In This Article:
Zscaler, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZS) is possibly approaching a major achievement in its business, so we would like to shine some light on the company. Zscaler, Inc. operates as a cloud security company worldwide. The US$32b market-cap company announced a latest loss of US$58m on 31 July 2024 for its most recent financial year result. As path to profitability is the topic on Zscaler's investors mind, we've decided to gauge market sentiment. In this article, we will touch on the expectations for the company's growth and when analysts expect it to become profitable.
Check out our latest analysis for Zscaler
Consensus from 42 of the American Software analysts is that Zscaler is on the verge of breakeven. They anticipate the company to incur a final loss in 2026, before generating positive profits of US$45m in 2027. The company is therefore projected to breakeven around 3 years from now. In order to meet this breakeven date, we calculated the rate at which the company must grow year-on-year. It turns out an average annual growth rate of 39% is expected, which is rather optimistic! Should the business grow at a slower rate, it will become profitable at a later date than expected.
Given this is a high-level overview, we won’t go into details of Zscaler's upcoming projects, but, take into account that typically a high forecast growth rate is not unusual for a company that is currently undergoing an investment period.
One thing we would like to bring into light with Zscaler is its relatively high level of debt. Generally, the rule of thumb is debt shouldn’t exceed 40% of your equity, which in Zscaler's case is 90%. A higher level of debt requires more stringent capital management which increases the risk in investing in the loss-making company.
Next Steps:
This article is not intended to be a comprehensive analysis on Zscaler, so if you are interested in understanding the company at a deeper level, take a look at Zscaler's company page on Simply Wall St. We've also put together a list of key factors you should further examine:
-
Valuation: What is Zscaler worth today? Has the future growth potential already been factored into the price? The intrinsic value infographic in our free research report helps visualize whether Zscaler is currently mispriced by the market.
-
Management Team: An experienced management team on the helm increases our confidence in the business – take a look at who sits on Zscaler’s board and the CEO’s background.
-
Other High-Performing Stocks: Are there other stocks that provide better prospects with proven track records? Explore our free list of these great stocks here.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.