Tenable (TENB) Q2 2025: Tenable One Drives 40% of New Sales as Platform Adoption Accelerates
Tenable’s exposure management platform, Tenable One, accounted for 40% of new sales, marking a decisive shift toward unified cybersecurity solutions and longer-term customer commitments. The company’s strategy to consolidate risk management, expand AI capabilities, and secure multi-year deals is reshaping its growth trajectory. Improved public sector visibility and a robust backlog set the stage for a stronger second half, despite ongoing federal deal scrutiny.
Summary
- Platform Mix Shift: Tenable One’s rising share of new sales is transforming deal sizes and customer engagement.
- AI and Asset Expansion: Acquisitions and R&D are deepening Tenable’s capabilities across AI, OT, and cloud security.
- Renewal Visibility: Enhanced public sector renewal confidence supports a more optimistic outlook for the remainder of 2025.
Performance Analysis
Tenable’s Q2 results highlight a pivotal transition from traditional vulnerability management (VM, identifying and prioritizing software weaknesses) to a platform-led model anchored by Tenable One, its unified exposure management offering. Tenable One made up 40% of new sales and 30% of total sales, driving larger deal sizes and multi-year commitments. The company added 76 net new six-figure customers and 367 new enterprise platform customers, reflecting strong demand for consolidated solutions.
Current remaining performance obligations (RPO, contracted revenue yet to be recognized) grew 12% year-over-year, outpacing calculated current billings growth, while long-term RPO surged over 40%. This signals customers’ willingness to commit to Tenable’s platform for the long haul. Gross margin remained steady at 82%, though management anticipates modest compression as AI and automation features roll out. Sales and marketing investments increased sequentially, but are expected to trend lower as productivity rises. R&D spend climbed to 18% of revenue, reflecting integration of recent acquisitions Apex and Vulcan.
- Platform-Led Expansion: Tenable One is catalyzing higher deal values, with a growing share of multi-asset, six- and seven-figure agreements.
- Backlog Acceleration: Total RPO up 19%, with long-term RPO exceeding 40% growth, indicating deepening customer commitments.
- Federal Headwinds Moderating: Improved renewal visibility in public sector, though expansion opportunities remain slow to close.
Despite a constrained federal spending environment, Tenable’s commercial momentum and platform adoption offset headwinds, positioning the company for durable growth as customers seek unified risk management in increasingly complex environments.
Executive Commentary
"We attribute our performance in the quarter to the growing adoption of our exposure management platform, Tenable One, which was 40% of total new sales this quarter."
Steve Vince, Co-Chief Executive Officer
"What is increasingly clear from all these customer examples is that as cyber threats become more frequent and sophisticated, customers are shifting their focus toward preemptive strategies."
Mark Thurmond, Co-Chief Executive Officer
Strategic Positioning
1. Tenable One Platform Momentum
Tenable One, the company’s exposure management platform, is now central to Tenable’s go-to-market and product strategy. Its ability to consolidate VM, cloud, identity, operational technology (OT, industrial control systems), and AI security into a unified platform is resonating with both new and existing customers. This approach is driving larger, multi-asset deals and longer-term contracts, with 70% of multi-year deals now tied to the platform.
2. AI and Asset-Type Expansion
The acquisition of Apex and ongoing investments in AI-aware and AI SPM (security posture management) are rapidly expanding Tenable’s capabilities. The company now offers governance and enforcement for AI usage, positioning AI security as a core platform feature rather than a standalone product. Over 6,000 customers already use AI Aware, and Apex is being integrated directly into Tenable One to address the emerging AI attack surface.
3. Public Sector and Federal Dynamics
While the U.S. federal market remains cautious, Tenable’s leadership in federal VM and improved renewal visibility are stabilizing this key vertical. Expansion opportunities in federal are still slow to materialize, but the company’s FedRAMP authorization for Tenable One and cloud security is opening doors for broader platform adoption as agencies modernize their risk management approaches.
