Qualys Announces First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
Rhea-AI Summary
Qualys (NASDAQ: QLYS) reported Q1 2026 revenue of $175.6M, up 10% year-over-year, GAAP net income of $50.6M ($1.42 GAAP diluted EPS) and non-GAAP net income of $69.6M ($1.95 non-GAAP diluted EPS).
Adjusted EBITDA was $83.3M. Operating cash flow declined 13% to $95.3M. Management raised full-year 2026 revenue guidance to $721.0M–$727.0M and raised EPS ranges for GAAP and non-GAAP.
AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.
Positive
- Revenue +10% YoY to $175.6M in Q1 2026
- Raised FY2026 revenue guidance to $721.0M–$727.0M
- Adjusted EBITDA +11% YoY to $83.3M
Negative
- Operating cash flow -13% YoY to $95.3M
- GAAP net income margin modestly down to 29% of revenue
News Market Reaction – QLYS
On the day this news was published, QLYS declined 1.41%, reflecting a mild negative market reaction. Argus tracked a trough of -2.8% from its starting point during tracking. Our momentum scanner triggered 16 alerts that day, indicating notable trading interest and price volatility. This price movement removed approximately $47M from the company's valuation, bringing the market cap to $3.25B at that time.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
Key Figures
Market Reality Check
Peers on Argus
QLYS showed a 4.47% move with normal volume while peers were mixed: BOX +1.2%, ACIW +1.3%, WEX
Previous Earnings Reports
| Date | Event | Sentiment | Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 05 | Quarterly earnings | Positive | -13.3% | Q4 2025 results with 10% revenue growth and higher 2026 guidance. |
| Nov 04 | Quarterly earnings | Positive | +20.6% | Q3 2025 beat, margin expansion and raised full‑year 2025 guidance. |
| Aug 05 | Quarterly earnings | Positive | -0.2% | Q2 2025 strong results and higher 2025 revenue guidance. |
| May 06 | Quarterly earnings | Positive | +0.6% | Q1 2025 10% revenue growth and guidance raise for 2025. |
| Feb 06 | Quarterly earnings | Positive | -3.6% | Q4 and full‑year 2024 growth with strong margins and buyback increase. |
Earnings releases typically report ~10% revenue growth and strong margins, but price reactions have been mixed, with both rallies and notable selloffs following positive results.
Over the past year, Qualys has consistently reported ~10% year-over-year revenue growth with high gross margins and strong profitability across multiple quarters (Q2–Q4 2024, Q1–Q4 2025). Earnings announcements often included raised full-year guidance and share repurchase increases, yet share-price reactions have ranged from a 20.56% gain to a 13.31% decline. Today’s Q1 2026 report, with 10% revenue growth and higher 2026 guidance, continues this pattern of steady financial execution.
Historical Comparison
Across five recent earnings releases, QLYS saw an average move of 0.81% with mixed reactions to generally strong 10% growth and guidance raises. Today’s modest 4.47% move fits within this historical range, reflecting steady but not extreme responses to earnings.
Earnings releases from Q4 2024 through Q4 2025 show recurring ~10% revenue growth, expanding margins, and repeated guidance raises, with Q1 2026 continuing that steady financial trajectory.
Market Pulse Summary
This announcement highlights Q1 2026 revenue of $175.6M with 10% year‑over‑year growth, strong GAAP and non‑GAAP profitability, and raised full‑year 2026 revenue and EPS guidance. Historically, Qualys has delivered similar growth and margin profiles across multiple quarters, though market reactions have varied. Investors evaluating this update may focus on sustainability of high margins, the 13% decline in operating cash flow, insider trading patterns, and how guidance compares to prior targets.
Key Terms
gaap financial
non-gaap financial
adjusted ebitda financial
operating cash flow financial
effective income tax rate financial
AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.
Q1 Revenue Growth of
Raises 2026 Revenue Guidance to
"We are pioneering a new category in pre-breach risk management by bringing autonomous exploit validation, risk quantification, and remediation together within a single AI-driven risk fabric that redefines how enterprises operationalize cyber risk," said Sumedh Thakar, Qualys' president and CEO. "This quarter's solid results in part reflect the tangible impact of our AI-native Risk Operations Center and growing adoption of our Enterprise TruRisk Management solution, continuous innovation, expanding partner ecosystem, and promising early engagement from QFlex. Powered by a differentiated closed-loop system of record, a growing marketplace of agentic AI solutions, and leading model integrations, we are unifying cyber risk workflows, reducing operational complexity, and addressing security's toughest challenges at the speed of modern attacks. This reinforces our confidence in delivering durable, long-term profitable growth through the innovation and financial discipline that have long defined Qualys."
