Zscaler, Inc.
Zscaler, Inc. operates as a cloud security company worldwide. The company offers cyberthreat protection products, including Zero Trust SASE, a solution that securely connects workforces, AI agents, workloads, and IoT/OT devices to cloud apps and AI services; Zscaler Internet Access, which provides advanced threat protection, sandbox, and zero trust firewall; Zscaler Private Access solution that includes cyberthreat and data protection, application discovery, secure application access, application segmentation, application protection, and reduced attack surface; Zero Trust Browser, a solution that secures browser-based access to business applications for the extended workforce, including third parties and partners; Zscaler Digital Experience, a solution that monitors end-user experience and helps organizations identify and resolve performance issues across their digital environment; Zero Trust Branch; and Zero Trust Cloud solutions. It also provides Security for AI solution to secure AI adoption across the full AI ecosystem; data security services, including AI-powered data classification and contextual insights, data loss prevention, Saas security, and data security posture management solution. In addition, the company offers Agentic Security Operations solution that enables enterprises to reduce cyber risk by using AI-powered automation; exposure management platform; deception; managed detection and response; agentic security operations center; and threat hunting solutions. It serves automotive, airlines and transportation, conglomerates, consumer goods and retail, energy, financial services, healthcare, insurance, manufacturing, media and communications, public sector and education, technology, and telecommunications services industries. The company was formerly known as SafeChannel, Inc. and changed its name to Zscaler, Inc. in August 2008. Zscaler, Inc. was incorporated in 2007 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.
What does it do?
Zscaler is a cybersecurity company that protects businesses when their employees use the internet or company apps — entirely through the cloud, with no physical hardware required. Think of it like a security checkpoint that lives on the internet itself. Every time an employee at a big company opens a website, accesses a work app, or sends a file, Zscaler's software checks it for threats in real time. It replaces the old model where companies bought expensive physical boxes to sit in their offices and filter traffic.
Cybersecurity has become one of the most critical spending categories for businesses — ransomware attacks, data breaches, and remote work have made the old way of protecting networks obsolete. Zscaler is riding a massive shift called 'Zero Trust' security, where the default is to trust nothing and verify everything, which has become the gold standard that governments and large enterprises are being pushed toward. With AI making cyberattacks faster and more sophisticated, demand for what Zscaler sells is not slowing down.
How does it make money?
Zscaler makes almost all of its money through subscriptions — companies pay an annual or multi-year fee to use its cloud security platform. Its two main products are Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA), which protects employees browsing the web, and Zscaler Private Access (ZPA), which securely connects employees to internal company apps without a traditional VPN. Revenue grew from $2.2B to $2.7B in the latest year, a roughly 23% increase, showing strong and consistent demand. The more users, devices, and apps a customer needs to protect, the more they pay.
Why do investors care?
The growth story here is that every large company in the world is a potential customer — and most of them are still running outdated security systems that need replacing. Zscaler's platform model means once a company is on board, they tend to expand their usage over time, which means revenue per customer grows without needing to constantly win new business. For this to work out, Zscaler needs to keep winning large enterprise deals, fend off competition from giants like Microsoft, and eventually turn its fast-growing revenue into consistent profits. The company is not yet profitable on a net income basis, so investors are betting on future earnings power, not today's bottom line.
Deep Dive
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