Earnings results often indicate what direction a company will take in the months ahead. With Q4 behind us, let’s have a look at 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 9 cybersecurity stocks we track reported a mixed Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.1% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.
While some cybersecurity stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they have collectively declined. On average, share prices are down 4.4% since the latest earnings results.
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 $235.7 million, up 10.5% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 1.8%. Despite the top-line beat, it was still a mixed quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but EPS guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations.
“We are very pleased with the results for the quarter as we delivered better-than-expected CCB, revenue, operating income, EPS and unlevered free cash flow,” said Steve Vintz, Co-CEO and CFO of Tenable.
The stock is down 15.3% since reporting and currently trades at $36.59.
Read our full report on Tenable here, it’s free.
Best Q4: 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 $647.9 million, up 23.4% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 2.1%. The business had a very strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA and annual recurring revenue estimates.
The market seems content with the results as the stock is up 2.5% since reporting. It currently trades at $201.60.
Is now the time to buy Zscaler? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Weakest Q4: Varonis (NASDAQ: VRNS)
Founded by a duo of former Israeli Defense Forces cyber warfare engineers, Varonis (NASDAQ: VRNS) offers software-as-service that helps customers protect data from cyber threats and gain visibility into how enterprise data is being used.
Varonis reported revenues of $158.5 million, up 2.9% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 4.2%. It was a softer quarter as it posted full-year EPS guidance missing analysts’ expectations.
Varonis delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth in the group. As expected, the stock is down 12.4% since the results and currently trades at $41.11.
Read our full analysis of Varonis’s results here.
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 $159.2 million, up 10.1% year on year. This print topped analysts’ expectations by 1.9%. More broadly, it was a mixed quarter as it also recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but full-year EPS guidance missing analysts’ expectations.
The stock is down 7.9% since reporting and currently trades at $129.81.
Read our full, actionable report on Qualys 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 $216.3 million, up 5.4% year on year. This result surpassed analysts’ expectations by 1.9%. However, it was a slower quarter as it logged full-year guidance of slowing revenue growth.
Rapid7 had the weakest full-year guidance update among its peers. The company added 108 customers to reach a total of 11,727. The stock is down 20% since reporting and currently trades at $29.40.
Read our full, actionable report on Rapid7 here, it’s free.
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