CISO Global Reports a Return to Profitability

Summary

• CISO Global says it reached positive adjusted EBITDA (unaudited) in the last quarter of the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024.
• The company credits the full integration of 13 acquired services businesses, AI-driven efficiencies and a shift toward higher-margin software.
• For the full year it still reported a net loss, on revenue of about $30.8 million.
• CEO David Jemmett called the milestone “a defining moment” for the company.
• For 2025 it expects at least $34 million in adjusted EBITDA-profitable services revenue, plus about $5 million in software bookings.

What CISO Global announced

CISO Global (Nasdaq: CISO), a Scottsdale, Arizona, managed security and compliance company, announced on March 27, 2025, that it had reached a profitability milestone. The milestone is narrower than the headline suggests. The company reached unaudited positive adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter of 2024, a measure that excludes interest, taxes, depreciation and other items. On a GAAP basis, it reported a net loss for the year.

How it got there

The turnaround followed a strategic realignment. CISO Global says it has fully integrated the 13 services businesses it bought in recent years and used its own AI-driven penetration testing and automation software to deliver services more cheaply.

It is also shifting toward software, where it expects margins of roughly 75 percent, and it recently paid off its highest-interest term loans.

Customers and partners

The company says it has more than 500 customers and sells its software through three insurance partnerships as well as to its existing client base.

“This is a defining moment for CISO Global,” Jemmett said in the announcement. “Our vision of a software-led business is now a reality, with our AI technology not only enhancing cybersecurity outcomes for our clients but also driving significant financial efficiency.”

Leadership and the 2025 outlook

Jemmett has led CISO Global through a run of acquisitions and now the move to software. Chief Financial Officer Deb Smith said the company’s financial discipline had made it “more resilient and profitable” and pointed to a software pipeline that was stronger than expected.

The company’s 2025 targets are at least $34 million in services revenue that is profitable on an adjusted EBITDA basis and about $5 million in additional software bookings. Like most forecasts in a press release, these are forward-looking statements and carry risk.

Why services firms are moving to software

CISO Global’s shift reflects a wider trend among managed security providers. Pure services businesses grow only as fast as they can hire. Software lets them sell to more clients without adding analysts at the same rate.

Whether that works depends on customers buying the software, not just the services.

What investors should watch

Positive adjusted EBITDA for a single quarter is progress for a company that has been losing money. It is not the same as full-year GAAP profit.

The next test is whether CISO Global can keep adjusted EBITDA positive through 2025 and grow software sales as planned. Its quarterly filings will show whether it does.

John King, CISSP, PMP, CISM

John King currently works in the greater Los Angeles area as a ISSO (Information Systems Security Officer). John has a passion for learning and developing his cyber security skills through education, hands on work, and studying for IT certifications.