qualys TotalAI provides full visibility into AI workloads, proactively detects risks, and safeguards infrastructure. By identifying security threats like prompt injection and jailbreaks, as well as safety concerns such as bias and harmful language, TotalAI ensures AI models remain secure, compliant, and resilient. With AI-specific security testing and automated risk management, organizations can confidently secure, monitor, and scale their AI deployments.' For detailed findings from the tests, industry implications and steps organizations can take to mitigate risks associated with use of DeepSeek models, please visit:
TECHx
18-02-2025
- Business
- TECHx
TECHx Media Qualys Launches mROC Partner Alliance to Enhance Cyber Risk Management
Qualys Launches mROC Partner Alliance to Enhance Cyber Risk Management News Desk - Share Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ: QLYS), a provider of cloud-based IT security and compliance solutions, has unveiled the Managed Risk Operations Center (mROC) Partner Alliance. This initiative enables select Qualys partners to expand their service offerings, providing clients with comprehensive advisory, onboarding, integration, and remediation services. The goal is to help organizations identify, assess, and mitigate cyber risks effectively, enhancing overall security. The mROC Partner Alliance presents a unique opportunity for Qualified Managed Service Solution Partners (MSSPs) to offer these services to Qualys' extensive enterprise customer base, tapping into new revenue streams. The solution aims to solve common challenges organizations face when managing cyber risks across siloed tools, improving efficiency and reducing the likelihood of overlooked threats. Qualys' innovative Risk Operations Center (ROC), powered by Enterprise TruRisk™ Management (ETM), consolidates diverse risk insights into a unified view. The solution quantifies cyber risk in terms of Business Value at Risk (BVR) – measuring potential losses in money, trust, and productivity – and automates risk reduction to enhance security across organizations. Mark Thornberry, SVP of Vendor Marketing at GuidePoint Security, highlighted the value of the mROC, stating that it would be instrumental in helping clients manage the growing complexity of cyber threats. 'Qualys continues to empower its partners with cutting-edge solutions that enable organizations to stay ahead of evolving threats, enhance operational efficiency, and implement a proactive approach to mitigating risk.' Key benefits of the mROC Partner Alliance for MSSPs include: Enhanced Service Offerings : Partners can elevate their service offerings, focusing on strategic, value-added approaches. New services include Cyber Risk Advisory, Onboarding and Integration, Continuous Risk Monitoring, and Risk Remediation. : Partners can elevate their service offerings, focusing on strategic, value-added approaches. New services include Cyber Risk Advisory, Onboarding and Integration, Continuous Risk Monitoring, and Risk Remediation. Revenue Growth : Partners can upsell solutions, foster revenue growth, and support the adoption of third-party tools by tapping into Qualys' extensive installed base. : Partners can upsell solutions, foster revenue growth, and support the adoption of third-party tools by tapping into Qualys' extensive installed base. Exclusive Training and Enablement: mROC partners gain access to in-depth product training, personalized roadmap discussions, and one-on-one risk workshops, accelerating their go-to-market efforts and driving faster customer adoption. Sumedh Thakar, President and CEO of Qualys, emphasized that the mROC ecosystem will help CISOs systematically reduce risk while enhancing business resilience. 'For MSSPs, mROC unlocks a valuable revenue opportunity, enabling them to deliver comprehensive cyber risk management powered by Qualys Enterprise TruRisk™ Management.' With the mROC Partner Alliance, Qualys is revolutionizing the way organizations manage cyber risk, providing strategic insights and comprehensive services to safeguard against evolving threats.
