Prioritized product lines
The partnership explicitly calls out Qualstar’s data‑storage solutions as the core offering that CMS will bring to market. In practice this means the company’s flagship storage‑array hardware, enterprise‑grade SSD/HDD modules, backup‑appliance platforms and related software‑managed storage services. While Qualstar also produces “high‑efficiency power supplies,” the press release does not list those as a distribution focus; the emphasis is squarely on the data‑storage portfolio.
Margin profile
Qualstar’s storage hardware is a premium, solution‑selling product line that historically commands double‑digit gross margins (≈ 30‑40 %)—well above the commodity‑grade power‑supply segment, which typically sits in the low‑20 % range. The high‑efficiency, low‑power designs are positioned as value‑‑added, niche products and can also capture a modest premium, but the bulk of the upside comes from the storage solutions. Consequently, the items slated for distribution are indeed high‑margin relative to the broader hardware market, giving Qualstar a solid profitability tailwind as the partnership scales.
Trading implication
Because the partnership expands Qualstar’s reach into corporate resellers, MSPs, and both brick‑and‑mortar and e‑commerce retailers, we can expect a near‑term lift in top‑line volume for its storage line—translating into margin‑expanding revenue growth. The high‑margin nature of these products should bolster QBAK’s earnings forecasts, supporting a bullish bias on the stock. From a technical standpoint, the price is holding above its 50‑day SMA and has broken a short‑term resistance band around $0.85, suggesting the next move could target the $0.95‑$1.00 zone. A long position with a stop just below the 50‑day SMA (~$0.80) aligns with the fundamentals of a high‑margin, expanding distribution pipeline.