Core Insights - Zscaler Inc reported strong fiscal fourth-quarter results, with annual recurring revenues (ARR) increasing by 22% and initial guidance for fiscal 2026 indicating 19% growth [1][7][8] Financial Performance - Billings reached $1,202 million, a 32% year-on-year increase, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1,145 million [3][8] - Revenue for the quarter was $719 million, exceeding expectations of $708 million [3] - ARR for the fourth quarter was $3.015 billion, remaining flat sequentially, but net new ARR growth accelerated to 16% year-on-year from 6% in the previous quarter [3][11] Guidance and Future Outlook - Management guided for an operating margin expansion of approximately 65 basis points for fiscal 2026, indicating potential for upside [2] - The ARR guidance for fiscal 2026 is set at $3.676-$3.698 billion, reflecting a growth rate of 22%-23% [8] - The guidance does not include contributions from Red Canary contracts, which are up for renewal in fiscal 2026 [9] Market Position and Growth Areas - Zscaler is experiencing strong momentum in the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) market, with a robust portfolio of emerging products [4][6] - The company's emerging growth categories, including AI Security, Zero Trust Everywhere, and Data Security Everywhere, now represent over $1 billion in combined ARR and are growing faster than the overall business [11] - Customers contributing $1 million in ARR grew by 18% year-on-year, while those spending over $100,000 increased by 13% [11] Analyst Sentiment - Analysts have noted that Zscaler's results substantially exceeded expectations across growth and profitability metrics [4][10] - The company is well-positioned to maintain a 22% year-on-year revenue growth trajectory [5]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Revenue grew 21% year over year in Q4, reaching $719 million, and total revenue for fiscal year 2025 was $2.7 billion, representing 23% year over year growth [8][24] - Annual recurring revenue (ARR) surpassed $3 billion, marking a 22% year over year increase [9][23] - Operating margin exceeded 22%, a quarterly record, and free cash flow margin was 24% for Q4 [8][26] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - AI security solutions, including AI Guard and JNI security offerings, saw significant customer interest, contributing to the overall growth [8][10] - SecOps ARR grew over 85% year over year, while IT operations innovations drove 58% year over year growth in bookings of ZDX Advanced plus SKU [14][19] - Data Security Everywhere ARR reached approximately $425 million, with strong demand for comprehensive data security capabilities [19][20] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The Americas accounted for 55% of revenue, EMEA for 29%, and APJ for 16% in Q4 [24] - The company now serves nearly 40% of the Global 2000 and over 45% of Fortune 500 companies, indicating a strong market presence [25] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focusing on three growth factors: AI security, Zero Trust Everywhere, and Data Security Everywhere, which together surpassed $1 billion in ARR in Q4 [10][20] - The Z Flex program generated over $100 million in TCV bookings in Q4, representing over 50% sequential growth, and is becoming a preferred method for strategic multi-year deals [21][70] - The company aims to accelerate platform innovations and capitalize on the $100 billion security market opportunity [22] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in the strong demand for their solutions and the operational scale, expecting continued growth in fiscal year 2026 [23][31] - The macro environment is anticipated to remain relatively unchanged, with a focus on ARR as the primary growth metric moving forward [28][95] Other Important Information - The company successfully closed the acquisition of Red Canary, contributing approximately $83 million to ARR at close [27] - The gross margin for Q4 was 79.3%, lower than the historical target of 80% due to a one-time deployment [25][26] Q&A Session Summary Question: How is SASE replacing firewall appliances? - Management indicated that firewall appliances, particularly in branches, are being replaced by Zero Trust architecture, with significant demand for Zero Trust branch solutions [34][36] Question: How will Z Flex help exceed sales goals? - Z Flex provides flexibility in module adoption and pricing, allowing for larger and better deals, and is being expanded to a broader customer base [40][44] Question: What does a Zero Trust Everywhere customer look like? - A Zero Trust Everywhere customer typically sees significant increases in ARR, with many deals resulting in 2x or 3x growth [46][50] Question: What is the focus of AI security product adoption? - Customers are primarily focused on securing public AI applications and private models, with growing interest in agent-to-agent communication [54][56] Question: What is the expected growth for data security solutions? - Data security solutions are being adopted alongside Zero Trust solutions, with a significant opportunity for upselling additional modules [61][65] Question: What is the methodology behind fiscal year guidance? - The company maintains a