Is Qi An Xin in financial trouble?

Yes, by the numbers. FY2025 revenue was RMB 4.39 billion, up only 0.97% year over year (Dec 2025), while FY2024 net loss was RMB -2.09 billion and TTM net income was still negative at RMB -1.26 billion as of March 2026. Q1 2026 revenue grew a modest 4.44% to RMB 716.6 million, but 2025 non-GAAP net loss remained around RMB -1.5 billion.

Who are Qi An Xin's biggest competitors?

Sangfor Technologies is the most direct threat, growing revenue 7% and staying profitable in 2025 while Qi An Xin grew just 1% and posted close to half the sector's total loss. Cloud platform giants Huawei, Alibaba Cloud, and Tencent Security also compete by bundling security features into broader platform deals, squeezing margins on Qi An Xin's standalone products.

Is Qi An Xin at risk from AI?

Partly. Chinese AI models like DeepSeek and Qwen are being built into rival cloud platforms' security tools, which threatens to automate SOC monitoring and penetration-testing work that Qi An Xin currently bills as manual services. This pressure is described as building rather than already dominant, but it adds to the squeeze from domestic rivals like Sangfor.

What protects Qi An Xin from foreign competition?

China's Cybersecurity Law and data sovereignty rules block foreign vendors, including AI-driven tools from firms like OpenAI, from selling into government, bank, and state-owned enterprise procurement. That regulatory wall does not extend to domestic rivals, though, which is why Sangfor and the cloud giants are the ones actually taking share inside the protected market.

What should I watch next for Qi An Xin?

Qi An Xin reports H1 2026 earnings on August 28, 2026, which will show whether its net loss narrows compared to H1 2025 after recent headcount cuts. Its full-year FY2026 revenue growth figure, expected around March 2027, will indicate whether growth stays stuck below the roughly 1-4% range seen since the 2024 loss, based on the July 2026 assessment of 301 cybersecurity companies.

Cybersecurity companies · China

Qi An Xin (Qianxin)

qianxin.com ↗

Chinese cybersecurity vendor selling threat detection, SOC, and endpoint tools to government and enterprise clients.

Losing its protection

Assessed 30 July 2026 · Evidence as of 30 July 2026

The structural protection is eroding.

On the recordSince 30 July 2026 · Checkable from August 6, 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: H1 2026 earnings report, first real read on whether losses and headcount cuts are stabilizing

The call

Regulation keeps foreign rivals out, but inside that walled market QAX is shrinking its headcount and bleeding cash while five domestic peers sell the same thing.

Qi An Xin sells computer security products and services to the Chinese government, banks, and state companies. The Chinese government blocks foreign security companies from selling to these customers, which protects Qi An Xin from competition by American firms like Palo Alto Networks, but this same protection does not stop five equally strong Chinese rivals from competing against it on price and features. Qi An Xin's sales are flat, losses are growing, its workforce shrank 21 percent in two years, and artificial intelligence is now making basic security work (like sorting through security alerts or identifying malware) cheaper and faster to do with software instead of hiring people, which means Qi An Xin's service business is shrinking faster than its new AI products can make up the difference. The company's results in August 2026 will show whether it can stop the bleeding or is headed for a forced deal with one of its rivals.

Why

AI pressure: DeepSeek and domestic LLMs (Qwen-class models). Domestic LLMs are automating Tier-1 SOC work like alert triage and malware tagging, squeezing the services revenue QAX still relies on. Could AI do the core job? Only partly.

Bigger players: NSFOCUS, Sangfor, Venustech, DBAPPSecurity, Qihoo 360 Enterprise. Five similar-sized domestic rivals sell overlapping SOC and endpoint products into the same protected Chinese market, with no side holding a clear edge. Could a giant copy it? No, they are blocked.

What protects it. Chinese rules keep Western security vendors out of government, SOE, and bank networks, so QAX only has to beat other domestic players, not IBM or Palo Alto Networks.

What would change this call

QAX H1 2026 earnings release around August 6, 2026. Shows whether net losses are narrowing or widening and if headcount cuts are stabilizing.
US Commerce Department Entity List action against QAX. Would mirror the Qihoo 360 2020 precedent and block overseas expansion including MENA.
Public disclosure of NSFOCUS, Sangfor, or Venustech domestic contract wins versus QAX. Would indicate share is shifting among protected-market peers rather than QAX consolidating leadership.

