Zscaler Shares Drop Despite Beating Q2 Estimates
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: 11 hours ago
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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: 167.360
Low
260.00
Averages
325.62
High
390.00
Current: 167.360
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.
- Earnings Beat: Zscaler reported Q2 earnings of $1.01 per share, surpassing the analyst consensus of $0.90, indicating strong performance in the cybersecurity sector despite a challenging market environment.
- Revenue Growth: The quarterly revenue reached $815.75 million, exceeding the analyst estimate of $798.82 million, reflecting sustained demand for cybersecurity solutions in the AI era and enhancing its competitive position.
- Guidance Downgrade: Zscaler lowered its FY26 revenue outlook to a range of $3.31 billion to $3.32 billion, down from the previous estimate of $3.3 billion, indicating a cautious outlook that may impact investor confidence.
- Stock Volatility: Following the earnings announcement, Zscaler's shares fell 13.4% to $144.97 in pre-market trading, reflecting negative market sentiment towards the lowered guidance, with analysts adjusting their price targets potentially exacerbating market fluctuations.
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- Company Performance: Shares of ZScaler fell by 10% following the release of their Q2 financial results.
- Financial Results: The decline in stock price was attributed to wider net losses reported in the quarter.
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- Stock Performance: Zscaler's shares experienced a 9% drop ahead of Friday's market opening.
- Earnings Report: The decline occurred despite the company beating earnings estimates announced the previous Thursday.
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- Market Turmoil Analysis: Steve Koenig, head of software and services research at Macquarie, highlights that the software industry is undergoing unprecedented turmoil due to recent AI-driven sell-offs, with companies like Salesforce (CRM) facing existential threats, coining terms like 'SaaS-pocalypse'.
- Industry Risk Assessment: Koenig expresses cautious optimism about the long-term outlook for the software sector, suggesting that while uncertainty looms, technological innovation will continue to drive industry growth, despite potential short-term volatility.
- Investor Sentiment Shift: The concept of 'SaaS-pocalypse' has shaken investor confidence in software companies, leading to increased stock price volatility, particularly for those operating under the SaaS model, which faces heightened scrutiny.
- Future Outlook: Despite the challenging market environment, Koenig believes that advancements in AI and other technologies could enable a recovery in the software industry, urging investors to focus on innovation and adaptability within the sector.
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- Earnings Miss: The company posted earnings per share of $1.74, missing the consensus estimate of $1.99, reflecting pressures from rising costs and intensified market competition, which may raise concerns about future profitability among investors.
- Significant Stock Decline: In pre-market trading, Flutter's shares plummeted by 14.8% to $104.84, indicating a strong market reaction to the disappointing earnings report, which could adversely affect the company's short-term market performance.
- Uncertain Future Guidance: Flutter issued weak FY26 revenue guidance in its report, potentially diminishing market confidence in the company's growth prospects and exacerbating stock volatility risks.
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- Market Decline: Wall Street experienced a banking selloff on Friday, with the Nasdaq 100 down 0.6%, the S&P 500 falling 0.7%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbling 1.3%, and the Russell 2000 declining 2.1%, indicating heightened concerns over the economic outlook.
- Tech Stocks Plummet: Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) shares fell 2.8%, extending Thursday's 5.4% decline, heading towards its worst two-day drop since April, reflecting waning investor confidence in tech stocks amid economic uncertainties.
- Bitcoin Continues to Slide: Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) dropped 2.6% to $65,000, marking its sixth consecutive weekly loss, which underscores the ongoing weakness in the cryptocurrency market as investors remain cautious.
- Commodity Market Fluctuations: Despite the stock market downturn, oil prices rose over 2% to above $66 per barrel, gold gained 1% to $5,235 per ounce, and silver rallied 6% to $93, indicating that investors are seeking safe-haven assets in a volatile market environment.
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