Zscaler Shares Drop Despite Beating Q2 Estimates
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Feb 27 2026
0mins
Should l Buy ZS?
Source: seekingalpha
- Earnings Beat but Shares Fall: Zscaler reported a net new ARR of $155.5 million for Q2, exceeding the market expectation of $142 million but falling short of the analyst target of $164 million, resulting in a premarket share drop of about 9%.
- Acquisition Impact Significant: Analysts noted that the contribution from the Red Canary acquisition was much higher than anticipated, accounting for nearly all of the quarter's upside, which, while boosting total revenue, raised concerns about organic growth.
- Organic Growth Slowing: Zscaler's organic net new ARR grew by 6.5% year-over-year to $139 million, slightly above BTIG's estimate, but the organic growth rate decelerated from 22% last quarter to 21%, indicating potential market concerns over increased competition.
- Cautiously Optimistic Outlook: Despite the slowdown in organic ARR growth, analysts remain optimistic about Zscaler's long-term growth potential, projecting over 20% organic ARR growth for FY26, and believe the company has strong expansion capabilities in the rapidly growing cybersecurity market.
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Analyst Views on ZS
Wall Street analysts forecast ZS stock price to rise
30 Analyst Rating
24 Buy
6 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 136.670
Low
260.00
Averages
325.62
High
390.00
Current: 136.670
Low
260.00
Averages
325.62
High
390.00
About ZS
Zscaler, Inc. is a cloud security company. The Company has developed a platform incorporating core security functionalities needed to enable fast and secure access to cloud resources based on identity, context and an organization’s policies. Its Zscaler Zero Trust Exchange platform protects thousands of customers from cyberattacks and data loss by securely connecting users, devices, and applications in any location. Its solution is a purpose-built, multi-tenant, distributed cloud platform that incorporates the security functionality needed to enable users, applications, and devices to safely and efficiently utilize authorized applications and services based on an organization’s business policies. It delivers its solutions using a software-as-a-service (SaaS) business model and sells subscriptions to customers to access its cloud platform, together with related support services. It offers a security platform that combines its platform with automated security operations.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Expanding Customer Base: Zscaler now serves over 9,400 customers, including 40% of the Forbes Global 2000 companies, demonstrating its strong market position and customer stickiness in the cybersecurity sector.
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- Growing Market Demand: As artificial intelligence advances, cybersecurity is expected to remain a crucial budget item for companies worldwide, driving demand for cybersecurity firms, particularly those that excel in innovation.
- CrowdStrike's Market Leadership: CrowdStrike Holdings' Falcon platform leverages AI to analyze device activity and detect suspicious patterns, with its total addressable market projected to grow from $149 billion to $325 billion by 2030, indicating strong growth potential.
- Zscaler's Unique Positioning: Zscaler specializes in cloud-native zero-trust security, generating $3 billion in annual sales, and the zero-trust security market is expected to expand at a 16.5% annual growth rate to $84 billion, showcasing its robust growth prospects in the AI era.
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- Market Dynamics Analysis: As the worst-performing component in the Nasdaq 100, Zscaler's struggles reflect challenges in the tech sector, potentially hindering future financing and expansion plans.
- Competitor Performance: In contrast to Zscaler, Atlassian's stock dropped 2.4% today, while Seagate Technology Holdings rose 6.2%, highlighting varying market reactions to different tech companies, which could affect Zscaler's market positioning.
- Investor Focus: Investors should monitor Zscaler's future strategies and market adaptability to address current stock pressures and industry competition, ensuring the company can regain its growth momentum.
See More
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- Massive Market Opportunity: The post-quantum cryptography market is projected to exceed $15 billion by 2030, as enterprises and governments face mandated migration timelines, highlighting the urgent need for secure infrastructure amid rising data breach risks.
- Launch of QPA v2: QSE launched QPA v2 on March 31, 2026, providing a comprehensive framework for organizations to evaluate, plan, and manage their cryptographic readiness, thereby enhancing their ability to respond to quantum threats.
- Integrated Solution: QPA v2 integrates governance design, budgeting, timelines, and strategic development, utilizing AI-enhanced assessment modules and real-time visibility dashboards to ensure effective risk and compliance management during migration.
- Significant Industry Impact: With migration standards and deadlines set by NIST and NSA, enterprises must quickly adapt to new standards, positioning QSE's QPA v2 platform as a central tool driving the next cybersecurity spending cycle to ensure security in the quantum computing era.
See More
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- Post-Quantum Standards Released: NIST finalized three post-quantum cryptography standards in August 2024, concluding an eight-year global evaluation process, which will trigger the largest mandated cryptographic migration in history, reshaping the global cybersecurity landscape.
- National Security Requirements: The NSA's CNSA 2.0 framework mandates quantum-safe algorithms for all new national security systems by 2027, full application migration by 2030, and complete infrastructure migration by 2035, ensuring compliance will cascade through defense contractors and regulated industries.
- Launch of QSE Platform: QSE launched its QPA v2 enterprise post-quantum cryptographic migration platform on March 31, 2026, featuring AI-enhanced assessment and cryptographic inventory analysis, enabling organizations to comprehensively evaluate and manage their post-quantum cryptographic readiness, transitioning from understanding quantum risks to active planning.
- Significant Market Opportunity: The post-quantum cryptography market is projected to exceed $15 billion by 2030, with organizations expected to allocate 2-5% of their annual IT security budgets over a four-year migration window, making QSE's QPA v2 platform a critical tool to meet this demand.
See More
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- Customer Base Expansion: Zscaler serves over 9,400 customers, including 40% of the Forbes Global 2000 companies, demonstrating its extensive influence and market penetration in the cybersecurity sector.
- Revenue Growth Expectations: Analysts project Zscaler's revenue to grow at a 21% CAGR from fiscal 2025 to fiscal 2028, and while it remains unprofitable by GAAP standards, profitability is expected by 2028.
- Market Opportunity Analysis: Despite slowing growth, Zscaler's ongoing expansion of its AI-powered ZDX Copilot platform and acquisition strategy will enhance its competitive edge, particularly as the zero-trust market is expected to grow at a 16.6% CAGR.
See More
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- Expanding Customer Base: Zscaler now serves over 9,400 customers, including 40% of the Forbes Global 2000 companies, demonstrating its strong market position and customer stickiness in the cybersecurity sector.
- Revenue Growth Expectations: Analysts project Zscaler's revenue to grow at a 21% CAGR from fiscal 2025 to fiscal 2028, although it remains unprofitable under GAAP due to stock-based compensation and acquisition expenses.
- Reasonable Market Valuation: With a current market cap of $22.1 billion, Zscaler trades at less than 7 times the $3.3 billion revenue expected in fiscal 2026, indicating long-term investment value in the zero-trust market despite its slowing growth.
See More
