Financial And HR Software Stocks Q3 Results: Benchmarking BILL (NYSE:BILL)

The end of earnings season is always a good time to take a step back and look at who’s excelling (and who’s not so good). Let’s take a look at how finance and HR software stocks fared in the third quarter, starting with BILL (NYSE:BILL).

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-premises business software.

The thirteen financial and HR software stocks we track reported a strong third quarter. As a group, revenues exceeded analyst consensus estimates by 3%, while revenue expectations for the next quarter were in line.

In light of this news, the companies’ stock prices have remained stable. On average, they are relatively unchanged since the last earnings results.

BILL (NYSE:BILL) transforms the messy back-office financial operations that plague small business owners, offering a cloud-based platform that automates accounts payable, accounts receivable and expense management for small and medium-sized businesses.

BILL reported revenue of $395.7 million, up 10.4% year over year. This print exceeded analyst expectations by 1.2%. Overall, it was a strong quarter for the company, with an impressive showing of analyst EBITDA estimates and full-year earnings estimates beating analyst expectations.

BILL Total sales

Interestingly, the stock is up 15.7% since reporting and is currently trading at $51.35.

Is now the time to buy BILL? See our full analysis of the revenue results here. This is free for active Edge members.

Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ) powers innovative fintech services like Block’s Cash App, offering a cloud-based platform that allows businesses to create custom payment card programs and process card transactions.

Marqeta reported revenue of $163.3 million, up 27.6% year over year, beating analyst expectations by 9.7%. The company had an incredible quarter with solid improvement in analysts’ EBITDA and total payment volume estimates.

The market seems pleased with the results, as the stock is up 5.7% since reporting. It is currently trading at $4.74.

Is Now the Time to Buy Marqeta? See our full analysis of the revenue results here. This is free for active Edge members.

Born from the vision to eliminate tedious manual spreadsheet work for accountants, BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL) offers cloud-based software that automates and streamlines financial closing, intercompany accounting and invoice-to-cash processes for accounting departments.

BlackLine reported revenue of $178.3 million, up 7.5% year over year, in line with analyst expectations. It was a slower quarter as earnings estimates for the following quarter significantly exceeded analyst expectations and customer growth slowed.

BlackLine delivered the slowest revenue growth within the group. The company lost 27 customers for a total of 4,424. As expected, the stock is down 1.3% since the results and is currently trading at $56.10.

Read our full analysis of BlackLine’s results here.

Originally named after its founding product “Intuitive for the First User,” Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU) offers financial management software and services including TurboTax, QuickBooks, Credit Karma and Mailchimp to help consumers and small businesses manage their finances.

Intuit reported revenue of $3.89 billion, up 18.3% year over year. This result exceeded analyst expectations by 3.2%. More broadly, it was a satisfying quarter as it also recorded an impressive increase in analyst expectations, but earnings expectations for the following quarter fell short of analyst expectations.

The stock is down 2.7% since reporting and is currently trading at $628.85.

Read our full, actionable report on Intuit here. It’s free for active Edge members.

Born from the vision of PeopleSoft’s founders following Oracle’s hostile takeover of their previous company, Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) provides cloud-based financial management, human resources, planning and analytics software to help organizations manage their business operations.

Workday reported revenue of $2.43 billion, up 12.6% year over year. This print exceeded analyst expectations by 0.7%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter as it also saw a solid increase in analyst expectations and a decent increase in analyst EBITDA estimates.

The stock has fallen 9.1% since reporting and is currently trading at $213.67.

Read our full, actionable report on Workday here. It’s free for active Edge members.

Thanks to the Fed’s series of rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has cooled significantly from its post-pandemic highs and is moving closer to the 2% target. This disinflation has occurred without serious consequences for economic growth, indicating a soft landing success. The stock market boomed in 2024, boosted by recent interest rate cuts (0.5% in September and 0.25% in November), and a notable rally followed Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election in November, sending the indices soaring to historic highs. Nevertheless, the outlook for 2025 remains clouded by possible changes in trade policy and corporate tax discussions, which could impact business confidence and growth. The path forward involves both optimism and caution as new policies take shape.

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