Looking back on cybersecurity stocks' Q4 earnings, we examine this quarters’ best and worst performers, including Tenable (NASDAQ:TENB) and its peers.
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 been under pressure since the end of last year, but cybersecurity stocks held their ground better than others, with the share price up 19.2% since earnings, on average.
Tenable (NASDAQ:TENB)
Founded in 2002 by three cybersecurity veterans, Tenable (NASDAQ:TENB) provides software as a service that helps companies understand where they are exposed to cyber security risk and how to reduce it.
Tenable reported revenues of $149 million, up 26.1% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 3.09%. It was a strong quarter for the company, with full year guidance beating analysts' expectations.
"Q4 capped a tremendous year for Tenable, and included accelerated year-over-year CCB growth of 29%,” said Amit Yoran, chairman and chief executive officer of Tenable.
The stock is up 21.2% since the results and currently trades at $62.95.
Is now the time to buy Tenable? 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 and an impressive beat of analyst estimates.
SailPoint achieved the strongest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The stock is up 55.1% since the results and currently trades at $64.16, partly on the announcement that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Thoma Bravo.
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 an underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter.
ForgeRock had the weakest full year guidance update in the group. The stock is up 34.3% since the results and currently trades at $22.27.
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 a very optimistic guidance for the next quarter.
The stock is down 12.7% since the results and currently trades at $230.12.
Read our full, actionable report on Zscaler here, it's free.
CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD)
Founded by George Kurtz, the former CTO of the antivirus company McAfee, CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) provides cybersecurity software that protects companies from breaches and helps them detect and respond to cyber attacks.
CrowdStrike reported revenues of $431 million, up 62.6% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 4.51%. It was a strong quarter for the company, with an exceptional revenue growth and a full year guidance beating analysts' expectations.
CrowdStrike delivered the highest full year guidance raise among the peers. The company added 1,638 customers to a total of 16,325. The stock is up 38.6% since the results and currently trades at $235.73.
Read our full, actionable report on CrowdStrike here, it's free.
The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned