Quality Investor

Qualys, Inc.

Rank #75Capital ReturnWatchlistCompare with other stocks

QLYS · Nasdaq · Technology

Qualys, Inc. (QLYS) — Rank #75 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.52) · ROE 35.3% · Piotroski F-Score 7 / 9.

As-of 2026-10-30 · CIK 0001107843 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.

About

Qualys, Inc. provides cloud-based platform delivering information technology (IT), security, and compliance solutions in the United States and internationally.

Show more

The company provides Qualys Cloud Apps, which include cybersecurity asset management; enterprise TruRisk management; vulnerability management, detection, and response; total application security; patch management; custom assessment and remediation; multi-vector endpoint detection and response; policy audit; and file integrity monitoring. It offers TotalCloud, a cloud-native application protection platform, which include cloud workload protection, cloud detection and response, cloud security posture management, infrastructure as code, SaaS security posture management, cloud infrastructure and entitlement management, and Kubernetes and container security. In addition, the company markets and sells IT, security, and compliance solutions; offers Qualys' Enterprise TruRisk platform that enables customers to identify and manage IT and operational technology assets; collect and analyze IT security data; discover and prioritize vulnerabilities; quantify cyber risk exposure; recommend and implement remediation actions; and verify the implementation of such actions. Further, it offers asset tagging and management; reporting and dashboards; questionnaires and collaboration; remediation and workflow; big data correlation and analytics engine; and alerts and notifications. The company offers its solutions to enterprises, government entities, and small and medium-sized businesses in various industries, including education, financial services, government, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, media, retail, technology, and utilities through its sales teams, as well as through security consulting organizations, managed service providers, resellers, cloud providers, and consulting firms. Qualys, Inc.

was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Foster City, California.

Industry
Software - Infrastructure
Sector
Technology
State
DE
Filer Category
Large accelerated filer
Fiscal Year End
December 31
Website
qualys.com

Company Snapshot

P/E and reverse DCF are the primary valuation lenses at this stage.

Market Cap

—

P/E (annual)

—

P/S (annual)

—

P/B

—

P/OCF (annual)

—

Shareholder Yield

—

Employees

2,718

Industry

Software - Infrastructure

Exchange

Nasdaq

12/12

Flags passed

QLYS passes 12/12 quality flags

  • PASS
    Gross margin holding
  • PASS
    Dilution within 2%
  • PASS
    FCF not negative from investment
  • PASS
    Disclosure consistent
  • PASS
    Revenue not declining
  • PASS
    Operating margin holding
  • PASS
    Free cash flow intact
  • PASS
    Passes safety gate
  • PASS
    Balance sheet stable
  • PASS
    No competitive retreat
  • PASS
    SBC not compressing margin
  • PASS
    No valuation convergence

Strengths Revenue growth accelerating · Operating leverage expanding · Deferred revenue growing · RPO outpacing revenue · Sequential beat (rev + EPS)

A count of the 12 warning flags that could be evaluated. Unweighted: colour follows the worst flag.

Quality Profile

Profitability

1/1 pass
GP / assets
0.52
Return on equity
35.3%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
0.91
Current ratio
1.38×
Net cash
$250.29M

Cash Flow

3/3 pass
Positive FCF
PASS
Cash-backed earnings
PASS
Accruals healthy
PASS
SBC / revenue
11.5%

Growth

2/2 pass
Revenue growth
10.1%
Piotroski F-Score
7 / 9
Share dilution
-2.4%

FCF yield, shareholder yield, and buyback activity are the primary reads at this stage.

Profitability

Does it make money well?

No warning flags · GP/assets 80th percentile of 36 SIC 7372 peers

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.52

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

80th pctl of 36 SIC 7372 peers

Return on equity

35.3%

Gross margin

82.8%

94th pctl of 36 SIC 7372 peers

Revenue growth (YoY)

10.1%

RPO growth (YoY)

19.2%

Remaining performance obligations growth — RPO > revenue = forward demand building.

Gross margin improving

Margin trend vs prior year.

PASS

Operating Leverage

2022202320242025
Revenue vs COGS
Revenue vs OpEx
Op. Income vs Revenue

Growth

Revenue CAGR (3Y)

11.0%

Revenue CAGR (5Y)

13.0%

Earnings CAGR (3Y)

22.5%

FCF CAGR (3Y)

18.4%

Cash Flow Health

Is the cash real?

No warning flags · FCF 53% above net income

Free cash flow

$304.41M

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

PASS

FCF vs net income

53.5%

(FCF − net income) ÷ |net income|. Positive: cash above earnings. Negative: below.

FCF not below net income

Fails when free cash flow is below net income (yellow flag).

PASS

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

SBC / revenue

11.5%

Stock-based comp intensity.

Balance Sheet Strength

Can it survive a storm?

No warning flags · net cash $250.29M, F-Score 7/9

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

0.91

29th pctl of 32 SIC 7372 peers (best = lowest)

Current ratio

1.38×

26th pctl of 36 SIC 7372 peers

Quick ratio

0.87×

Net cash

$250.29M

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Piotroski F-Score

7 / 9

Fundamental-strength score (0-9).

Valuation

Is the price reasonable?

No warning flags

Capital allocation quality

Composite score

2.3 / 5

Fair
Share count trend(net buybacks)
-2.4%4/5 Strong
Buyback timing
N/AN/A
Dividend growth consistency(non-payer or broken streak)
0 yr3/5 Good
Net debt trajectory
-14.8%0/5 Weak

Lifecycle Phase History

20202025
Capital Return
Value

Price History

QLYS+46.8% · +8.0% CAGRSPY+82.9% · +12.8% CAGR