Tenable Holdings, Inc. (TENB): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

Tenable Holdings, Inc. (TENB) is a leader in the critical shift from traditional vulnerability scanning to proactive exposure management, but with full-year 2025 revenue guidance of $\mathbf{\$988.0}$ million to $\mathbf{\$992.0}$ million, can it defintely maintain its growth premium in a consolidating cybersecurity market? The company's recent Q3 2025 revenue of $\mathbf{\$252.4}$ million, an $\mathbf{11\%}$ year-over-year increase, and their positioning as a Leader in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Exposure Assessment Platforms show their platform is resonating with customers. You need to understand the structural drivers behind that performance-like their move into AI security-to gauge if the projected $\mathbf{\$1.51}$ to $\mathbf{\$1.54}$ non-GAAP diluted EPS for 2025 is a sustainable floor or a near-term peak. Let's break down the history, ownership, and financial engine of Tenable Holdings, Inc. to see if this is a core holding or a tactical trade in your portfolio.

Tenable Holdings, Inc. (TENB) History

You need to understand Tenable Holdings, Inc.'s journey from its roots in open-source vulnerability scanning to its current position as a leader in Exposure Management. The company's trajectory is defined by its pivot to a commercial model, a massive private equity infusion, and a strategic shift to cloud-based security, all culminating in a strong 2025 financial outlook.

Given Company's Founding Timeline

Year established

Tenable Network Security, Inc., the precursor to Tenable Holdings, Inc., was established in 2002, specifically on September 16.

Original location

The company started in Columbia, Maryland, which remains its headquarters today.

Founding team members

The company was founded by three cybersecurity veterans: Ron Gula, Jack Huffard, and Renaud Deraison. Deraison was the creator of the core technology, the Nessus vulnerability scanner, which he developed in 1998.

Initial capital/funding

Tenable was initially bootstrapped, meaning the founders self-funded the early operations. Their first major institutional capital came a decade later, with a $50 million Series A funding round in September 2012 from Accel Partners.

Given Company's Evolution Milestones

Given Company's Transformative Moments

The biggest shifts for Tenable Holdings, Inc. weren't just product releases; they were fundamental business model changes. Honestly, the switch from open-source to proprietary software in 2005 was the first major step to becoming a real company, not just a community project.

The 2015 Series B funding of $250 million was a game-changer. That money allowed them to accelerate development far beyond what bootstrapping could ever do, directly leading to the cloud-native platform, Tenable.io, two years later. That was the move that positioned them for the IPO.

• The Cloud Shift: The launch of Tenable.io in 2017 and the subsequent Tenable One platform in 2022 moved the company from on-premise scanning to comprehensive, cloud-based Exposure Management. This aligns with modern enterprise IT, where you need to manage risk across cloud, identity, and operational technology (OT) environments, not just traditional networks.
• Strategic M&A in 2025: The acquisition of Vulcan Cyber in January 2025 and the announced intent to acquire Apex Security later in the year show a clear focus on actionable risk reduction and the emerging AI security landscape. You can see this strategy paying off in the financials: the company is guiding for full-year 2025 revenue between $988.0 million and $992.0 million.
• Leadership Transition: The death of CEO Amit Yoran in January 2025 led to the appointment of Steve Vintz and Mark Thurmond as co-CEOs. This is a critical, near-term transition that the company navigated while still delivering strong Q3 2025 results, including a non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.42.

The company's focus is now firmly on integrating all these exposure management capabilities. If you want to dive deeper into who is betting on this strategy, you should check out Exploring Tenable Holdings, Inc. (TENB) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Tenable Holdings, Inc. (TENB) Ownership Structure

Tenable Holdings, Inc. is overwhelmingly controlled by institutional money, a common trait for high-growth cybersecurity firms, which means major investment funds drive the stock's volume and price action. This structure, where institutions hold nearly 90% of the shares, gives significant influence to a small number of large, financially-savvy stakeholders over long-term strategic decisions.

Tenable Holdings, Inc.'s Current Status

Tenable Holdings, Inc. is a publicly traded company, listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol TENB, having completed its Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 2018. As of late 2025, the company's total shares outstanding stood at approximately 119.34 million. This public status subjects the company to rigorous reporting requirements from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), ensuring a high degree of transparency for investors seeking to understand its financial health and governance.

You can see the detailed movements of these major players and their rationale in Exploring Tenable Holdings, Inc. (TENB) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Tenable Holdings, Inc.'s Ownership Breakdown

The ownership breakdown clearly shows that institutional investors-funds like BlackRock, The Vanguard Group, and others-are the primary stakeholders, holding a dominant position. This heavy concentration means that a few large trades can defintely impact the stock price, so watch the 13F filings closely. Here's the quick math based on fiscal 2025 data:

Tenable Holdings, Inc.'s Leadership

Tenable operates with a dual-leadership model, a co-CEO structure designed to split the focus between product strategy and market execution, which the Board made permanent in April 2025. This setup aims to ensure both technological innovation and revenue growth receive dedicated executive attention. For instance, Co-CEO Steve Vintz's total compensation was approximately $6.06 million in the last reported period, reflecting the high value placed on top-tier cybersecurity leadership.

The core executive team steering the company as of November 2025 includes:

• Steve Vintz: Co-Chief Executive Officer (Co-CEO) & Director, focusing on product and cybersecurity.
• Mark Thurmond: Co-Chief Executive Officer (Co-CEO), managing sales and marketing functions.
• Matthew Brown: Chief Financial Officer (CFO), overseeing all financial operations.
• Thomas Feringa: Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), responsible for driving the company's sales engine.
• Patricia Grant: Chief Information Officer (CIO), handling internal IT and security infrastructure.
• Michelle VonderHaar: Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary, managing legal and governance.

Tenable Holdings, Inc. (TENB) Mission and Values

Tenable Holdings, Inc.'s core purpose transcends selling software; it is about enabling a more secure digital world by helping organizations proactively manage and reduce their cyber risk. This mission is grounded in core values that emphasize collaboration, tangible results, and a deep commitment to their customers and the broader community.

Tenable Holdings, Inc.'s Core Purpose

As a seasoned analyst, I see a company whose cultural DNA is built on the critical nature of its work-cybersecurity is not a luxury, it's a necessity. This is clear from their formal statements and their strategic focus on 'exposure management,' which is the evolution of traditional vulnerability management. Exploring Tenable Holdings, Inc. (TENB) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

Official mission statement

The official mission statement is direct and action-oriented, reflecting the company's role as a partner in preemptive security for its approximate 44,000 global customers.

• Empower organizations to understand and reduce their cybersecurity risk.
• Create a more secure digital world for all stakeholders.
• Provide comprehensive visibility and insights into security vulnerabilities.

The work they do defintely matters for the global economy.

Vision statement

Tenable's vision is less a static statement and more a strategic roadmap, aiming to establish undisputed leadership in the evolving market of exposure management. They are focused on unifying security visibility across the entire attack surface-from on-premises IT to cloud environments.

• Lead the cyber exposure management market through continuous innovation.
• Scale the business by capturing large market opportunities, specifically in cloud, identity, and Operational Technology (OT) security.
• Provide actionable, AI-driven insights for effective prioritization and remediation of cyber risks.

Here's the quick math: their full-year 2025 revenue guidance of between $971 million and $981 million shows the market is buying into this vision.

Their core values are the foundation of this strategy:

• One Tenable: Work together and win together-employees, customers, and partners.
• Deliver Results: Set high goals, take bold risks, measure honestly, and exceed expectations.
• We Care: Be committed to the work, customers, colleagues, and communities, and always do the right thing.
• What We Do Matters: A clear acknowledgment that their work makes a difference in the world.

Tenable Holdings, Inc.'s slogan/tagline

Tenable's current tagline is a concise, powerful distillation of their market position and product focus, clearly positioning them in the new cybersecurity landscape.

• Tenable is the exposure management company.

This simple phrase translates their complex platform-Tenable One-into a clear, market-facing identity, moving beyond the older, limited term of 'vulnerability management.' It's a great example of translating jargon into a brand promise.

Tenable Holdings, Inc. (TENB) How It Works

Tenable Holdings, Inc. operates as the exposure management company, moving cybersecurity beyond simply finding vulnerabilities to proactively measuring and managing cyber risk across the entire modern attack surface. They unify visibility from IT to cloud to operational technology (OT), giving you a clear, prioritized view of what an attacker sees, so you can fix the most dangerous exposures first.

Tenable Holdings, Inc. Product/Service Portfolio

The core of the business is the Tenable One platform, which consolidates data from multiple environments to deliver a unified view of cyber risk. This platform is driving significant momentum, accounting for approximately 40% of new business in the third quarter of 2025.

Tenable Holdings, Inc. Operational Framework

Tenable's model is built on high-quality, recurring subscription revenue and a powerful channel partner network. Honestly, that's the engine keeping the growth steady.

• Revenue Stream: The business is heavily subscription-based, with recurring revenue consistently around 95% of the total. Full-year 2025 revenue is projected to be between $988.0 million and $992.0 million, based on the most recent guidance.
• Distribution Model: Tenable uses a two-tiered channel model, selling products and services to distributors, who then work with resellers to reach end-users. This channel network accounted for 94% of revenue in the nine months ended September 30, 2025.
• Value Creation: The core process starts with data ingestion-collecting vulnerability, configuration, and asset data from the entire attack surface. This data is then processed through proprietary risk-based analytics to produce a single, prioritized exposure score, helping customers focus their remediation efforts.
• Investment Focus: The company is aggressively investing in its platform, with Research and Development (R&D) spending up over 20% year-to-date in Q3 2025, reflecting a commitment to AI-driven security capabilities, including the recent launch of Tenable AI Exposure. The acquisition of Apex Security earlier in 2025 also strengthened their AI attack surface protection.

If you want to dig into the balance sheet dynamics, especially how this R&D spend impacts margins, you should check out Breaking Down Tenable Holdings, Inc. (TENB) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Tenable Holdings, Inc. Strategic Advantages

The company's shift from traditional vulnerability management to comprehensive exposure management is its biggest strategic lever. It's a defintely a preemptive approach that resonates with CISOs.

• Market Leadership: Tenable has cemented its position as a Leader in the exposure assessment space, including being named a Leader in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Exposure Assessment Platforms. This validation helps drive enterprise adoption.
• Platform Unification and Breadth: The Tenable One platform provides the most complete view of risk across the modern attack surface-IT, cloud, identity, web apps, and OT-which is a critical differentiator against point solutions.
• Network Effect from Nessus: The foundational Nessus product line is one of the most widely deployed vulnerability assessment solutions globally. This extensive user base generates a continuous feedback loop of data and insights, which in turn enhances the proprietary risk analytics and coverage of the entire platform.
• Financial Efficiency: The company maintains impressive gross profit margins of 78%, reflecting strong operational efficiency in delivering its subscription services. Plus, a net dollar expansion rate of 107% shows that existing customers are consistently increasing their spend, proving the platform's stickiness and value.

Tenable Holdings, Inc. (TENB) How It Makes Money

Tenable Holdings, Inc. makes money primarily by selling annual or multi-year subscriptions to its cloud-based and on-premise cybersecurity software, which helps organizations manage and measure their cyber risk exposure. This subscription model generates highly predictable, recurring revenue, which is the backbone of the business.

Tenable Holdings, Inc.'s Revenue Breakdown

The company's financial engine is overwhelmingly driven by its subscription-based software products, which include the flagship Tenable One Exposure Management Platform. This model is why its revenue profile is considered high-quality and very predictable.

Business Economics

The core economic reality for Tenable is its high-margin, recurring software model. For the full fiscal year 2025, the company expects total revenue to land near the midpoint of its guidance, around $990.0 million, with calculated current billings (CCB) expected to reach approximately $1.044 billion. The difference between revenue and billings is essentially deferred revenue-cash collected upfront for services to be delivered later, which is a great sign of future revenue visibility.

