Q4 2024 Earnings Summary
- Tenable achieved strong competitive performance in vulnerability management (VM), with high win rates against competitors and significant competitive displacements, demonstrating its leadership in the VM space.
- The company saw strong momentum in large deals, including multiple six-figure and even seven-figure deals, particularly in Fortune 500 companies, indicating strong upmarket traction and increasing deal sizes.
- Cloud security sales more than doubled year-over-year, with Tenable's unified platform approach resonating with customers seeking vendor consolidation, cost savings, and operational efficiencies, driving significant growth in cloud security and exposure management.
- Tenable is showing caution regarding its U.S. federal business, which accounts for approximately 15% of total sales. The company expects federal revenues to be "slightly lower" for the full year due to uncertainties associated with the new administration and the overhang of a continuing resolution. This cautious outlook could signal potential headwinds in a significant market segment.
- The unexpected passing of CEO Amit Yoran has led to leadership uncertainty, as the Board is currently conducting a search for a new CEO with no designated timeline. While interim co-CEOs have been appointed, the loss of Amit, who was "the driving force behind the strategy and the vision for Tenable," may impact the company's direction and execution.
- There may be signs of weaker customer additions in certain segments, as an analyst noted that while the $100,000-plus ACV customer number looked good, "overall enterprise customer adds [were] maybe a little bit weaker". This could indicate potential slowing growth in new customer acquisition in the enterprise segment.
| Topic | Previous Mentions | Current Period | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
Consistent leadership in vulnerability management (VM) | Q1: Confidence and high win rates. Q2: Cyclical but remains leader. Q3: Stable environment, strong wins. | Q4: Better-than-expected growth, mid-single-digit outlook. | Remains a stable, foundational pillar each quarter. |
Large deal sizes and upmarket traction in enterprise/federal | Q1: Strong 6-figure deals, robust enterprise growth. Q2: Longer sales cycles but healthy pipeline. Q3: Higher ASPs, 7-figure mid-market deal. | Q4: Significant 6-/7-figure deals, added 485 new enterprise platform customers. | Continues upmarket momentum, larger deals persist. |
Cloud security & exposure management (Tenable One adoption) | Q1: Tenable One at 26% of new enterprise sales. Q2: 30% of new biz from Tenable One, strong cloud wins. Q3: Tenable One still 30%, 100% cloud growth. | Q4: Tenable One at 40% of new sales, cloud security doubled year-over-year. | Continued strong adoption, rising share of new business. |
Federal spending uncertainties & cautious outlook | Q1: No mention of caution; strong federal demand. Q2: Potential election cycle delays, cautious approach. Q3: Uncertainty leading to cautious Q4 guidance. | Q4: Noted cautious stance, continuing resolution concerns. | Growing caution from Q2 onward. |
New AI-based offerings (AI Aware, AI Security Posture Mgmt) | Q1: No mention. Q2: No mention. Introduced in Q3 with early traction. | Q4: No mention. | New in Q3, no updates in Q4. |
Ermetic acquisition | Q1: Minimal Q1 contribution, pipeline building. Q2–Q3: No mention. | Q4: No mention. | Mentioned only in Q1, not repeated later. |
CEO leadership changes (passing of Amit Yoran in Q4) | Q1–Q3: No mention. | Q4: Interim co-CEOs, CEO search ongoing, tribute to Amit Yoran. | Major leadership event first noted in Q4. |
Macro environment headwinds & longer sales cycles | Q1: No mention. Q2: Longer cycles, cautious outlook. Q3: Tougher new business environment, procurement pressures. | Q4: No mention. | Cited in Q2–Q3, not mentioned in Q4. |
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U.S. Federal Business Caution
Q: What's causing caution in the U.S. federal business guidance?
A: Management noted increased caution in the U.S. federal segment due to a new administration and overhang from a continuing resolution. While there's no change in budgets or project cancellations, there's some uncertainty affecting the timing of transactions. They expect lower contribution from the federal sector, particularly in Q1 and Q2. , , , -
Competitive Position in VM
Q: How is Tenable performing competitively in vulnerability management?
A: Tenable feels very good about its momentum in vulnerability management (VM). They exceeded CCB by $7.5 million from the midpoint of the guided range, with VM performing better than expected. They reported high win rates and large competitive displacements, especially in Fortune 500 companies. They expect VM growth to be in the mid-single-digit range going forward. , -
Vulcan Cyber Acquisition
Q: Why did Tenable acquire Vulcan Cyber?
A: The Vulcan acquisition enhances Tenable's ability to ingest and analyze large amounts of data from third-party security products. It enriches data for more intelligent remediation capabilities and accelerates their AI strategy with expansive data sets. This will be integrated into the Tenable One platform, contributing roughly 0.5 point of CCB growth, primarily in the back half of the year. , , -
Cloud Security Growth
Q: What's driving growth in cloud security sales?
A: Cloud security sales have doubled year-over-year, fueled by both net new customer lands and expansion within the existing large installed base. Customers are looking for consolidation, and Tenable One’s hybrid environment solutions resonate with them. Large cloud deals, including a seven-figure health agency deal, illustrate this growth. -
Large Deals and Customer Additions
Q: How did large deals impact customer growth?
A: This quarter saw a significant number of large deals and competitive displacements, particularly in Fortune 500 companies. Tenable added over 400 new enterprise platform customers and 185 net new six-figure customers. This growth was balanced with excellent mid-market performance globally. -
International Operations Performance
Q: How did international operations perform compared to the U.S.?
A: International demand was strong, with particular growth in Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. Some of the largest deals came from these regions. The company plans to invest in markets where they're seeing opportunity and growth. -
Revenue Guidance and Linearity
Q: What drives the revenue growth rate in the guidance?
A: Revenue is an output of sales, with CCB as a good proxy. There's an expected modest acceleration in revenue growth throughout the year, reflecting the current sales outlook. No discrete factors are skewing the numbers higher; assumptions are appropriate given the outlook, with some conservatism due to the federal sector. -
Channel Traction and Investments
Q: What's the status of channel traction and investments?
A: Tenable, being a 100% channel company, continues to leverage its extensive partner ecosystem. They saw record channel business in Q4 and plan significant investments in MSSPs, VARs, and distributors. The addition of Vulcan enhances the exposure management offerings for partners. -
Net Revenue Retention Trends
Q: How is Net Revenue Retention (NRR) trending for 2025?
A: Management doesn't disclose NRR specifics but indicated no significant changes in seasonal quarterly flow compared to last year, except for lower contribution from the federal sector and Vulcan's impact, which will add 0.5 point of CCB growth in the back half of the year. , -
Adding Sales Capacity
Q: Why is Tenable adding sales capacity?
A: Given strong productivity and confidence from the second half of the year, Tenable plans to add capacity to capitalize on opportunities, particularly in the second half and into 2026. They are not capacity-constrained and aim to drive significant upside. -
Executive Search for New CEO
Q: What's the status of the executive search?
A: The Board is conducting a search for a new CEO, evaluating internal and external candidates without a designated timeline. They are focused on ensuring the right leadership for the company going forward. In the interim, management is confident in their ability to lead.
Research analysts covering Tenable Holdings.