On Zscaler (ZS), the metric the market grabs first is calculated billings — a non-GAAP figure meant to be a forward read on demand, built from GAAP revenue plus the change in deferred revenue. It is useful. It is also, by the company's own account, distortable.

Zscaler's fiscal 2025 10-K (filed September 11, 2025) is unusually candid about the mechanism: "Multi-year in advance billings increase our calculated billings in the period where such billings are invoiced and reduce the amount that could be invoiced" in a later period. Translated: a big customer that prepays three years at signing inflates the quarter it signs in and leaves nothing to re-bill in the two quarters that prepayment covers. A strong billings quarter can therefore borrow from a future one, and a soft quarter can simply reflect last year's upfront deals rolling off.

“Multi-year in advance billings increase our calculated billings in the period where such billings are invoiced and reduce the amount that could be invoiced and thus count toward calculated billings in future periods.”— SEC filing (10-K) source

The latest quarter shows the plumbing in motion. The 10-Q for the period ended April 30, 2026 (filed May 26, 2026) describes a $120.5 million decrease in accounts receivable "primarily due to timing of billings and collections" alongside a $90.0 million increase in deferred revenue — the kind of working-capital swing that moves the calculated-billings number for reasons that have little to do with underlying demand.

This is why the editorial standard here is to read billings next to deferred revenue and the cash-flow statement, not in isolation. A billings beat that is really a duration shift is not the same as a billings beat driven by more customers buying more. The filing gives you the tools to tell them apart. Read Zscaler's 10-Q at sec.gov; surfaced via SEC filings, the SEC filing data API and evidence index.

The takeaway: treat Zscaler's calculated billings as a signal, not a verdict. The company itself tells you the metric can be front-loaded by multi-year deals — so the honest read pairs it with deferred revenue, contract duration commentary, and the operating-cash-flow line.