First Quarter 2026 Financial Highlights
Revenues: Revenues for the first quarter of 2026 increased by
Gross Profit: GAAP gross profit for the first quarter of 2026 increased by
Operating Income: GAAP operating income for the first quarter of 2026 increased by
Net Income: GAAP net income for the first quarter of 2026 increased by
Adjusted EBITDA: Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP financial measure) for the first quarter of 2026 increased by
Operating Cash Flow: Operating cash flow for the first quarter of 2026 decreased by
First Quarter 2026 Business Highlights
- Qualys introduced Agent Val, powered by TruConfirm, an agentic AI-led workflow in our Enterprise TruRisk Management solution. Agent Val identifies high-risk exposures, validates real exploitability, and drives prioritized remediation to help teams shift from chasing volume to reducing verified risk.
- TotalCloud continued to garner top industry recognition. It was named a winner in the SC Awards (Best Cloud Security Management Solution), recognized by Forrester as one of only three Leaders in The Forrester Wave™: Cloud Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP), Q1 2026, and positioned as a Leader in the 2026 GigaOm Radar report for Cloud Identity Entitlement Management (CIEM).
- Qualys Threat Research Unit (TRU) unveiled its latest research report, The Broken Physics of Remediation, analyzing over one billion CISA KEV remediation records across over 10,000 organizations, examining why approaches built on Mean-Time-To-Remediation and prioritization are no longer sufficient, and introducing more accurate ways to measure and manage risk.
- To help partners scale the ROC, Qualys introduced the Risk Operations Center (mROC) portal, providing partners with a unified view of risk across each customer's entire attack surface, empowering them to act on exposures that drive real risk and prove measurable risk reduction through built-in intelligence, validation, and closed-loop execution.
Financial Performance Outlook
Based on information as of today, May 5, 2026, Qualys is issuing the following financial guidance for the second quarter and full year fiscal 2026. The Company emphasizes that the guidance is subject to various important cautionary factors referenced in the sections entitled "Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" and "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" below.
Second Quarter 2026 Guidance: Management expects revenues for the second quarter of 2026 to be in the range of
Full Year 2026 Guidance: Management now expects revenues for the full year of 2026 to be in the range of
Qualys has not reconciled non-GAAP net income per diluted share guidance to GAAP net income per diluted share guidance because Qualys does not provide guidance on the various reconciling cash and non-cash items between GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income (i.e., stock-based compensation, amortization of intangible assets from acquisitions and non-recurring items). The actual dollar amount of reconciling items in the second quarter and full year 2026 is likely to have a significant impact on the Company's GAAP net income per diluted share in the second quarter and full year 2026. A reconciliation of the non-GAAP net income per diluted share guidance to the GAAP net income per diluted share guidance is not available without unreasonable effort.
Investor Conference Call
Qualys will host a conference call and live webcast to discuss its first quarter financial results at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (2:00 p.m. Pacific Time) on Tuesday, May 5, 2026. To access the conference call by phone, please register here. A live webcast of the earnings conference call, investor presentation and prepared remarks can be accessed at https://investor.qualys.com/events-presentations. A replay of the conference call will be available through the same webcast link following the end of the call.
Investor Contact
Blair King
Senior Vice President, Investor Relations and Financial Planning & Analysis
(650) 538-2088
ir@qualys.com
About Qualys
Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ: QLYS) is a leading provider of disruptive cloud-based Security, Compliance and IT solutions with more than 10,000 subscription customers worldwide, including a majority of the Forbes Global 100 and Fortune 100. Qualys helps organizations streamline and consolidate their security and compliance solutions onto a single platform for greater agility, better business outcomes, and substantial cost savings.
The Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Platform leverages a single agent to continuously deliver critical security intelligence while enabling enterprises to automate the full spectrum of vulnerability detection, compliance, and protection for IT systems, workloads and web applications across on premises, endpoints, servers, public and private clouds, containers, and mobile devices. Founded in 1999 as one of the first SaaS security companies, Qualys has strategic partnerships and seamlessly integrates its vulnerability management capabilities into security offerings from cloud service providers, including Amazon Web Services, the Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft Azure, along with a number of leading managed service providers and global consulting organizations. For more information, please visit www.qualys.com.
Qualys, Qualys VMDR® and the Qualys logo are proprietary trademarks of Qualys, Inc. All other products or names may be trademarks of their respective companies.
