Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.20 EPS

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The software maker reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.78 by $0.20, FiscalAI reports. Qualys had a net margin of 29.41% and a return on equity of 37.15%. The business had revenue of $182.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Qualys updated its FY 2026 guidance to 7.740-7.880 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance to 1.910-1.980 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Qualys’ conference call:

• Qualys raised its full-year 2026 revenue and EPS guidance, now expecting revenue of $732 million–$738 million, up 9%–10%, and EPS of $7.74–$7.88. Second-quarter revenue grew 11% to $182.2 million, while adjusted EBITDA margin reached 46%.
• The company reported increasing adoption of its Enterprise TruRisk Management platform, AI-native Risk Operations Center, and autonomous remediation products. Qualys highlighted large customer expansions, including a low-seven-figure QFlex upsell, and said channel revenue rose 22% year over year.
• Qualys introduced new AI-focused capabilities, including InstaScan for near-instant vulnerability detection, expanded autonomous remediation, and TotalAI 2.0 for securing enterprise AI environments. Management said benchmarking reduced exposure windows from 21 days to minutes and autonomously patched 60% of vulnerabilities.
• Management said post-Mythos demand is generating stronger customer conversations, proof-of-concepts, and pipeline activity, but most opportunities remain early and have not yet materially converted into spending. The company therefore maintained a cautious second-half current-billings assumption of 7%–8% growth.
• Net dollar expansion improved to 105% from 104% in the prior quarter, while the company continued investing in sales and marketing and repurchased $76.8 million of stock. Qualys also cited a growing federal pipeline, supported by its FedRAMP High platform and new rapid-detection and remediation requirements.

Qualys Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:QLYS traded up $24.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $185.43. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 797,255 shares, compared to its average volume of 765,966. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $131.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.99. Qualys has a 52 week low of $74.51 and a 52 week high of $201.54. The company has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.26 and a beta of 0.60.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

QLYS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Qualys from $139.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Northland Securities set a $208.00 target price on shares of Qualys in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $180.00 price target on shares of Qualys in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $175.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of Qualys in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $190.00 target price on shares of Qualys in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.87.

Key Qualys News

Here are the key news stories impacting Qualys this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results exceeded expectations. Qualys reported earnings of $1.98 per share, above the $1.78 analyst consensus and up from $1.68 a year earlier. Revenue increased 11.1% year over year to $182.18 million, exceeding estimates of $178.57 million. Qualys Tops Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Full-year guidance was raised substantially. Qualys now expects 2026 revenue of $732 million to $738 million, compared with its prior range of $721 million to $727 million. Full-year EPS guidance of $7.74 to $7.88 is also above the $7.16 consensus estimate. Third-quarter revenue and EPS forecasts likewise topped Wall Street expectations. Qualys Announces Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability and demand trends remain supportive. Adjusted EBITDA reached $83.8 million. Management highlighted AI-related security products, Risk Operations Center adoption, federal business momentum, partner execution and early QFlex engagement as growth opportunities.
• Positive Sentiment: New vulnerability-detection technology could support future sales. Qualys launched InstaScan, designed to identify newly disclosed vulnerabilities rapidly using existing asset telemetry and AI-driven correlation. Qualys Launches InstaScan
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor outreach is scheduled. Qualys management will participate in a fireside chat and hold one-on-one meetings at Canaccord Genuity’s 46th Annual Growth Conference. The event may provide additional visibility but does not immediately change financial forecasts. Qualys to Speak at Upcoming Investor Conference
• Negative Sentiment: An insider sale provides a modest counterpoint. CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,627 shares for approximately $249,000 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale represented about 2.1% of her holdings and is less concerning than an unexpected discretionary sale, but continued insider selling may temper sentiment.

Insider Activity at Qualys

In other news, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 2,384 shares of Qualys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.18, for a total value of $238,829.12. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 66,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,642,034.18. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Joo Mi Kim sold 1,627 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.17, for a total value of $162,976.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,335,245.87. The trade was a 1.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 76,855 shares of company stock valued at $9,706,670 over the last ninety days. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Qualys

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in QLYS. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Qualys by 31.1% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,014 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,198,000 after buying an additional 2,140 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Qualys during the 4th quarter worth approximately $277,000. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Qualys during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in Qualys by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,148 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $551,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Qualys in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $78,591,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

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.