Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.09 EPS

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The software maker reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.09, FiscalAI reports. Qualys had a return on equity of 38.56% and a net margin of 29.64%.The company had revenue of $175.28 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $173.18 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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

QLYS stock opened at $110.80 on Friday. Qualys has a fifty-two week low of $109.72 and a fifty-two week high of $155.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.37 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $137.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.11.

Insider Activity at Qualys

In related news, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 7,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.59, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 6.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 3,077 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.99, for a total transaction of $449,211.23. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 71,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,478,578.24. This represents a 4.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 44,427 shares of company stock worth $6,217,050. Corporate insiders own 0.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Qualys

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QLYS. Horizon Investments LLC bought a new position in Qualys during the 3rd quarter worth $57,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Qualys by 3,218.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 531 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Qualys by 482.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 646 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Qualys in the third quarter worth $137,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Qualys in the second quarter valued at about $213,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on QLYS. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Qualys from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Qualys from $139.00 to $135.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Berenberg Bank assumed coverage on Qualys in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Qualys in a research note on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $120.00 price target (down previously from $130.00) on shares of Qualys in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.46.

Qualys News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualys this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — EPS $1.87 vs. $1.78 est; revenue $175.3M vs. $173.2M and revenue +10.1% YoY, showing steady growth and margin expansion. Qualys Q4 Earnings Surpass Expectations, Revenues Increase Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised forward guidance: FY2026 EPS 7.170–7.450 (vs. consensus ~6.59) and Q1 EPS 1.760–1.830 (vs. ~1.57), which signals confidence in underlying business momentum. Qualys Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Board authorized a $200M increase to the share repurchase program — a capital return that reduces float and supports EPS. Qualys Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Wedbush reaffirmed an Outperform rating and $155 price target, implying substantial upside versus current levels. Wedbush Reaffirms Outperform, $155 PT
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call and presentation emphasize strategic initiatives, stronger channel sales and expanding margins — useful for longer-term thesis but less immediately market-moving than headline beats/guidance. Qualys Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the beat and upgraded guidance, the stock is down today on heavy volume and sits below its 50- and 200-day moving averages — suggesting short-term profit-taking, broader sector pressure or a market re-rating. (Trading stats and moving averages from market data released with the earnings updates.)

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.