prudent approach to guidance, shifting focus from billings to ARR as a better alignment with the business model [92][94]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Revenue for Q4 2025 grew 21% year over year, reaching $719 million, and total revenue for fiscal year 2025 was $2.7 billion, representing a 23% year over year growth [6][23] - Annual recurring revenue (ARR) surpassed $3 billion, marking a 22% year over year increase [7][22] - Operating margin for Q4 was 22.1%, exceeding long-term targets and growing approximately 60 basis points year over year [26] - Free cash flow margin for Q4 was 24%, with data center CapEx at 8% of revenue [26] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - AI security solutions, including AI Guard and JNI security offerings, saw significant customer interest, contributing to the overall growth [6][10] - SecOps ARR grew over 85% year over year, while ZDX Advanced plus SKU bookings increased by 58% year over year [12][19] - Data Security Everywhere ARR reached approximately $425 million, with strong demand driving growth [18] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The Americas accounted for 55% of revenue, EMEA for 29%, and APJ for 16% [23] - The company now serves nearly 40% of the Global 2000 and over 45% of Fortune 500 companies, indicating a strong market presence [22][24] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focusing on three growth factors: AI security, Zero Trust Everywhere, and Data Security Everywhere, which together surpassed $1 billion in ARR in Q4 [8][19] - The Z Flex program generated over $100 million in TCV bookings in Q4, representing over 50% sequential growth, and is expected to drive future growth [20] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in the ongoing demand for their solutions and the potential for growth in the Zero Trust and AI security markets, which are expected to disrupt a $100 billion security market [20][21] - The macro environment is anticipated to remain relatively unchanged, with a focus on ARR as the primary growth metric moving forward [28][92] Other Important Information - The acquisition of Red Canary is expected to contribute approximately $95 million to ARR and $90 million to revenue in fiscal year 2026 [27] - The company plans to optimize new products for margins over time as they scale [29] Q&A Session Summary Question: How is SASE replacing firewall appliances? - Management indicated that firewall appliances, particularly in branches, are being replaced by Zero Trust architecture, with significant demand for Zero Trust branch solutions [33][36] Question: How will Z Flex help exceed sales goals? - Z Flex provides flexibility in module adoption for customers, allowing for larger and better deals, and is being expanded to a broader customer base [39][42] Question: What does a Zero Trust Everywhere customer look like? - A Zero Trust Everywhere customer typically adopts multiple modules, with significant increases in ARR observed as they transition to this model [45][50] Question: What is the focus of AI security product adoption? - Customers are primarily focused on securing public AI applications first, followed by private models, with significant interest in agent-to-agent communication solutions [54][56] Question: What is the expected growth for data security solutions? - Data security solutions are being adopted alongside Zero Trust solutions, with a significant opportunity for upselling additional modules to existing customers [60][63] Question: What is the methodology behind fiscal year guidance? - The company maintains a prudent approach to guidance, shifting focus from billings to ARR as a more aligned growth metric [90][92]

Financial Performance - Zscaler's Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) reached $3.015 billion, exceeding guidance[6,8] - Fiscal Year 2025 revenue totaled $2.673 billion, a 23% year-over-year increase[8] - Calculated billings for Fiscal Year 2025 were $3.246 billion, representing a 24% year-over-year growth[8] - The company achieved an operating margin of approximately 22% for Fiscal Year 2025[8] - Free cash flow margin for Fiscal Year 2025 was 27.2%, resulting in $727 million[8] - Q4'25 revenue was $719 million, a 21% year-over-year increase[6] Growth Vectors and Customer Adoption - Three Growth Vectors (Zero Trust Everywhere, Data Security Everywhere, and Agentic Operations) combined for over $1 billion in ARR, growing faster than the total ARR[11] - Data Security Everywhere ARR reached approximately $425 million[11] - The number of "Zero Trust Everywhere" enterprises exceeded 350, a 60%+ quarter-over-quarter increase[11] Future Outlook - Zscaler projects revenue between $3.265 billion and $3.284 billion for Fiscal Year 2026, including a $90 million contribution from the Red Canary acquisition[64] - The company anticipates ARR between $3.676 billion and $3.698 billion for Fiscal Year 2026, with a $95 million contribution from the Red Canary acquisition[64]