4. Operational Technology and Hybrid Environments
OT security and hybrid IT-OT (information technology and operational technology) environments are emerging as high-growth verticals. Tenable’s ability to provide unified visibility and risk management across both IT and OT is differentiating it from point solution providers, particularly in sectors like manufacturing, data centers, and entertainment.
5. Channel-Driven Expansion
Tenable’s 100% channel model is showing increased traction as partners grow more comfortable positioning the platform, aided by analyst validation from Forrester and IDC. No major incentive changes were cited; growth is attributed to platform pull and improved channel enablement.
Key Considerations
Tenable’s Q2 marks a strategic inflection point as platform adoption reshapes its sales mix, customer relationships, and product roadmap. The company’s ability to balance growth investments in AI and automation with disciplined cost management and capital returns is central to its thesis.
Key Considerations:
- Platform Penetration Trajectory: Modest increases in Tenable One’s mix could drive further acceleration in growth and billings.
- AI as a Differentiator: Embedding Apex and AI-aware features into the platform addresses urgent enterprise security needs and creates new upsell vectors.
- Federal Market Watchpoint: Renewal visibility has improved, but expansion deals remain protracted, requiring close monitoring.
- Multi-Year Commitments: Rising long-term RPO and multi-year deals enhance revenue visibility and customer stickiness.
- Channel Leverage: As partners embrace the platform model, Tenable’s indirect sales motion could further amplify reach and efficiency.
Risks
Federal expansion remains a key risk, with deal cycles lengthening due to increased scrutiny and budget reviews. Gross margin pressure is likely as new AI and automation features launch, and the competitive landscape in exposure management is intensifying as large vendors and point players target the same customer budgets. Execution risk around integrating acquisitions and delivering on AI promises also remains elevated.
Forward Outlook
For Q3 2025, Tenable guided to:
- Revenue of $246 million to $248 million
- Non-GAAP income from operations of $52 million to $54 million
- Non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.36 to $0.37
For full-year 2025, management raised guidance:
- Revenue of $981 million to $987 million
- Unlevered free cash flow of $265 million to $275 million
Management cited improved public sector renewal visibility and strong Tenable One traction as key drivers for the guidance increase, while cautioning that revenue mix benefits from upfront recognition in Q2 are not expected to recur. Ongoing R&D and AI investments are expected to weigh modestly on gross margin, but productivity gains should support operating leverage.
- Improved public sector renewal confidence supports a more optimistic H2 outlook.
- Platform adoption and multi-year deals are expected to continue driving backlog growth.
Takeaways
Tenable’s platform-centric pivot is reshaping its growth profile, with Tenable One now the primary engine for new customer wins and expansion. The company is leveraging AI and asset-type breadth to differentiate in a crowded market, while disciplined capital returns and multi-year deals underpin financial stability.
- Platform Adoption Drives Upside: Tenable One’s rising share of sales is translating to larger, stickier, and longer-term deals, supporting backlog growth and margin leverage.
- AI and Asset Expansion Create Upsell Leverage: Integrating Apex and AI-aware capabilities into the core platform positions Tenable to address emerging attack surfaces and increase wallet share.
- Federal and Channel Execution Remain Key Watchpoints: Sustaining momentum in federal expansion and channel enablement will be critical to unlocking further growth in H2 and beyond.
Conclusion
Tenable’s Q2 results confirm a successful shift toward platform-led growth, with Tenable One anchoring larger, longer-term, and more comprehensive customer relationships. Continued execution on AI integration and risk management innovation will be essential as the company navigates federal headwinds and an increasingly competitive landscape.
Industry Read-Through
Tenable’s results underscore a broader industry pivot toward unified exposure management platforms, as organizations seek to consolidate risk visibility and remediation across IT, OT, cloud, and AI environments. Vendors reliant on point solutions or legacy VM are increasingly vulnerable to displacement as customers demand integrated approaches. The surge in multi-year commitments and growing emphasis on AI-driven security highlight secular trends that will shape the cybersecurity sector for years to come. Analyst validation and customer consolidation activity signal that platform-centric providers are gaining share, setting a new competitive baseline for the industry.