The end of an earnings season can be a great time to assess how companies are handling the current business environment and discover new stocks. Let’s have a look at how Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) and the rest of the cybersecurity stocks fared in Q4.
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 10 cybersecurity stocks we track reported a strong Q4; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 5.66%, while on average next quarter revenue guidance was 3.48% above consensus. Tech stocks have had a rocky start in 2022 , but cybersecurity stocks held their ground better than others, with the share price up 14.9% since earnings, 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 $109.7 million, up 15.8% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 1.2%. It was a strong quarter for the company, with a very strong guidance for the next year and a full year guidance beating analysts' expectations.
"We delivered strong operating results for the fourth quarter, reflecting a year of early progress advancing our go-to-market initiatives, significant platform innovation, and strong momentum heading into 2022," said Sumedh Thakar, president and CEO of Qualys.
Qualys delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth of the whole group. The stock is up 3.96% since the results and currently trades at $140.
Is now the time to buy Qualys? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.
Best Q4: SailPoint (NYSE:SAIL)
Started by Mark McClain after his previous identity management company got acquired by Sun Microsystems, SailPoint (NYSE:SAIL) provides software for organizations to manage the digital identity of employees, customers, and partners.
SailPoint reported revenues of $135.5 million, up 31.2% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 19.1%. It was an exceptional quarter for the company, with a significant improvement in gross margin compared to the previous quarter and an impressive beat of analyst estimates.
SailPoint achieved the strongest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The stock is up 23.7% since the results and currently trades at $51.18.
Is now the time to buy SailPoint? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.
Weakest Q4: 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 $47.9 million, up 19.3% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 1.69%. It was a weak quarter for the company, with a decline in gross margin and guidance for the next quarter below analyst estimates.
ForgeRock had the weakest full year guidance update in the group. The stock is up 32.2% since the results and currently trades at $21.92.
Read our full analysis of ForgeRock's results here.
Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS)
After successfully selling all four of his previous cybersecurity companies, Jay Chaudhry's fifth venture, Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) offers software as a service that helps companies securely connect to applications and networks in the cloud.
Zscaler reported revenues of $255.5 million, up 62.7% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 5.66%. It was an impressive quarter for the company, with an exceptional revenue growth and guidance for the next quarter above analysts' estimates.
The stock is down 8.49% since the results and currently trades at $241.28.
Read our full, actionable report on Zscaler here, it's free.
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 $151.6 million, up 34% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 3.94%. It was a solid quarter for the company, with a full year guidance beating analysts' expectations.
The company added 374 customers to a total of 10,283. The stock is up 10.8% since the results and currently trades at $111.24.
Read our full, actionable report on Rapid7 here, it's free.
The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned