As Q2 earnings season comes to a close, let’s take a look at this quarter’s best and worst performers in the financial and HR software industries, including Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) and its peers.
Organizations are constantly looking for ways to improve organizational efficiency, whether it is financial planning, tax management or payroll. Financial and HR software are benefiting from the SaaSification of businesses large and small, who much prefer the flexibility of cloud-based, web browser-delivered, subscription-based software to the hassle and expense of purchasing and managing on a subscription basis. location business software.
The fifteen financial and HR software stocks we track reported a slower second quarter. As a group, revenues exceeded analyst consensus expectations by 1.6%, while revenue expectations for the next quarter were 0.5% below that.
After much tension, the Federal Reserve lowered its policy interest rate by 50 basis points (half a percent) in September 2024. This marks the central bank’s first easing of monetary policy since 2020 and the end of its most targeted anti-inflation campaign since the 1980s. Inflation started to spike in 2021 following the COVID-19 crisis due to a confluence of factors such as supply chain disruptions, labor shortages and stimulus spending. While CPI (inflation) numbers have been positive recently, employment measures have raised some concerns. Going forward, markets will debate whether this rate cut (and more potential rate cuts in 2024 and 2025) is the perfect timing to support the economy, or whether it’s a bit too late for a macro that’s already too much cooled down.
In light of this news, finance and HR software stocks have held steady, with share prices up an average of 4.1% since the last earnings results.
Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU)
Intuit was founded in 1983 when founder Scott Cook saw his wife struggling to balance the family checkbook. It provides tax and accounting software for small and medium businesses.
Intuit reported revenue of $3.18 billion, up 17.4% year over year. This print exceeded analyst expectations by 3.1%. Despite the revenue increase, it was still a mixed quarter for the company, with management forecasting healthy growth but a decline in gross margin.
“We delivered very strong results for the fourth quarter and full year, making meaningful progress on our AI-driven expert platform strategy that positions the company for sustainable growth going forward,” said Sasan Goodarzi, CEO of Intuit.
Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 9.4% since reporting and is currently trading at $603.16.
Is Now the Time to Buy Intuit? See our full analysis of earnings results here. It’s free.
Best Second Quarter: Zuora (NYSE:ZUO)
Founded in 2007, Zuora (NYSE:ZUO) provides a software as a service platform that allows businesses to bill and accept payments for recurring subscription products.
Zuora reported revenue of $115.4 million, up 6.8% year over year, beating analyst expectations by 2.5%. The company had a strong quarter with an impressive showing of analyst expectations and projected revenue numbers for the next quarter.
However, the results were likely priced into the stock as it has been trading sideways since reporting. Shares are currently trading at $8.45.
Is Now the Time to Buy Zuora? See our full analysis of earnings results here. It’s free.
Slowest Second Quarter: Global Business Travel (NYSE:GBTG)
Global Business Travel (NYSE:GBTG) has close ties with American Express and is a comprehensive travel and expense management provider to businesses worldwide.
Global Business Travel reported revenue of $625 million, up 5.6% year over year and falling 1.1% short of analyst expectations. It was a disappointing quarter as full-year revenue expectations did not match analyst expectations.
Interestingly, the stock is up 22.1% since the results and is currently trading at $7.36.
Read our full analysis of Global Business Travel results here.
Workiva (NYSE:WK)
Founded in 2010, Workiva (NYSE:WK) offers software as a service product that makes financial and compliance reporting easier, especially for publicly traded companies.
Workiva reported revenue of $177.5 million, up 14.5% year over year. This result exceeded analyst expectations by 1.3%. Apart from that, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also saw accelerated customer growth, but fell short of analyst expectations.
Workiva achieved the highest full-year guidance increase among its peers. The company added 72 business customers paying more than $100,000 annually, bringing the total to 1,768. The stock is up 7.1% since reporting and is currently trading at $77.64.
Read our full, actionable report on Workiva here. It’s free.
Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ)
Founded in 2009 by CEO Jason Gardner, Marqeta (NASDAQ: MQ) is an innovative card issuer that offers businesses the ability to issue and process virtual, physical and tokenized credit and debit cards.
Marqeta reported revenue of $125.3 million, down 45.8% year over year. This result exceeded analyst expectations by 3.1%. Zooming out, it was a mixed quarter, as it also showed a decent increase in total analyst payment volume estimates, but a decline in gross margin.
Marqeta had the slowest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is down 2.6% since reporting and is currently trading at $4.80.
Read our full, actionable report on Marqeta here. It’s free.
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