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or our future financial or operating performance. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, quotations of management and statements related to: the benefits of our existing, new and upcoming products, features, integrations, acquisitions, collaborations and joint solutions, and their impact upon our long-term growth; our ability to advance our value proposition and competitive differentiation in the market; our ability to address demand trends; our ability to maintain and strengthen our category leadership; our ability to solve modern security challenges at scale; our strategies and ability to achieve and maintain durable profitable growth; statements regarding our share repurchase; our guidance for revenues, GAAP EPS and non-GAAP EPS for the second quarter and full year 2026; and our expectations for the number of weighted average diluted shares outstanding and the GAAP and non-GAAP effective income tax rate for the second quarter and full year 2026. Our expectations and beliefs regarding these matters may not materialize, and actual results in future periods are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These risks include our ability to continue to develop platform capabilities and solutions; the ability of our platform and solutions to perform as intended; customer acceptance and purchase of our existing solutions and new solutions; real or perceived defects, errors or vulnerabilities in our products or services; our ability to retain existing customers and generate new customers; the budgeting cycles and seasonal buying patterns of our customers; our ability to maintain government authorizations applicable to our platform; general market, political, economic and business conditions in
The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Qualys as of the date hereof, and Qualys disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
In addition to reporting financial results in accordance with GAAP, Qualys provides investors with certain non-GAAP financial measures, including non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP operating expenses, non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP net income per diluted share, Adjusted EBITDA (defined as earnings before interest expense, interest income and other income (expense), net, income taxes, depreciation, amortization, and stock-based compensation) and non-GAAP free cash flows (defined as cash provided by operating activities less purchases of property and equipment, net of proceeds from disposal).
In computing non-GAAP financial measures, Qualys excludes the effects of stock-based compensation expense, amortization of intangible assets from acquisitions, non-recurring items and for non-GAAP net income, impairment of non-marketable securities and certain tax effects. Qualys believes that these non-GAAP financial measures help illustrate underlying trends in its business that could otherwise be masked by the effect of the income or expenses that are excluded in non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP operating expenses, non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP net income per diluted share, Adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP free cash flows.
Furthermore, Qualys uses some of these non-GAAP financial measures to establish budgets and operational goals for managing its business and evaluating its performance. Qualys believes that non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP operating expenses, non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP net income per diluted share, Adjusted EBITDA and non-GAAP free cash flows provide additional tools for investors to use in comparing its recurring core business operating results over multiple periods with other companies in its industry.
Although Qualys does not focus on or use quarterly billings in managing or monitoring the performance of its business, Qualys provides calculated current billings (defined as total revenues recognized in a period plus the sequential change in current deferred revenue in the corresponding period) for the convenience of investors and analysts in building their own financial models.
In order to provide a more complete picture of recurring core operating business results, the Company's non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income per diluted share include adjustments for non-recurring income tax items and certain tax effects of non-GAAP adjustments to achieve the effective income tax rate on a non-GAAP basis. The Company's non-GAAP effective tax rate may differ from the GAAP effective income tax rate as a result of these income tax adjustments. The Company believes its estimated non-GAAP effective income tax rate of
The presentation of this non-GAAP financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for results prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures discussed in this press release to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures is included with the financial statements contained in this press release. Management uses both GAAP and non-GAAP information in evaluating and operating its business internally and as such has determined that it is important to provide this information to investors.
