Is ESET profitable in 2025?

Yes. ESET reported FY2025 consolidated revenue of €733 million, up 6% year-over-year (8% at fixed FX), with EBITDA of €105 million, per its 2025 Annual Report published 2026-06-18. The company is self-funded and has no external investors.

ESET is privately held and founder/employee-owned, with co-owners including founders Miroslav Trnka, Peter Paško, Rudolf Hrubý, Maroš Grund, Anton Zajac, and CEO Richard Marko, who has led the company since 2011. There is no IPO, SPAC, or outside institutional ownership as of 2026-06-18.

Could AI replace ESET's cybersecurity products?

Unlikely to fully replace it. AI mainly commoditizes signature-based scanning and tier-1 triage, but ESET's moat rests on 35 years of proprietary telemetry from 100M+ sensors and a 10,000-partner channel network. ESET is also investing €40 million in its own foundational AI models, announced 2026-05-19.

Is ESET's biggest competitor Microsoft or CrowdStrike?

Both pressure ESET differently. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, bundled into Microsoft 365/Azure, threatens ESET's low-end commodity tier, while CrowdStrike, with FY2026 revenue of $4.81 billion and ~10,700 employees, dwarfs ESET in enterprise EDR scale as of 2026-05-29.

Is ESET publicly traded?

No. ESET remains a private, founder and employee-owned Slovak company (formally ESET, spol. s r.o.) with no reported IPO or SPAC listing as of its 2025 Annual Report dated 2026-06-18. Some data aggregators mislabel it as private-equity-backed, but ESET disputes this classification.

How fast is ESET growing in enterprise and B2B segments?

In FY2024, ESET's total B2B revenue grew 13%, Enterprise revenue grew 21%, and Services revenue grew 56%, alongside 15% EMEA growth, according to its Annual Report 2024 published 2025-06-30. Overall FY2024 revenue was €691 million, up 9% year-over-year.

Cybersecurity companies · Slovakia

ESET

eset.com ↗

Slovak antivirus and endpoint security vendor selling to consumers and businesses worldwide.

Hard to displace

Assessed 21 July 2026 · Evidence as of 21 July 2026

Strong structural protection; the business model survives ai pressure.

On the recordSince 21 July 2026 · Checkable from mid-2027 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: FY2026 annual results and next ESET World guidance update

The call

ESET is a self-funded, founder-owned security vendor betting that decades of threat data and its non-US, non-Russian identity will keep it relevant as Microsoft eats the cheap end of the market.

ESET makes antivirus and security software for computers and businesses. It is hard to replace because it has 35 years of threat data from 100 million devices, it is owned by Europeans (not Americans or Russians), and it sells through 10,000 partner companies. Microsoft and AI tools can handle basic virus scanning, but they cannot easily copy ESET's specific threat data or its reputation as the European choice. The key question is whether ESET can keep growing its business division faster than Microsoft takes over its low-end customers. So far it is, but if that growth slows down, ESET's advantages might not hold as strong.

Why

AI pressure: None apparent. AI mostly feeds ESET's own tools (AI Skills Checker, threat detection) rather than replacing the telemetry and research behind them. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.

Bigger players: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. Bundled free into M365/Azure, Defender squeezes the low end where price matters most, pushing ESET to fight for enterprise and services deals instead. Could a giant copy it? Probably.

What protects it. 35 years of telemetry from 100M+ sensors, 10,000 channel partners, and its position as a non-US, non-Russian option for buyers who care where their security vendor is based.

What would change this call

ESET B2B/Enterprise YoY growth rate in FY2026 annual report (mid-2027). Shows whether up-market pivot keeps outrunning Microsoft Defender's bundling pressure.
Any acquisition of Bitdefender by Microsoft or CrowdStrike. Would remove the main EU-sovereignty alternative and reshape competitive positioning around ESET.
New Kaspersky bans or CrowdStrike outage-style incidents in enterprise markets. Would test whether ESET actually gains switched customers from sovereignty positioning.

Key numbers

€733M revenue, up 6% YoY (2026-06-18)
Enterprise revenue +21%, Services +56% (2025-06-30)
10,000 channel partners worldwide (n.d.)

