The end of the earnings season is always a good time to take a step back and see who shined (and who not so much). Let’s have a look at how the cybersecurity stocks have fared in Q2, starting with Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS).
Cybersecurity continues to be one of the fastest growing segments within software for good reason. Almost every company is slowly finding itself becoming a technology company and facing rising cybersecurity risks. Businesses are accelerating adoption of cloud based software, moving data and applications into the cloud to save costs while improving performance. This migration has opened them to a multitude of new threats, like employees accessing data via their smartphone while on an open network, or logging into a web-based interface from a laptop in a new location.
The 9 cybersecurity stocks we track reported a mixed Q2; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 2.88%, while on average next quarter revenue guidance was 0.31% under consensus. Tech multiples have reverted to the historical mean after reaching all time levels in early 2021 and cybersecurity stocks have not been spared, with share prices down 26.9% since the previous earnings results, on average.
Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS)
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.
Qualys reported revenues of $119.8 million, up 20.2% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 2%. It was a good quarter for the company, with a decent beat of analyst estimates and revenue guidance for the next quarter above analysts' estimates.
"We are pleased to report another quarter of strong revenue growth and cash flow generation," said Sumedh Thakar, president and CEO.
![Qualys Total Revenue](https://news-assets.stockstory.org/chart-images/Qualys-Total-Revenue_2022-10-11-072156_jjin.png)
The stock is up 2.87% since the results and currently trades at $131.12.
Is now the time to buy Qualys? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.
Best Q2: SentinelOne (NYSE:S)
With roots in the Israeli cyber intelligence community, SentinelOne (NYSE:S) provides software to help organizations efficiently detect, prevent, and investigate cyber attacks.
SentinelOne reported revenues of $102.5 million, up 124% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 7.15%. It was a very strong quarter for the company, with an exceptional revenue growth and a significant improvement in net revenue retention rate.
![SentinelOne Total Revenue](https://news-assets.stockstory.org/chart-images/SentinelOne-Total-Revenue_2022-10-11-072159_czfo.png)
SentinelOne achieved the strongest analyst estimates beat, fastest revenue growth, and highest full year guidance raise among its peers. The company added 164 enterprise customers paying more than $100,000 annually to a total of 755. The stock is down 11.6% since the results and currently trades at $24.11.
Is now the time to buy SentinelOne? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.
Weakest Q2: ForgeRock (NYSE:FORG)
Founded in Norway by former Sun Microsystems engineers, ForgeRock (NYSE:FORG) offers software as a service that helps companies secure and manage the identity of their customers and employees.
ForgeRock reported revenues of $47.6 million, up 8.47% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 1.05%. It was a decent quarter for the company, with revenue guidance for both the next quarter and full year missing analysts' expectations.
ForgeRock had the slowest revenue growth and weakest full year guidance update in the group. The stock is down 31.8% since the results and currently trades at $15.16.
Read our full analysis of ForgeRock's results here.
Rapid7 (NASDAQ:RPD)
Founded in 2000 with the idea that network security comes before endpoint security, Rapid7 (NASDAQ:RPD) provides software as a service that helps companies understand where they are exposed to cyber security risks, quickly detect breaches and respond to them.
Rapid7 reported revenues of $167.4 million, up 32.4% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 2.03%. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with accelerating customer growth but an underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter.
The company added 217 customers to a total of 10,624. The stock is down 44.3% since the results and currently trades at $39.91.
Read our full, actionable report on Rapid7 here, it's free.
Palo Alto Networks (NYSE:PANW)
Founded in 2005 by a cybersecurity engineer Nir Zuk, Palo Alto Networks makes hardware and software cybersecurity products that protect companies from cyberattacks, breaches and malware threats.
Palo Alto Networks reported revenues of $1.55 billion, up 27.1% year on year, in line with analyst expectations. It was a decent quarter for the company, with a full year guidance beating analysts' expectations.
Palo Alto Networks had the weakest performance against analyst estimates among the peers. The stock is down 6.26% since the results and currently trades at $163.14.
Read our full, actionable report on Palo Alto Networks here, it's free.
The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned