Nothing about Zscaler’s San Jose headquarters initially seems unstable. Under the California sun, the building stands silently, with employees entering with laptops tucked under their arms and glass reflecting on passing cars. Zscaler’s stock price, however, conveys a different message on Wall Street screens thousands of miles away. The number, which recently dropped to about $159, seems more like a question than a statistic.
Zscaler, regarded as one of the unstoppable names in cybersecurity, was trading above $300 not long ago. Investors discussed it confidently, as though its growth trajectory was predetermined. That certainty has now become less firm. Shaken, but not gone. The decline is peculiar because Zscaler’s company hasn’t gone out of business.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Company Name | Zscaler, Inc. |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Headquarters | San Jose, California, United States |
| Founder & CEO | Jay Chaudhry |
| Employees | Approx. 7,900 |
| Industry | Cloud Cybersecurity |
| Market Cap | Approx. $25.48 Billion |
| Recent Stock Price | $159.75 (Feb 2026) |
| Core Business | Cloud-based network security and Zero Trust architecture |
| Investor Relations | Zscaler Investor Relations |
| Financial Data | Yahoo Finance Zscaler Profile |
In just one quarter, revenue increased by more than 25% year over year to almost $788 million. Security teams are still installing Zscaler’s software inside corporate offices, rerouting employee internet traffic through its cloud, and safeguarding systems against unseen threats. The work is still ongoing. Silently. Regularly. However, the stock continues to decline.
It’s possible that the true problem is now expectations rather than performance. Investors priced Zscaler for years under the assumption that growth would never stop. The market responds with disappointment when growth is robust but even slightly slows. This disappointment may spiral out of control and drive stock prices lower than reason alone could support.
Fear seems to be spreading more quickly than information.
Artificial intelligence contributes to some of that anxiety. Emerging AI-powered security tools promise faster analysis, faster detection, and faster everything else. Investors appear to be unsure if Zscaler and similar companies will dominate this shift or find it difficult to keep up. It’s still unknown if those worries are based on reality or are just a reaction to change.
Even when attending technology conferences, Zscaler’s name is still mentioned frequently. There is a certain quiet respect with which security engineers discuss Zero Trust architecture. Zscaler was a pioneer in that model, substituting cloud-based security for conventional corporate firewalls. This change radically altered how businesses protect their networks.
However, history is rarely rewarded by markets. Momentum is rewarded.
Interestingly, analysts are still hopeful. Many continue to believe that the stock may eventually rise back to $300 or more. However, even those analysts have recently reduced their price targets, bringing expectations down while still believing in the long-term narrative. More than conviction, that contradiction is a reflection of uncertainty.
It’s difficult to ignore how volatile stock prices can be while watching this play out.
The decline of Zscaler is also indicative of a larger trend in the technology industry. Once thought to be invincible, cybersecurity firms are now being reassessed. Investors who used to seek growth at all costs now appear to be more cautious and are challenging valuations that seemed reasonable at the time.
These changes are occurring in the background at investment firms. Charts are being studied by portfolio managers. Forecasts are being revised by analysts. Conversations are growing more circumspect and uncertain.
Nevertheless, there is still a need for cybersecurity.
It’s growing, if anything. Every connected device, remote worker, and AI system introduces new vulnerabilities. At the core of that growth are Zscaler’s services, which safeguard data moving across networks. That fundamental significance remains unchanged. Perception has changed. Something about this moment feels familiar. Decades ago, Amazon had similar doubts. Microsoft did the same. Businesses developing cutting-edge technology frequently experience times when investors lose faith in them before eventually regaining it. However, not every business recovers in the same manner.
Jay Chaudhry, the founder of Zscaler, founded the business with the conviction that conventional security models would eventually fall short. That assumption turned out to be accurate. As the industry changes, the question now is whether Zscaler can adjust once more. The current stock price may not be reflecting a long-term decline, but rather a momentary fear. Or maybe it represents a more profound change that investors are just now starting to realize.
Nothing seems broken as I stand outside Zscaler’s offices. Workers continue to show up every morning. The code continues to function. Threats are still blocked. The company keeps up its silent operations, mostly going unnoticed by the general public.