• High Recurring Revenue: The fact that 95% of revenue is recurring (Q3 2025) means the business has a strong moat, relying little on one-off consulting fees. That's defintely a key metric for any software-as-a-service (SaaS) company.
• Gross Margin Power: The non-GAAP gross margin for Q3 2025 was a robust 81.6%, which shows that the direct cost of delivering the software platform is low relative to the revenue it generates. This high margin provides significant capital to reinvest in research and development (R&D) and sales.
• Pricing Strategy: Tenable employs a value-based pricing strategy, charging customers based on the number of assets (like computers, cloud instances, or web apps) they need to manage and the complexity of the security solutions they adopt. The push is toward the comprehensive Tenable One platform, which represented about 40% of new business in Q3 2025, indicating customers are consolidating their security spend onto a single, higher-value platform.

Tenable Holdings, Inc.'s Financial Performance

The company is successfully balancing growth with increasing profitability, a critical pivot for a maturing software firm. The shift from vulnerability management to a broader exposure management platform is paying off in their bottom line.

• Profitability Improvement: The full-year 2025 guidance projects a non-GAAP operating margin of approximately 21.5% at the midpoint, a significant increase year-over-year. This shows effective cost management as the business scales.
• Cash Generation: Unlevered free cash flow (UFCF) year-to-date through Q3 2025 reached $189.6 million, demonstrating the company's ability to turn revenue into real cash without relying heavily on financing. This is what funds share repurchases and strategic acquisitions.
• Customer Expansion: In Q3 2025 alone, Tenable added 437 new enterprise platform customers, with platform deals showing higher average selling prices (ASPs) and longer contract durations. This focus on the enterprise segment is a clear driver of the stable, high-growth recurring revenue stream.

Here's the quick math: A 95% recurring revenue base at an 81.6% gross margin gives you a lot of room to maneuver and invest in the future. If you want a deeper look at the sustainability of these numbers, you should read Breaking Down Tenable Holdings, Inc. (TENB) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Tenable Holdings, Inc. (TENB) Market Position & Future Outlook

Tenable Holdings, Inc. is strategically positioned as the market leader in the foundational vulnerability management (VM) space, now aggressively pivoting to the broader, high-growth field of exposure management. This shift, anchored by the Tenable One platform, aims to capture a significant share of a total addressable market (TAM) estimated at $50 billion and growing at a 20% CAGR through 2027.

Competitive Landscape

In the core market, Tenable maintains a clear lead, but the competitive pressure is intense, particularly as the focus moves to cloud and AI-driven security. The top three players-Tenable, Qualys, and Rapid7-together control over 60% of the vulnerability management sector.

Opportunities & Challenges

The company's future performance hinges on its ability to execute its exposure management strategy and successfully integrate new, complex capabilities like AI security. Here's the quick math on the potential upside and the defintely real risks you should watch.

Industry Position

Tenable is a dominant force in cybersecurity, recognized as the #1 provider in Worldwide Device Vulnerability and Exposure Management for seven consecutive years. The market is evolving quickly, though, so their leadership depends on the Tenable One platform becoming the single pane of glass for all risk.

• Financial Trajectory (FY 2025 Guidance): The company projects full-year 2025 revenue between $988.0 million and $992.0 million, with non-GAAP diluted EPS expected in the range of $1.51 to $1.54.
• Exposure Management Leadership: Tenable was named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Exposure Management 2025 Vendor Assessment, validating their strategic pivot.
• Product Differentiation: The platform's ability to aggregate and contextualize data from over 300 third-party security tools is a key differentiator against point solutions.
• Proactive Security: The core strategy is moving customers from reactive vulnerability detection to proactive risk reduction, driven by AI-powered prioritization.

For a deeper dive into the company's foundation, you should review the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of Tenable Holdings, Inc. (TENB).