Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) Updates Q3 2026 Earnings Guidance

Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) updated its third quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 1.000-1.010 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 0.950. The company issued revenue guidance of $834.0 million-$836.0 million, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $831.4 million. Zscaler also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 3.990-4.020 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Zscaler from $354.00 to $267.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Zscaler from $330.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Zscaler from $300.00 to $250.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Zscaler in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Zscaler from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $228.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $293.84.

Zscaler Trading Up 7.5%

Zscaler stock traded up $11.66 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $167.36. 6,325,279 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,486,555. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -643.67, a PEG ratio of 304.47 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a current ratio of 1.82. Zscaler has a fifty-two week low of $141.56 and a fifty-two week high of $336.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $201.91 and its 200-day moving average is $256.68.

Zscaler (NASDAQ:ZS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $815.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $798.92 million. Zscaler had a negative net margin of 1.45% and a negative return on equity of 0.12%. Zscaler has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.000-1.010 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 3.990-4.020 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Zscaler will post -0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Zscaler

In other news, CEO Jagtar Singh Chaudhry sold 2,843 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.82, for a total value of $656,221.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 347,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,292,352.74. This represents a 0.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert Schlossman sold 2,349 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.79, for a total value of $546,823.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 74,653 shares in the company, valued at $17,378,471.87. This represents a 3.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,350 shares of company stock worth $4,471,509. 17.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Zscaler News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Zscaler this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results topped expectations and management raised ARR guidance to 24% — Revenue $815.8M vs. ~$799M est; adjusted EPS $1.01 vs. $0.89 est. Management raised FY26 ARR growth target to 24%, a clear positive signal for recurring revenue momentum. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: ARR and cash-flow expansion: ARR +25% YoY to $3.359B; operating cash flow +14% to $204.1M; free cash flow +18% to $169.1M — these improve the quality of revenue and support valuation arguments for subscription growth. Quarter Summary
• Positive Sentiment: AI security momentum: company’s AI Security offering reportedly reached ~$400M ARR by Q1 2026, providing a fast‑growing monetization avenue beyond traditional seat‑based SaaS. This supports long‑term growth upside if adoption continues. SA Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: GAAP profitability remains negative: the company reported a GAAP loss of $34.3M (‑$0.21/sh) and negative net margin/ROE metrics, meaning adjusted results rely on exclusion of stock comp and one‑offs — a mixed read for fundamental investors. Earnings Snapshot
• Neutral Sentiment: Pre‑earnings analyst upgrades and revisions anticipated a stronger quarter, which may have amplified the post‑earnings move; several analysts updated models ahead of the call. Benzinga Preview
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst skepticism remains: TD Cowen and BTIG published pessimistic forecasts, and some sell‑side commentary highlights valuation and competitive pressure as downside risks — these dissenting views can cap upside. TD Cowen Note BTIG Note
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive and valuation concerns highlighted in market coverage may keep volatility high; Investing.com notes competition and stretched multiples remain a test for the stock. Investing.com
• Negative Sentiment: Recent analyst downgrades earlier this week contributed to intraday weakness before the print, showing sensitivity to sell‑side views despite underlying ARR growth. Downgrade Coverage

Institutional Trading of Zscaler

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Binnacle Investments Inc bought a new position in Zscaler during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Zscaler in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Zscaler in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Zscaler in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Zscaler by 105.5% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. now owns 215 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 4,111 shares in the last quarter. 46.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Zscaler Company Profile

Zscaler is a cloud security company that delivers a cloud-native platform to protect users, applications and data as organizations move away from traditional, network-centric security architectures. The company focuses on a zero trust approach that assumes no implicit trust for users or devices, providing secure access to the internet, SaaS applications and private applications regardless of where users are located. Zscaler positions its services as an alternative to legacy appliances and site-centric VPNs, aiming to simplify security while enabling modern, distributed workforces.

Key offerings are built around the Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange, a multi-tenant cloud platform that enforces security and access policies in-line.