Named risks

Microsoft Defender bundling continues eroding low-end commodity AV/EPP tier. Severity: medium
AI-driven detection engines from larger rivals commoditize signature scanning and tier-1 triage. Severity: medium
Acquisition of Bitdefender by Microsoft or CrowdStrike would neutralize ESET's EU-sovereignty positioning. Severity: medium
Sustained reversal of B2B/enterprise growth below 5% YoY would signal eroding sovereignty/channel moat. Severity: high
Any major security incident on ESET's own product watch could damage trust-based positioning. Severity: high

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Microsoft (Defender for Endpoint)	contesting	Bundled into M365/Azure, pressures ESET's low-end tier even as ESET's Enterprise revenue grew 21% in FY2024
CrowdStrike	losing to	CrowdStrike's $4.81B FY2026 revenue and ~10,700 staff dwarf ESET's enterprise EDR scale as of 2026-05-29
Bitdefender	contesting	Competes directly as EU-sovereignty-branded alternative; a Microsoft/CrowdStrike buyout would erode ESET's positioning
Kaspersky	gaining on	ESET positions as trusted non-Russian alternative amid Western bans on Kaspersky sales, noted as of 2026-05-18
SentinelOne	contesting	Named among AI-native EDR rivals accelerating in the endpoint security market per 2026 sourcing

Questions people ask

Is ESET profitable in 2025?: Yes. ESET reported FY2025 consolidated revenue of €733 million, up 6% year-over-year (8% at fixed FX), with EBITDA of €105 million, per its 2025 Annual Report published 2026-06-18. The company is self-funded and has no external investors.
Who owns ESET?: ESET is privately held and founder/employee-owned, with co-owners including founders Miroslav Trnka, Peter Paško, Rudolf Hrubý, Maroš Grund, Anton Zajac, and CEO Richard Marko, who has led the company since 2011. There is no IPO, SPAC, or outside institutional ownership as of 2026-06-18.
Could AI replace ESET's cybersecurity products?: Unlikely to fully replace it. AI mainly commoditizes signature-based scanning and tier-1 triage, but ESET's moat rests on 35 years of proprietary telemetry from 100M+ sensors and a 10,000-partner channel network. ESET is also investing €40 million in its own foundational AI models, announced 2026-05-19.
Is ESET's biggest competitor Microsoft or CrowdStrike?: Both pressure ESET differently. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, bundled into Microsoft 365/Azure, threatens ESET's low-end commodity tier, while CrowdStrike, with FY2026 revenue of $4.81 billion and ~10,700 employees, dwarfs ESET in enterprise EDR scale as of 2026-05-29.
Is ESET publicly traded?: No. ESET remains a private, founder and employee-owned Slovak company (formally ESET, spol. s r.o.) with no reported IPO or SPAC listing as of its 2025 Annual Report dated 2026-06-18. Some data aggregators mislabel it as private-equity-backed, but ESET disputes this classification.
How fast is ESET growing in enterprise and B2B segments?: In FY2024, ESET's total B2B revenue grew 13%, Enterprise revenue grew 21%, and Services revenue grew 56%, alongside 15% EMEA growth, according to its Annual Report 2024 published 2025-06-30. Overall FY2024 revenue was €691 million, up 9% year-over-year.

Timeline

2026-07-13ESET PROTECT expanded listing on Microsoft Azure Marketplace
2026-06-18ESET 2025 Annual Report: revenue €733M, EBITDA €105M
2026-05-19Announced €40M AI investment, plan to triple R&D team to 1,000 researchers
2026-05-19Agreed to acquire former distributors Cyber Defense Group (NL) and ATHENA Global Services (FR)
2026-05-19Joined the Agentic AI Foundation under the Linux Foundation
2026-05-14Announced XDR/threat-detection integration partnership with Sekoia
2025-06-30ESET 2024 Annual Report: revenue €691M, up 9% YoY, B2B +13%, Enterprise +21%
2024Launched ESET PROTECT Hub, ESET AI Advisor, and two new MDR services
1992-01-01ESET formally established by Miroslav Trnka, Peter Paško, and Rudolf Hrubý

Revision history

21 July 2026

First assessed. Hard to displace. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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