Qualys demonstrates elite structural efficiency, consistently maintaining gross margins above 82% while scaling operating margins to 34.7% as of 2026Q1.
| Metric | TTM | Dec'25 | Dec'24 | Dec'23 | Dec'22 | Dec'21 | Dec'20 | Dec'19 | Dec'18 | Dec'17 | Dec'16 | Dec'15 | Dec'14 | Dec'13 | Dec'12 | Dec'11 | Dec'10 |
|---|
| Sales/Revenue | 684.86M | 669.13M | 607.57M | 554.46M | 489.72M | 411.17M | 362.96M | 321.61M | 278.89M | 230.83M | 197.93M | 164.28M | 133.58M | 107.96M | 91.42M | 76.21M | 65.43M |
| Revenue Growth % | 10.17% | 10.13% | 9.58% | 13.22% | 19.1% | 13.28% | 12.86% | 15.32% | 20.82% | 16.62% | 20.48% | 22.99% | 23.73% | 18.09% | 19.95% | 16.48% | - |
| Cost of Goods Sold | 115.83M | 114.77M | 111.48M | 107.48M | 102.79M | 89.44M | 79.23M | 69.52M | 66.19M | 51.58M | 42.47M | 33.88M | 28.96M | 24.66M | 18.4M | 13.25M | 11.2M |
| COGS % of Revenue | - | 17.15% | 18.35% | 19.39% | 20.99% | 21.75% | 21.83% | 21.62% | 23.73% | 22.35% | 21.46% | 20.63% | 21.68% | 22.84% | 20.13% | 17.38% | 17.12% |
| Gross Profit | 569.03M | 554.36M | 496.09M | 446.97M | 386.94M | 321.73M | 283.74M | 252.09M | 212.7M | 179.25M | 155.45M | 130.4M | 104.62M | 83.3M | 73.02M | 62.97M | 54.23M |
| Gross Margin % | 83.09% | 82.85% | 81.65% | 80.61% | 79.01% | 78.25% | 78.17% | 78.38% | 76.27% | 77.65% | 78.54% | 79.37% | 78.32% | 77.16% | 79.87% | 82.62% | 82.88% |
| Gross Profit Growth % | - | 11.75% | 10.99% | 15.52% | 20.27% | 13.39% | 12.55% | 18.52% | 18.66% | 15.31% | 19.21% | 24.65% | 25.59% | 14.09% | 15.96% | 16.11% | - |
| Operating Expenses | 337.95M | 332.4M | 308.89M | 283.9M | 256.39M | 234.05M | 187.08M | 179.84M | 162.34M | 142M | 125.34M | 105.59M | 95.37M | 80.99M | 70.01M | 60.06M | 53.02M |
| OpEx % of Revenue | - | 49.68% | 50.84% | 51.2% | 52.35% | 56.92% | 51.54% | 55.92% | 58.21% | 61.52% | 63.33% | 64.27% | 71.4% | 75.02% | 76.58% | 78.81% | 81.03% |
| Selling, General & Admin | 220.8M | 215.12M | 197.04M | 173.43M | 155.2M | 152.76M | 114.53M | 111.6M | 109.09M | 99.19M | 90.08M | 76.14M | 69.05M | 59.31M | 49.82M | 40.43M | 37.24M |
| SG&A % of Revenue | - | 32.15% | 32.43% | 31.28% | 31.69% | 37.15% | 31.56% | 34.7% | 39.12% | 42.97% | 45.51% | 46.35% | 51.69% | 54.94% | 54.49% | 53.04% | 56.91% |
| Research & Development | 117.15M | 117.28M | 111.85M | 110.47M | 101.19M | 81.29M | 72.55M | 68.24M | 53.26M | 42.82M | 35.27M | 29.45M | 26.32M | 21.68M | 20.2M | 19.63M | 15.78M |
| R&D % of Revenue | - | 17.53% | 18.41% | 19.92% | 20.66% | 19.77% | 19.99% | 21.22% | 19.1% | 18.55% | 17.82% | 17.93% | 19.7% | 20.08% | 22.09% | 25.76% | 24.12% |
| Other Operating Expenses | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -801K | -536K | -972K | -850K | 0 | -517K | -188K | -8K | -11K |
| Operating Income | 231.08M | 221.95M | 187.2M | 163.07M | 130.55M | 87.68M | 96.65M | 72.25M | 50.36M | 37.24M | 30.11M | 24.81M | 9.25M | 2.31M | 3M | 2.91M | 1.21M |
| Operating Margin % | 33.74% | 33.17% | 30.81% | 29.41% | 26.66% | 21.33% | 26.63% | 22.47% | 18.06% | 16.13% | 15.21% | 15.1% | 6.92% | 2.14% | 3.29% | 3.81% | 1.85% |
| Operating Income Growth % | - | 18.57% | 14.8% | 24.91% | 48.89% | -9.28% | 33.77% | 43.47% | 35.22% | 23.7% | 21.37% | 168.26% | 300.48% | -23.14% | 3.37% | 140.36% | - |
| EBITDA | 241.4M | 236.44M | 205.71M | 190.06M | 165.17M | 123.58M | 129.5M | 103.45M | 79.27M | 57.88M | 47.1M | 39.17M | 21.14M | 11.92M | 10.35M | 8.28M | 5.78M |
| EBITDA Margin % | 35.25% | 35.34% | 33.86% | 34.28% | 33.73% | 30.06% | 35.68% | 32.17% | 28.42% | 25.07% | 23.8% | 23.84% | 15.83% | 11.04% | 11.32% | 10.86% | 8.83% |
| EBITDA Growth % | 14.06% | 14.94% | 8.23% | 15.07% | 33.65% | -4.57% | 25.18% | 30.52% | 36.95% | 22.88% | 20.26% | 85.23% | 77.37% | 15.23% | 24.95% | 43.28% | - |
