Qualys Focuses On SaaS App Security

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According to a recent Markets and Markets report, the global security and vulnerability management market is expected to grow 5% annually to $15.5 billion by 2025 from an estimated $12.5 billion in 2020. Cloud services security provider Qualys (Nasdaq: QLYS) recently announced its fourth quarter results that outpaced market expectations. Qualys is building on its partnerships to continue to drive growth.

Qualys’ Financials

For the fourth quarter of the year, Qualys’s revenues grew 12% to $94.8 million, surpassing the market’s estimates by 0.21%. Net income of $23.8 million improved from $20.7 million a year ago. On an adjusted basis, EPS was $0.71 compared with $0.62 a year ago and in line with the market’s estimates.

For the year, revenues grew 13% to $363 million. Net income was $91.6 million, or $2.24 per share, up from $69.3 million, or $1.68 per share a year ago.

For the first quarter, Qualys forecast revenues of $94.8-$95.4 million and adjusted earnings of $0.37-$0.39 a share. The market was looking for revenues of $97.17 million with an EPS of $0.69. Qualys expects to end the year with revenues of $399-$402 million and EPS of $1.39-$1.44. The market was looking for revenues of $409 million and an EPS of $2.99 for the year.

Qualys’s Product Expansion

During the quarter, Qualys announced an expanded partnership with Google Cloud. The integration will allow both security and DevOps teams to create automated security scans of container artifacts in its now generally available Artifact Registry. The product, Qualys Container Security, scans and assesses images to look for software inventory and vulnerabilities as well as misconfigurations. It will also be able to provide a unified view throughout multiple Google Cloud regions. Customers will be able to leverage this security posture of the images to automate security workflows such as the container deployments in Google Cloud Build as well as integrate with DevOps ticketing systems.

It also announced the extension of its partnership with Armor. As part of the agreement, Armor will integrate the Qualys CloudView app, which includes Cloud Inventory and Cloud Security Assessment, into its own cloud security platform Armor Anywhere. With Qualys Cloud Agents previously embedded and integrated in the Armor platform, it will be able to provide compliance and public cloud workload monitoring to Armor.

Earlier this month, Qualys also introduced Qualys SaaS Detection and Response (SaaSDR), a single console for IT and security teams to gain continuous visibility, security, and compliance of critical SaaS apps. The offering streamlines and automates the process of managing SaaS security, risk and compliance to deliver automated, up-to-date inventory and control over SaaS apps. The initial release will provide native support for Google Workspace, Microsoft Office 365, Zoom, and Salesforce. As applications migrate from on-premises to IaaS and SaaS, security across the application stacks will need to be strengthened. Qualys SaaSDR aims to address those issues by providing user and device visibility, powerful access controls, and data exposure insights.

Qualys announced that longtime CEO Philippe Courtot was taking a leave of absence due to health issues. Current Chief Product Officer Sumedh Thakar was appointed the interim CEO. Sumedh brings with him 20 years’ experience in leading product development at Qualys. While the news was expected, the market wasn’t too pleased. The stock fell 5% in the after hours session on the announcement of the transition.

Qualys’s stock is currently trading at $105.07 with a market capitalization of $4.1 billion. It touched a 52-week high of $148.84 last month and a 52-week low of $63.37 in March last year.

Disclosure: All investors should make their own assessments based on their own research, informed interpretations, and risk appetite. This article expresses my own opinions based on my own research of product-market fit, channel execution, and other factors. My primary interest is in product strategy. While this may have bearing on stock movements, my writings tend to focus on long-term implications. The information presented is illustrative and educational, but should not be regarded as a complete analysis nor recommendation to buy or sell the securities mentioned herein. I am not a registered investment adviser and I am not receiving compensation for this article. I am an investor in this company.

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