Qualys
QLYS on Nasdaq. Qualys sells cloud security and compliance software to organizations. Market value $6.9bn.
Price checks use the past 12 months to June 2026. Quality checks use five annual reports, the latest for the year to December 2025.
We can't read total debt from the filing, so debt is left out.
Should I look at this?
Good business, but not cheap right now
Why it could be worth it
What to watch out for
See cheaper Technology stocks on the list
This is not advice. Check the numbers below.
For every $100 of what the whole company costs, it produced $4.57 of spare cash in the past 12 months. A savings account pays about $4.
The filings do not give us enough to work this out.
The filings do not give us enough to work this out.
Quality score: 80 of 100. Price score: 58 of 100. Our list needs 70 on quality and 60 on price.
$198.68 a share, 167% above its 1-year low
Over the past year the price has ranged from $74.51 to $201.54.
Pays no dividend
Prices from Monday’s close (5 October).
Five years of cash, in billions
| Revenue | |||||
| Revenue | $411m | $490m | $554m | $608m | $669m |
| Operating margin | |||||
| Operating margin | 21.3% | 26.7% | 29.4% | 30.8% | 33.2% |
| Debt to equity | |||||
| Debt to equity | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Shares outstanding | |||||
| Shares outstanding | 0.04bn | 0.04bn | 0.04bn | 0.04bn | 0.03bn |
Health checks
- Free cash flow positive5 of 5 years
- Accounting looks honest (Beneish)Not enough data
- Financial strength (Piotroski)7 of 8 checks we could run
- Profit backed by cash (accruals)No
- DebtUnknown
- Revenue growth, five yearsStrong, 13.0% a year
- Buying back its own sharesYes, 9% fewer since 2021
The quarter to June 2026
How the business did, compared with the same quarter a year earlier.
- Sales: $182 million last quarter, up 11% on a year ago.
- Profit: $52 million, up 11% on a year ago.
- It keeps 34 cents of each $1 of sales as operating profit, up from 31 cents a year earlier.
- Spare cash over the past 12 months: $314 million, up from $240 million.
- 4% fewer shares than a year ago. Each share owns a bit more of the company.
- Sales grew on a year ago in each of the last 4 quarters.
| Quarter to | Amount |
|---|---|
| September 2024 | $154m |
| December 2024 | $159m |
| March 2025 | $160m |
| June 2025 | $164m |
| September 2025 | $170m |
| December 2025 | $175m |
| March 2026 | $176m |
| June 2026 | $182m |
| Quarter to | Amount |
|---|---|
| September 2024 | $46m |
| December 2024 | $44m |
| March 2025 | $48m |
| June 2025 | $47m |
| September 2025 | $50m |
| December 2025 | $53m |
| March 2026 | $51m |
| June 2026 | $52m |
From the company's quarterly reports to the SEC.
Dates
- Next results (estimated)
- n/a
- Last annual report (10-K)
- 20 February 2026
- Next quarterly (estimated, 10-Q)
- 3 November 2026
Who owns it
3 long-term investors we follow own it, down from 5 last quarter. 430 funds in all.
- Third Avenue ManagementMatthew Fine
- Value
- $5m
- Share of fund
- 0.9%
- LSV Asset ManagementJosef Lakonishok
- Value
- $399,000
- Share of fund
- <0.1%
| Fund | Value | Share of that fund | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gotham Asset ManagementJoel Greenblatt | $10m | <0.1% | Cut |
| Third Avenue ManagementMatthew Fine | $5m | 0.9% | |
| LSV Asset ManagementJosef Lakonishok | $399,000 | <0.1% |
Sold out this quarter
Largest holders overall
- BlackRock$792mAdded
- Vanguard Portfolio Management$371mAdded
- Vanguard Capital Management$219m
- State Street$200mAdded
- Legal & General Group$198mAdded
- Geode Capital Management$194mAdded
- AQR Capital Management$191mAdded
- First Trust Advisors LP$155mAdded
- Arrowstreet Capital, Limited Partnership$135mAdded
- Boston Trust Walden$135mCut
From 13F filings for the quarter ended 30 June 2026.
Big holders and activists
3 investors own more than 5%.
- BlackRock, Inc.Passive investor14.0%−2.0 ptsSince 31 March 2025
- Vanguard Portfolio ManagementPassive investor7.2%Since 31 March 2026
- Vanguard Capital ManagementPassive investor5.2%Since 31 March 2026
- The Vanguard GroupPassive investorSold down below 5%Since 13 March 2026
| Holder | Stake | Since | |
|---|---|---|---|
BlackRock, Inc. Passive investor | 14.0%−2.0 pts | 31 March 2025 | |
Vanguard Portfolio Management Passive investor | 7.2% | 31 March 2026 | |
Vanguard Capital Management Passive investor | 5.2% | 31 March 2026 | |
The Vanguard Group Passive investor | Sold down below 5% | 13 March 2026 |
From Schedule 13D and 13G filings: anyone owning more than 5% must file one.
What insiders did
No insider bought shares on the open market in the last 12 months. 6 sold $24m, $23m of it under preset trading plans.
