Disclosure: I am long NQ.
NQ Mobile (NQ) offers a wide array of security solutions for Android smartphones. NQ Mobile has two divisions:
- Consumer Mobile Services, which consists of mobile security and privacy services, and mobile games and advertising
- Enterprise Mobility, which offers managed mobility services to some 1200 enterprise customers
NQ Mobile's core business is providing security software for smartphones, but they also provide additional services, like privacy and family protection, anti-data theft, and the like. All these are offered as software as a service (SAAS) cloud computing business model which usually carries higher margins and higher valuations compared to the traditional software license sales model.
Business model
The company uses a fremium model, where its basic services are free:
the company says that 85 [now 97.7] million of its 242 [now 283.4] million registered users are active. But over 90 percent of those users receive a free service and generate no income, so the third step has been to monetise that vast base, by pitching premium features like device wipe and recovery or anti-eavesdropping for a fee. [FT]
Now 9.8M users pay for premium versions of NQ's products. NQ accessed the enterprise segment of the mobile market via the acquisition of NationSky in May 2012, and expanded into games and mobile advertising via the acquisition of Feiliu in November 2012. They've also cut several deals with retail outlets in the US, and most significant, cut a comprehensive deal with America Movil, which is going to sell and market all of NQ's flagship products under their own brand starting this year. [Read on here]