Qualys, Inc. | |||
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS | |||
(unaudited) | |||
(in thousands, except per share data) | |||
Three Months Ended | |||
2026 | 2025 | ||
Revenues | $ 175,638 | $ 159,899 | |
Cost of revenues (1) | 29,990 | 28,926 | |
Gross profit | 145,648 | 130,973 | |
Operating expenses: | |||
Research and development (1) | 29,020 | 29,154 | |
Sales and marketing (1) | 38,760 | 32,660 | |
General and administrative (1) | 16,983 | 17,404 | |
Total operating expenses | 84,763 | 79,218 | |
Income from operations | 60,885 | 51,755 | |
Other income (expense), net: | |||
Interest income | 6,176 | 6,235 | |
Other income (expense), net | (2,071) | 317 | |
Total other income, net | 4,105 | 6,552 | |
Income before income taxes | 64,990 | 58,307 | |
Income tax provision | 14,347 | 10,773 | |
Net income | $ 50,643 | $ 47,534 | |
Net income per share: | |||
Basic | $ 1.42 | $ 1.30 | |
Diluted | $ 1.42 | $ 1.29 | |
Weighted average shares used in computing net income per share: | |||
Basic | 35,608 | 36,466 | |
Diluted | 35,679 | 36,784 | |
(1) Includes stock-based compensation as follows: | |||
Cost of revenues | $ 2,061 | $ 2,090 | |
Research and development | 4,608 | 5,104 | |
Sales and marketing | 4,189 | 3,200 | |
General and administrative | 8,482 | 8,426 | |
Total stock-based compensation, net of amounts capitalized | $ 19,340 | $ 18,820 | |
Qualys, Inc. | |||
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS | |||
(unaudited) | |||
(in thousands) | |||
March 31, | December 31, | ||
Assets | |||
Current assets: | |||
Cash and cash equivalents | $ 279,468 | $ 250,258 | |
Short-term marketable securities | 191,879 | 195,681 | |
Accounts receivable, net | 134,877 | 170,991 | |
Prepaid expenses and other current assets | 50,367 | 40,686 | |
Total current assets | 656,591 | 657,616 | |
Long-term marketable securities | 258,002 | 250,868 | |
Property and equipment, net | 21,981 | 23,166 | |
Operating leases - right of use asset | 46,651 | 46,001 | |
Deferred tax assets, net | 72,811 | 74,518 | |
Intangible assets, net | 3,615 | 4,255 | |
Goodwill | 7,447 | 7,447 | |
Noncurrent restricted cash | 1,200 | 1,200 | |
Other noncurrent assets | 26,338 | 30,010 | |
Total assets | $ 1,094,636 | $ 1,095,081 | |
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity | |||
Current liabilities: | |||
Accounts payable | $ 2,298 | $ 1,202 | |
Accrued liabilities | 55,438 | 57,694 | |
Deferred revenues, current | 393,800 | 401,127 | |
Operating lease liabilities, current | 7,622 | 7,315 | |
Total current liabilities | 459,158 | 467,338 | |
Deferred revenues, noncurrent | 15,428 | 16,285 | |
Operating lease liabilities, noncurrent | 44,607 | 44,959 | |
Other noncurrent liabilities | 5,570 | 5,346 | |
Total liabilities | 524,763 | 533,928 | |
Stockholders' equity: | |||
Common stock | 35 | 36 | |
Additional paid-in capital | 741,918 | 731,788 | |
Accumulated other comprehensive loss | (4,812) | (4,012) | |
Accumulated deficit | (167,268) | (166,659) | |
Total stockholders' equity | 569,873 | 561,153 | |
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity | $ 1,094,636 | $ 1,095,081 | |
Qualys, Inc. | |||
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS | |||
(unaudited) | |||
(in thousands) | |||
Three Months Ended | |||
2026 | 2025 | ||
Cash flow from operating activities: | |||
Net income | $ 50,643 | $ 47,534 | |
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: | |||
Depreciation and amortization expense | 3,043 | 4,177 | |
Provision for credit losses | 173 | 206 | |
Impairment of property and equipment | 624 | — | |
Impairment of non-marketable securities | 1,967 | — | |
Stock-based compensation, net of amounts capitalized | 19,340 | 18,820 | |
Accretion of discount on marketable securities, net | (524) | (1,107) | |
Deferred income taxes | 1,841 | (4,360) | |
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | |||
Accounts receivable | 35,941 | 42,782 | |
Prepaid expenses and other assets | (7,520) | 162 | |
Accounts payable | 834 | (66) | |
Accrued liabilities and other noncurrent liabilities | (2,884) | 8,265 | |
Deferred revenues | (8,184) | (6,825) | |
Net cash provided by operating activities | 95,294 | 109,588 | |
Cash flow from investing activities: | |||
Purchases of marketable securities | (78,469) | (55,525) | |
Sales and maturities of marketable securities | 73,760 | 50,532 | |
Purchases of property and equipment | (1,667) | (2,038) | |
Net cash used in investing activities | (6,376) | (7,031) | |
Cash flow from financing activities: | |||
