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.
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 EdgarBeast, 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.