Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The software maker reported $1.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.81 by $0.14, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $175.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.66 million. Qualys had a net margin of 29.64% and a return on equity of 37.65%. The business’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. Qualys updated its FY 2026 guidance to 7.440-7.650 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance to 1.730-1.800 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Qualys’ conference call:

• Qualys announced Agent Val is generally available and positioned its ETM (Enterprise TruRisk Management) platform as an AI-native ROC that combines exploit validation, autonomous remediation (TruRisk Eliminate / Agent Sarah) and an AI patch‑reliability score, which management says differentiates the company in a rising frontier‑AI threat environment.
• Financially the quarter was solid — revenue grew 10% to $175.6 million, adjusted EBITDA margin was 47%, EPS was $1.95, free cash flow was $93.6 million, the company repurchased $53.9 million of stock, and FY2026 revenue and EPS guidance were raised slightly to $721–727M and $7.44–7.65.
• Early commercial traction for ETM is visible — the ETM/CSAM cohort’s net dollar expansion rate was 107% and ETM/CSAM made up ~11% of LTM bookings, while channel contribution rose to 52% of revenue — but management emphasizes ETM adoption is still in early stages.
• Management cautioned on macro and adoption risks — guidance assumes no material change in overall NRR, sales cycles and higher sales & marketing spend may delay visible uplift from ETM, leaving near‑term NRR and new‑logo momentum potentially muted.

Qualys Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:QLYS traded down $1.27 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $90.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 617,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 741,572. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $89.99 and a 200-day moving average of $118.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.70 and a beta of 0.58. Qualys has a 12-month low of $74.51 and a 12-month high of $155.47.

Key Stories Impacting Qualys

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualys this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 outperformed expectations — EPS $1.95 vs. $1.81 est., revenue $175.6M (up 9.8% y/y), healthy margins and ROE; company raised Q2 and FY‑2026 EPS and revenue guidance above consensus, supporting better near‑term profitability. Qualys Announces First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Demand drivers: management cited channel mix shifts and uptake of Enterprise TruRisk Management (ETM) and CSAM offerings as key growth contributors; partnership with Converge could expand product utility (insurance-premium linkage) and drive enterprise adoption/cross‑sell. Qualys Q1 Earnings Beat Estimates on Channel Strength and ETM Uptake Qualys and Converge Joint Offering
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst stance remains cautious — multiple firms (Needham, William Blair) maintained Hold ratings, noting that while guidance was lifted, the improvement is modest and expansion is gradual, which could limit near‑term upside. Analyst Maintains Hold on Qualys Jonathan Ho Maintains Hold on Qualys
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction/technicals: despite the beat, the stock is trading down and below its 200‑day moving average (longer‑term technical resistance) with volume slightly below average, suggesting some profit‑taking or caution while investors reassess longer‑term growth trajectory.

Institutional Trading of Qualys

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of QLYS. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Qualys in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Qualys by 204.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 213 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Qualys in the 3rd quarter worth about $57,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Qualys by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 481 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Qualys by 74.2% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 547 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. 99.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

QLYS has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Qualys from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Qualys from $117.00 to $113.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Qualys from $120.00 to $85.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Qualys from $135.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.14.

Qualys Company Profile

Qualys, Inc (NASDAQ: QLYS) is a leading provider of cloud-based security and compliance solutions designed to help organizations streamline their IT security programs. Operating on a unified, modular platform, Qualys offers continuous visibility into global IT assets through a combination of lightweight cloud agents and on-premises scanner appliances. The platform supports an array of security and compliance use cases, enabling real-time detection of vulnerabilities, policy violations and misconfigurations across on-premises, cloud and hybrid environments.

The company’s flagship Qualys Cloud Platform delivers a suite of integrated applications, including vulnerability management, detection and response (VMDR), policy compliance, web application scanning, file integrity monitoring, asset inventory and container security.