- POSEY BRUCE KCHIEF LEGAL OFFICERSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 21 September 2026
- Shares
- 866
- Price
- $179.49
- Value
- $155,442
- Thakar Sumedh SCEO & PRESIDENT, DirectorSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 14 September 2026
- Shares
- 3,200
- Price
- $170.05
- Value
- $544,152
- Kim Joo MiCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 2 September 2026
- Shares
- 1,030
- Price
- $169.62
- Value
- $174,712
- Berquist ThomasDirectorSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 2 September 2026
- Shares
- 511
- Price
- $175.27
- Value
- $89,563
- Pfeiffer WendyDirectorSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 20 August 2026
- Shares
- 500
- Price
- $185.00
- Value
- $92,500
- POSEY BRUCE KCHIEF LEGAL OFFICERSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 20 August 2026
- Shares
- 866
- Price
- $184.23
- Value
- $159,544
- Thakar Sumedh SCEO & PRESIDENT, DirectorSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 14 August 2026
- Shares
- 3,200
- Price
- $188.97
- Value
- $604,708
- Kim Joo MiCHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 3 August 2026
- Shares
- 1,627
- Price
- $153.04
- Value
- $248,995
- Pfeiffer WendyDirectorSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 20 July 2026
- Shares
- 500
- Price
- $158.19
- Value
- $79,095
- POSEY BRUCE KCHIEF LEGAL OFFICERSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 20 July 2026
- Shares
- 882
- Price
- $158.17
- Value
- $139,508
| Date | Who | Did | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 September 2026 | POSEY BRUCE K CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER | Sold under a preset trading plan | 866 | $179.49 | $155,442 |
| 14 September 2026 | Thakar Sumedh S CEO & PRESIDENT, Director | Sold under a preset trading plan | 3,200 | $170.05 | $544,152 |
| 2 September 2026 | Kim Joo Mi CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER | Sold under a preset trading plan | 1,030 | $169.62 | $174,712 |
| 2 September 2026 | Berquist Thomas Director | Sold under a preset trading plan | 511 | $175.27 | $89,563 |
| 20 August 2026 | Pfeiffer Wendy Director | Sold under a preset trading plan | 500 | $185.00 | $92,500 |
| 20 August 2026 | POSEY BRUCE K CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER | Sold under a preset trading plan | 866 | $184.23 | $159,544 |
| 14 August 2026 | Thakar Sumedh S CEO & PRESIDENT, Director | Sold under a preset trading plan | 3,200 | $188.97 | $604,708 |
| 3 August 2026 | Kim Joo Mi CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER | Sold under a preset trading plan | 1,627 | $153.04 | $248,995 |
| 20 July 2026 | Pfeiffer Wendy Director | Sold under a preset trading plan | 500 | $158.19 | $79,095 |
| 20 July 2026 | POSEY BRUCE K CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER | Sold under a preset trading plan | 882 | $158.17 | $139,508 |
From Form 4 filings: insiders must report trades in their own company's shares within two days.
Warning signs in its filings
Problems the company itself reported to the SEC, in its own words.
None of the warning signs we check for were found.
We look for five warning signs: doubt it can keep going, weak checks on its own accounts, a notice that its past accounts can't be relied on, a change of auditor, and one customer bringing in a big share of sales. We don't check lawsuits, investigations or debt yet.
We checked the auditor's report, internal controls, restatement notices, auditor changes and big customers in the 10-K filed 20 Feb 2026, plus the 10-Q filed 4 Aug 2026 and 3 later 8-Ks.
A 10-K is the yearly report every US company files with the SEC. An 8-K is a short notice of a big event.
What could go wrong
Cheap for a reason is the question the numbers cannot answer.
Whether the price already reflects the risks is what the deep dive is for.
What changed in the risks this year
Companies must list what could hurt them each year. These are the parts that changed since last year’s report.
A portion of our revenues are generated by sales to government entities, which are subject to a number of challenges and risks.
Could happenWe have invested in the creation of a cloud offering certified under the Federal Information Security Management Act for government usage but we cannot be sure that we will continue to sustain or renew this certification, that the government will continue to mandate such certification or that other government agencies or entities will use this cloud offering. We have obtained authorization under FedRAMP, which facilitates our entry into the U.S. federal government market. Such certification is subject to rigorous compliance and if we lose our certification, it could inhibit or preclude our ability to contract with certain U.S. federal government customers. In addition, some customers may rely on our authorization under FedRAMP to help satisfy their own legal and regulatory compliance requirements and our failure to maintain FedRAMP authorization might result in a breach under public sector contracts obtained on the basis of such authorization. This could subject us to liability, result in reputational harm, and adversely impact our financial condition or operating results.
Read more
The deep dive
Everything above is arithmetic on public filings. The deep dive reads the last ten years of annual reports, the proxy statements, and the earnings calls, then argues the case the way Buffett, Klarman, and Hohn would, and checks every claim against the source.
- What the business is worth, as a range, and the margin of safety at today’s price
- Prices to start buying, buy, and buy hard
- The three things that would make this a mistake
- Every number footnoted to the filing it came from
Your first deep dive is free.
Not advice. Numbers on this page come from SEC filings and are updated each night; prices are updated again after the US market closes. The five-year figures are rounded.