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Last week, you might have seen that Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) released its annual result to the market. The early response was not positive, with shares down 2.8% to US$136 in the past week. Qualys reported US$608m in revenue, roughly in line with analyst forecasts, although statutory earnings per share (EPS) of US$4.65 beat expectations, being 5.7% higher than what the analysts expected. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what the analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. With this in mind, we've gathered the latest statutory forecasts to see what the analysts are expecting for next year.
Check out our latest analysis for Qualys
Taking into account the latest results, the consensus forecast from Qualys' 24 analysts is for revenues of US$651.8m in 2025. This reflects an okay 7.3% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are expected to drop 12% to US$4.15 in the same period. Yet prior to the latest earnings, the analysts had been anticipated revenues of US$651.1m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$4.43 in 2025. The analysts seem to have become a little more negative on the business after the latest results, given the small dip in their earnings per share numbers for next year.
The consensus price target held steady at US$144, with the analysts seemingly voting that their lower forecast earnings are not expected to lead to a lower stock price in the foreseeable future. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Qualys at US$175 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$115. Analysts definitely have varying views on the business, but the spread of estimates is not wide enough in our view to suggest that extreme outcomes could await Qualys shareholders.
Another way we can view these estimates is in the context of the bigger picture, such as how the forecasts stack up against past performance, and whether forecasts are more or less bullish relative to other companies in the industry. It's pretty clear that there is an expectation that Qualys' revenue growth will slow down substantially, with revenues to the end of 2025 expected to display 7.3% growth on an annualised basis. This is compared to a historical growth rate of 13% over the past five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 12% per year. So it's pretty clear that, while revenue growth is expected to slow down, the wider industry is also expected to grow faster than Qualys.