QLYS vs RPD: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: RPD is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. QLYS and RPD share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined QLYS and RPD exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Qualys (QLYS) is a cloud-based cybersecurity company best known for vulnerability management. Its platform continuously scans an organization's IT assets (servers, endpoints, cloud workloads, web apps, and containers) to find security weaknesses, misconfigurations, and missing patches, then helps prioritize and remediate them. The flagship products are VMDR (Vulnerability Management, Detection and Response) and a growing suite covering cloud security posture, compliance, web application scanning, and patch management.

Full QLYS guide

Rapid7 (RPD) is a cybersecurity company providing a cloud-based platform for security operations, vulnerability management, and threat detection. Its Insight platform spans several products: InsightVM for vulnerability management, InsightIDR for detection and response (SIEM and XDR), InsightCloudSec for cloud security posture, and application security testing. Increasingly, Rapid7 packages these into managed detection and response (MDR) services, where its analysts monitor customer environments around the clock, which appeals to mid-market companies that lack large in-house security teams.

Full RPD guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• QLYS drivers: Vulnerability management core; Platform expansion.
• RPD drivers: Platform consolidation; Managed detection and response.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Qualys competes against larger, better-funded platforms (Tenable, Rapid7, CrowdStrike, Microsoft) that are bundling vulnerability and exposure management into broader security suites, pressuring standalone vendors. For RPD, rapid7 competes against larger, better-capitalized platforms (CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks, Microsoft, Tenable, Qualys) that bundle overlapping vulnerability, SIEM, and cloud-security capabilities, pressuring pricing and growth.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick QLYS if you believe its drivers more; RPD if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the QLYS and RPD guides.

QLYS. Qualys trades as a profitable, cash-generative SaaS security name rather than a hypergrowth disruptor, but the 2026 rally (up ~37% year to date) has pushed the multiple to ~31x trailing and ~21x forward earnings. That premium rests on consistent beats: EPS topped estimates in each of the last four quarters, most recently $1.98 vs ~$1.78. The next report is expected around November 3, 2026, with consensus at ~$187 million of revenue and ~$1.96 of EPS; valuation tends to compress when growth decelerates and expand when cross-sell momentum reaccelerates.

RPD. Rapid7 now trades at about 1x sales and roughly 6x forward earnings, far below security peers, because revenue has stopped growing and GAAP profit is thin. The gap between a 40x trailing GAAP multiple and a 6x forward multiple comes from the difference between GAAP earnings and the adjusted EPS analysts forecast. Twenty-one analysts rate it a hold on average with a mean target near $11.81, and Q3 results arrive November 4, 2026.

Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): QLYS shows revenue (ttm) ~$703 million, revenue growth (latest quarter) ~11% year over year (Q2 2026 revenue ~$182 million), margins (gross / operating) ~83% / ~34%, free cash flow (ttm) ~$244 million (~35% of revenue); RPD shows revenue (ttm) ~$856 million, revenue growth ~-1.5% YoY (Q2 2026), q2 2026 eps vs estimate $0.44 vs ~$0.35 (non-GAAP), gross / operating margin ~69% / ~2% (GAAP).

QLYS and RPD are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined QLYS and RPD exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.