Key numbers

FY2025 revenue CNY 4.39B, up just 0.97% YoY (2026-07-10)
TTM net loss about CNY -1.26B, roughly 29% of revenue (2026-07-16)
Headcount down 21% cumulatively from 9,353 (2023) to 7,419 (2025) (2026-07-08)

Named risks

Net loss widened to roughly CNY -1.26 billion TTM as of July 2026 despite flat revenue growth. Severity: high
Headcount cut approximately 21% cumulatively from FY2023 to FY2025, signaling demand weakness. Severity: medium
AI commoditization of Tier-1 SOC labor via cheap domestic LLMs like DeepSeek may compress services margins further. Severity: medium
Potential future US Commerce Department Entity List exposure, given sector precedent with Qihoo 360 in May 2020. Severity: medium
Stock trading near 52-week low as of July 30, 2026, reflecting investor doubt about profitability recovery. Severity: low

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
NSFOCUS	contesting	Domestic peer with no structural advantage over QAX amid flat sector revenue, 2026
Venustech	contesting	Competing within same protected Chinese government/SOE market as of 2026
Sangfor Technologies	contesting	Rival domestic vendor as QAX headcount fell 21% cumulative FY2023 to FY2025
DBAPPSecurity	contesting	Similar-tier domestic competitor amid QAX net losses widening to CNY -1.26B TTM, 2026
Qihoo 360 Enterprise Security Group	contesting	Overlapping domestic cybersecurity peer, historically confused with QAX
Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike, Microsoft Security	gaining on	Legally barred from Chinese government IT, letting QAX hold protected domestic share as of 2026

Questions people ask

Is Qi An Xin in financial trouble?: Yes, by the numbers. FY2025 revenue was RMB 4.39 billion, up only 0.97% year over year (Dec 2025), while FY2024 net loss was RMB -2.09 billion and TTM net income was still negative at RMB -1.26 billion as of March 2026. Q1 2026 revenue grew a modest 4.44% to RMB 716.6 million, but 2025 non-GAAP net loss remained around RMB -1.5 billion.
Who are Qi An Xin's biggest competitors?: Sangfor Technologies is the most direct threat, growing revenue 7% and staying profitable in 2025 while Qi An Xin grew just 1% and posted close to half the sector's total loss. Cloud platform giants Huawei, Alibaba Cloud, and Tencent Security also compete by bundling security features into broader platform deals, squeezing margins on Qi An Xin's standalone products.
Is Qi An Xin at risk from AI?: Partly. Chinese AI models like DeepSeek and Qwen are being built into rival cloud platforms' security tools, which threatens to automate SOC monitoring and penetration-testing work that Qi An Xin currently bills as manual services. This pressure is described as building rather than already dominant, but it adds to the squeeze from domestic rivals like Sangfor.
What protects Qi An Xin from foreign competition?: China's Cybersecurity Law and data sovereignty rules block foreign vendors, including AI-driven tools from firms like OpenAI, from selling into government, bank, and state-owned enterprise procurement. That regulatory wall does not extend to domestic rivals, though, which is why Sangfor and the cloud giants are the ones actually taking share inside the protected market.
What should I watch next for Qi An Xin?: Qi An Xin reports H1 2026 earnings on August 28, 2026, which will show whether its net loss narrows compared to H1 2025 after recent headcount cuts. Its full-year FY2026 revenue growth figure, expected around March 2027, will indicate whether growth stays stuck below the roughly 1-4% range seen since the 2024 loss, based on the July 2026 assessment of 301 cybersecurity companies.

Timeline

2026-07-30Stock trades near 52-week low CNY 21.98, high CNY 44.88
2026-07-16TTM net loss reported at approximately CNY -1.26 billion
2026-07-10FY2025 revenue reported at CNY 4.39 billion, up 0.97% YoY
2026-07-08Headcount reported at 7,419 as of Dec 31, 2025, down 1.99% YoY
2025-11-03QAX launches MENA channel strategy at Dubai Innovation Summit
2025-02-26Chairman Qi Xiangdong warns of cyberattacks on DeepSeek since January 2025
2024-08-17Xinhua reports on QAX-GPT and AI-driven threat detection tools
2024-03QAX-GPT large language model launched for threat detection
2020-07Qi An Xin IPOs on Shanghai Stock Exchange STAR board as 688561.SH
2014Qi An Xin incorporated in Beijing by Qi Xiangdong and Shi Xiaohong

Head to head

Qi An Xin (Qianxin) vs Qihoo 360 Qi An Xin (Qianxin) vs Sangfor Technologies

Revision history

30 July 2026

First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

In the same band

Seqrite Meiya Pico NSFOCUS