Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Issues Earnings Results

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The software maker reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.09, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $175.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $173.18 million. Qualys had a return on equity of 37.40% and a net margin of 28.96%. Qualys updated its Q1 2026 guidance to 1.760-1.830 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance to 7.170-7.450 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Qualys’ conference call:

• Qualys reported full‑year revenue of $669.1M (up 10%) and Q4 revenue of $175.3M, with a strong adjusted EBITDA margin of 47% and free cash flow of $304.4M; the board also authorized a $200M increase to the share‑repurchase program (total available $360.5M).
• Fiscal 2026 revenue guidance was lowered to $717M–$725M (7%–8% growth) with EBITDA margin expected in the mid‑40s, signaling slower top‑line growth versus 2025’s 10% pace.
• Management emphasized product differentiation around the expanded ETM platform — an agentic AI risk fabric, exploit confirmation via Agent Val, an agent marketplace, native patching and identity posture — positioning Qualys as a vendor‑neutral, end‑to‑end pre‑breach remediation solution.
• Commercial momentum includes partner‑led growth (channel now 51% of revenue), several mid‑ to seven‑figure upsells with Global 50/200 customers and federal agencies, and early Q‑Flex beta traction to accelerate ETM adoption.
• Management noted adoption of ETM is still early — net dollar expansion was 103% with a modest sequential dip in gross dollar retention — leaving uncertainty about the timing and magnitude of any inflection in upsell-driven growth.

Qualys Price Performance

Shares of Qualys stock traded down $1.37 during trading on Thursday, hitting $127.81. 827,475 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 452,069. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $137.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.36. The stock has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.77 and a beta of 0.53. Qualys has a 12-month low of $112.61 and a 12-month high of $155.47.

Insider Activity at Qualys

In other Qualys news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 3,077 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.99, for a total value of $449,211.23. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 71,776 shares in the company, valued at $10,478,578.24. This trade represents a 4.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 7,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.59, for a total value of $1,100,304.54. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 108,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,842,567.66. This represents a 6.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 37,628 shares of company stock valued at $5,343,650 over the last quarter. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Qualys

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Qualys by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,081,015 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $143,051,000 after buying an additional 29,342 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Qualys by 46.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,012,100 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $144,133,000 after acquiring an additional 323,324 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Qualys by 2.1% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 695,732 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $92,077,000 after purchasing an additional 14,380 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Qualys by 0.8% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 545,655 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $72,207,000 after purchasing an additional 4,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Qualys by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 506,792 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $72,400,000 after purchasing an additional 57,142 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird set a $150.00 price target on shares of Qualys in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Qualys from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Qualys from $150.00 to $139.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on shares of Qualys in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (down previously from $145.00) on shares of Qualys in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.57.

About Qualys

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.