Repurchase of common stock | (53,509) | (39,653) | |
Proceeds from exercise of stock options | 325 | 2,599 | |
Payments for taxes related to net share settlement of equity awards | (10,375) | (10,831) | |
Proceeds from issuance of common stock through employee stock purchase plan | 3,851 | 3,817 | |
Net cash used in financing activities | (59,708) | (44,068) | |
Net increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash | 29,210 | 58,489 | |
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of period | 251,458 | 233,382 | |
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period | $ 280,668 | $ 291,871 | |
Qualys, Inc. | |||
RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP DISCLOSURES | |||
ADJUSTED EBITDA | |||
(unaudited) | |||
(in thousands, except percentages) | |||
Three Months Ended | |||
2026 | 2025 | ||
Net income | $ 50,643 | $ 47,534 | |
Net income as a percentage of revenues | 29 % | 30 % | |
Depreciation and amortization of property and equipment | 2,403 | 3,537 | |
Amortization of intangible assets | 640 | 640 | |
Income tax provision | 14,347 | 10,773 | |
Stock-based compensation | 19,340 | 18,820 | |
Total other income, net | (4,105) | (6,552) | |
Adjusted EBITDA | $ 83,268 | $ 74,752 | |
Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of revenues | 47 % | 47 % | |
Qualys, Inc. | |||
RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP DISCLOSURES | |||
(unaudited) | |||
(in thousands, except per share data) | |||
Three Months Ended | |||
2026 | 2025 | ||
GAAP Cost of revenues | $ 29,990 | $ 28,926 | |
Less: Stock-based compensation | (2,061) | (2,090) | |
Less: Amortization of intangible assets | (640) | (640) | |
Non-GAAP Cost of revenues | $ 27,289 | $ 26,196 | |
GAAP Gross profit | $ 145,648 | $ 130,973 | |
Plus: Stock-based compensation | 2,061 | 2,090 | |
Plus: Amortization of intangible assets | 640 | 640 | |
Non-GAAP Gross Profit | $ 148,349 | $ 133,703 | |
GAAP Research and development | $ 29,020 | $ 29,154 | |
Less: Stock-based compensation | (4,608) | (5,104) | |
Non-GAAP Research and development | $ 24,412 | $ 24,050 | |
GAAP Sales and marketing | $ 38,760 | $ 32,660 | |
Less: Stock-based compensation | (4,189) | (3,200) | |
Non-GAAP Sales and marketing | $ 34,571 | $ 29,460 | |
GAAP General and administrative | $ 16,983 | $ 17,404 | |
Less: Stock-based compensation | (8,482) | (8,426) | |
Non-GAAP General and administrative | $ 8,501 | $ 8,978 | |
GAAP Operating expenses | $ 84,763 | $ 79,218 | |
Less: Stock-based compensation | (17,279) | (16,730) | |
Non-GAAP Operating expenses | $ 67,484 | $ 62,488 | |
GAAP Income from operations | $ 60,885 | $ 51,755 | |
Plus: Stock-based compensation | 19,340 | 18,820 | |
Plus: Amortization of intangible assets | 640 | 640 | |
Non-GAAP Income from operations | $ 80,865 | $ 71,215 | |
GAAP Net income | $ 50,643 | $ 47,534 | |
Plus: Stock-based compensation | 19,340 | 18,820 | |
Plus: Amortization of intangible assets | 640 | 640 | |
Plus: Impairment of non-marketable securities | 1,967 | — | |
Less: Tax adjustment | (3,040) | (5,547) | |
Non-GAAP Net income | $ 69,550 | $ 61,447 | |
GAAP Net income per share: | |||
Basic | $ 1.42 | $ 1.30 | |
Diluted | $ 1.42 | $ 1.29 | |
Non-GAAP Net income per share: | |||
Basic | $ 1.95 | $ 1.69 | |
Diluted | $ 1.95 | $ 1.67 | |
Weighted average shares used in GAAP and non-GAAP net income per share: | |||
Basic | 35,608 | 36,466 | |
Diluted | 35,679 | 36,784 | |
Qualys, Inc. | |||
RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP DISCLOSURES | |||
FREE CASH FLOWS | |||
(unaudited) | |||
(in thousands) | |||
Three Months Ended | |||
2026 | 2025 | ||
GAAP Cash flows provided by operating activities | $ 95,294 | $ 109,588 | |
Less: | |||
Purchases of property and equipment, net of proceeds from disposal | (1,667) | (2,038) | |
Non-GAAP Free cash flows | $ 93,627 | $ 107,550 | |
Qualys, Inc. | |||
RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP DISCLOSURES | |||
CALCULATED CURRENT BILLINGS | |||
(unaudited) | |||
(in thousands, except percentages) | |||
Three Months Ended | |||
2026 | 2025 | ||
GAAP Revenue | $ 175,638 | $ 159,899 | |
GAAP Revenue growth compared to same quarter of prior year | 10 % | 10 % | |
Plus: Current deferred revenue at March 31 | 393,800 | 366,824 | |
Less: Current deferred revenue at December 31 | (401,127) | (371,457) | |
Non-GAAP Calculated current billings | $ 168,311 | $ 155,266 | |
Calculated current billings growth compared to same quarter of prior year | 8 % | 7 % | |
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SOURCE Qualys, Inc.