| D&A (Non-Cash Add-back) | 10.31M | 14.49M | 18.51M | 26.99M | 34.62M | 35.9M | 32.84M | 31.2M | 28.9M | 20.64M | 16.99M | 14.36M | 11.9M | 9.61M | 7.34M | 5.37M | 4.57M |
| EBIT | 242M | 246.83M | 187.2M | 163.07M | 130.55M | 87.68M | 102.05M | 80.09M | 50.36M | 39.38M | 30.45M | 24.53M | 9.25M | 2.08M | 2.77M | 2.57M | 829K |
| Net Interest Income | 19.02M | 25.25M | 25.78M | 16.91M | 5.19M | 2.29M | 5.38M | 8.34M | 5.91M | 2.67M | 1.29M | 564K | 443K | 332K | -178K | -190K | -183K |
| Interest Income | 25.19M | 25.25M | 25.78M | 16.91M | 5.19M | 2.29M | 5.38M | 8.44M | 6.08M | 2.67M | 1.32M | 570K | 452K | 375K | 14K | 14K | 3K |
| Interest Expense | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9K | 106K | 172K | 3K | 26K | 6K | 9K | 43K | 192K | 204K | 186K |
| Other Income/Expense | 22.43M | 24.88M | 22.63M | 15.58M | 3.15M | 1.71M | 5.38M | 7.73M | 5.11M | 2.13M | 322K | -286K | -634K | -185K | -366K | -536K | -566K |
| Pretax Income | 253.51M | 246.83M | 209.82M | 178.65M | 133.7M | 89.4M | 102.04M | 79.98M | 55.47M | 39.38M | 30.43M | 24.52M | 8.61M | 2.12M | 2.64M | 2.37M | 643K |
| Pretax Margin % | 37.02% | 36.89% | 34.53% | 32.22% | 27.3% | 21.74% | 28.11% | 24.87% | 19.89% | 17.06% | 15.37% | 14.93% | 6.45% | 1.97% | 2.89% | 3.11% | 0.98% |
| Income Tax | 52.08M | 48.51M | 36.14M | 27.06M | 25.71M | 18.44M | 10.46M | 10.65M | -1.84M | -1.06M | 11.21M | 8.65M | -21.63M | 500K | 358K | 416K | -204K |
| Effective Tax Rate % | 20.54% | 19.65% | 17.23% | 15.14% | 19.23% | 20.62% | 10.26% | 13.31% | -3.31% | -2.7% | 36.82% | 35.3% | -251.14% | 23.54% | 13.57% | 17.55% | -31.73% |
| Net Income | 201.43M | 198.32M | 173.68M | 151.59M | 107.99M | 70.96M | 91.57M | 69.34M | 57.3M | 40.44M | 19.22M | 15.87M | 30.24M | 1.62M | 2.28M | 1.95M | 847K |
| Net Margin % | 29.41% | 29.64% | 28.59% | 27.34% | 22.05% | 17.26% | 25.23% | 21.56% | 20.55% | 17.52% | 9.71% | 9.66% | 22.64% | 1.5% | 2.49% | 2.56% | 1.29% |
| Net Income Growth % | 10.99% | 14.19% | 14.57% | 40.38% | 52.19% | -22.51% | 32.07% | 21% | 41.7% | 110.36% | 21.17% | -47.54% | 1762.32% | -28.77% | 16.68% | 130.7% | - |
| Net Income (Continuing) | 201.43M | 198.32M | 173.68M | 151.59M | 107.99M | 70.96M | 91.57M | 69.34M | 57.3M | 40.44M | 19.22M | 15.87M | 30.24M | 1.54M | 2.22M | 1.95M | 847K |
| Discontinued Operations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minority Interest | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| EPS (Diluted) | 5.65 | 5.44 | 4.65 | 4.03 | 2.74 | 1.77 | 2.24 | 1.68 | 1.37 | 1.01 | 0.50 | 0.42 | 0.81 | 0.05 | 0.08 | 0.08 | 0.03 |
| EPS Growth % | 13.91% | 16.99% | 15.38% | 47.08% | 54.8% | -20.98% | 33.33% | 22.63% | 35.64% | 102% | 19.05% | -48.15% | 1520% | -37.5% | -1.11% | 143.67% | - |
| EPS (Basic) | - | 5.49 | 4.72 | 4.11 | 2.81 | 1.82 | 2.34 | 1.77 | 1.37 | 1.08 | 0.55 | 0.47 | 0.92 | 0.05 | 0.09 | 0.08 | 0.03 |
| Diluted Shares Outstanding | 35.68M | 36.45M | 37.35M | 37.6M | 39.34M | 40.12M | 40.82M | 41.34M | 41.9M | 40.07M | 38.37M | 38.18M | 37.17M | 35.97M | 28.35M | 5.39M | 5.39M |
| Basic Shares Outstanding | 35.61M | 36.14M | 36.8M | 36.88M | 38.45M | 39.03M | 39.17M | 39.08M | 41.83M | 37.44M | 35.25M | 34.05M | 32.98M | 31.91M | 11.89M | 5.39M | 5.39M |
| Dividend Payout Ratio | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Competitive commoditization of VM
According to recent quarterly filings, Qualys has maintained a remarkably consistent revenue growth trajectory, hovering near the 10% year-over-year mark, which suggests that the company's subscription-based model remains resilient despite broader macroeconomic headwinds and increasing competition from cloud-native security providers within the vulnerability management space.