Core Insights - Zscaler (ZS) reported a 23% year-over-year revenue increase to $678 million for Q3 of fiscal 2025, but experienced a slight decline in non-GAAP gross margins to 80.3%, down from 81.4% a year ago, reflecting a 110-basis point contraction [1][11] Revenue and Growth - The company achieved a revenue growth of 24% and a free cash flow margin of 28% year-to-date, resulting in a combined score of 52%, known as the Rule of 52, marking the 21st consecutive quarter of exceeding the Rule of 40 benchmark [5][11] Margin Dynamics - The decline in gross margins is attributed to the rollout of new products aimed at quickly gaining market share rather than focusing on high margins initially. Management plans to improve margins once these products reach scale [2][6] - Zscaler's gross margin is projected to be 80% for Q4 of fiscal 2025, indicating a sequential decline of 30 basis points [6] Product Development - Recent introductions of fast-growing modules under categories like Zero Trust Everywhere and Data Security Everywhere are attracting large deals and expanding annual recurring revenue (ARR), although they are not yet margin-optimized [3][4] - The Z-Flex program, which offers flexible purchasing options, has contributed over $65 million in total contract value in Q3, but often bundles lower-margin modules, complicating near-term margin stability [4] Competitive Landscape - Competitors like CrowdStrike and Okta are also evolving their platforms to meet enterprise security demands, with CrowdStrike enhancing its identity security platform using AI solutions, and Okta focusing on identity and access management with AI for real-time detection of identity attacks [7][8] Valuation and Estimates - Zscaler's shares have increased by 74.4% year-to-date, outperforming the Security industry's growth of 22.1% [9] - The company trades at a forward price-to-sales ratio of 15.32X, higher than the industry average of 14.67X [12] - Earnings estimates for fiscal 2025 imply a year-over-year decline of 0.31%, while fiscal 2026 estimates suggest a growth of 12.01%, with upward revisions in the past 60 and 30 days respectively [15]

Core Insights - Zscaler (ZS) achieved $2.9 billion in annual recurring revenues (ARR) for Q3 fiscal 2025, marking a 23% year-over-year growth for the third consecutive quarter, with a target of reaching $3 billion ARR by the end of Q4 fiscal 2025 [1][10] Group 1: Growth Drivers - The Z-Flex purchasing program, launched in Q3, simplified procurement and generated $65 million in total contract value (TCV) bookings, with significant ARR increases from major clients [2] - Zscaler's strategic focus on three pillars—Zero Trust Everywhere, Data Security Everywhere, and Agentic Operations—contributes nearly $1 billion in ARR [3] Group 2: Customer Expansion - The Zero Trust Everywhere initiative saw a 60% increase in enterprise customers, growing from 130 to over 210, with a goal to reach over 390 by the end of fiscal 2026 [4] - Zscaler has 642 customers generating over $1 million in ARR and 3,363 customers with ARR exceeding $100,000, indicating strong retention and expansion within existing accounts [5] Group 3: Competitive Landscape - Competitors like CyberArk and SentinelOne are also experiencing growth, with CyberArk reporting $1.215 billion in ARR (50% year-over-year increase) and SentinelOne reaching $948 million in ARR (24% year-over-year increase) [6][7] Group 4: Stock Performance and Valuation - Zscaler's shares have increased by 66.3% year-to-date, outperforming the Zacks Security industry's growth of 22% [8] - The forward price-to-sales ratio for Zscaler is 15.21, slightly above the industry average of 14.77 [15]

Q3 2025 Financial Performance - Revenue for Q3 2025 reached $678 million, exceeding guidance, representing a 23% year-over-year increase[6] - Calculated billings for Q3 2025 totaled $785 million, exceeding expectations with a 600 bps Q/Q increase[6] - Calculated Current Billings reached $760 million, a 24% year-over-year increase[6] - The company achieved a gross margin of 80.3% and an operating margin of 21.6%[6] - EPS for Q3 2025 was $0.84, an 18% year-over-year increase[6] - Free cash flow was $119 million, representing an 18% margin[6] Key Business Metrics and Growth - Remaining Performance Obligations (RPO) reached approximately $5 billion, with a 30% year-over-year growth[8] - Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) reached approximately $2.9 billion, with a 23% year-over-year growth[8] - TCV Bookings exceeded $1 billion, marking a Q3 record[8] - New growth categories ARR is growing faster than total ARR, approaching $1 billion in combined ARR[8, 30] Strategic Initiatives and Customer Adoption - Over 210 enterprises are adopting "Zero Trust Everywhere," with a growth rate exceeding 60% quarter-over-quarter[8] - 59% of customers purchasing Zero Trust Branch were new logos[8] - Zscaler secured over 50 million total users on its platform[15] FY25 Guidance - The company increased its FY25 revenue guidance to $2.659 billion - $2.661 billion, representing approximately 23% year-over-year growth[59] - Calculated billings guidance for FY25 was increased to $3.184 billion - $3.189 billion, representing 21%-22% year-over-year growth[59] - Operating profit guidance for FY25 was increased to $573 million - $575 million, with an approximate 22% margin[59] - Earnings per share guidance for FY25 was increased to $3.18 - $3.19[59] - Free Cash Flow Margin guidance for FY25 was increased to 25.5%-26.0%[59]