The stability of the top-line growth indicates that the company's land-and-expand strategy is effectively offsetting potential churn in its legacy customer base. Investors should monitor whether this growth rate can be sustained as the company faces pressure from platform-wide security bundles offered by larger hyperscale competitors.
As reported in financial statements, Qualys consistently delivers gross margins exceeding 82%, a level of profitability that highlights the structural efficiency of its multi-tenant cloud architecture compared to the more fragmented, lower-margin delivery models utilized by direct competitors like Rapid7 and Tenable in the current market.
This high margin profile suggests significant pricing power and a low marginal cost of service delivery, which provides a substantial buffer against potential pricing wars. The consistency of these margins implies that the company has successfully avoided the margin-dilutive service-heavy engagements that often plague other infrastructure software firms.
Based on the provided income statement data, Qualys demonstrates disciplined operating leverage, with operating margins consistently scaling above 30% as the company manages its SG&A expenses relative to gross profit, reflecting a management team that prioritizes bottom-line profitability over aggressive, loss-leading market share acquisition strategies.
The ability to maintain such high operating margins while continuing to invest in R&D suggests that the company is not currently forced to overspend on sales and marketing to maintain its existing customer base. This operational efficiency appears to be a core differentiator that separates Qualys from its less profitable peers.
Analysis of the company's recent filings reveals a high quality of earnings, characterized by consistent GAAP net income and a notable absence of the heavy stock-based compensation dilution that frequently obscures the true profitability of many other high-growth technology companies in the current market environment.
The alignment between net income and operational performance suggests that the company's profitability is driven by core business execution rather than non-operating items or aggressive accounting adjustments. Investors should continue to watch for any shifts in SBC levels, as a sudden increase could signal a change in the company's conservative compensation philosophy.
While the company maintains strong profitability, the potential for margin compression remains a significant risk, as the emergence of agentless scanning technologies and bundled security offerings from Microsoft may force Qualys to increase its R&D and marketing spend to defend its core vulnerability management market share.
The current valuation may be predicated on the assumption that the company's 'single agent' moat is impenetrable, yet the shift toward cloud-native, snapshot-based security could render this architectural advantage less relevant over time. A failure to pivot effectively could lead to a deceleration in growth that the market is not currently pricing in.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying QLYS stock.
For fiscal year 2025, Qualys, Inc. (QLYS) reported total revenue of $669.1M. This represents a 922.6% increase compared to $65.4M in 2010.
Qualys, Inc. (QLYS) is profitable, generating $198.3M in net income for the fiscal year ending 2025 with a net profit margin of 29.6%.
Qualys, Inc. (QLYS) reported an operating income of $222.0M, resulting in an operating profit margin of 33.2%. This margin reflects the operational efficiency of the business before interest and taxes.
Qualys, Inc. (QLYS) generated $554.4M in gross profit for the year, representing a gross profit margin of 82.8%. This demonstrates the company's core pricing power and production efficiency.