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 second quarter, starting with Flywire (NASDAQ:FLYW).
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 satisfactory 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.
The Fed cut its policy rate by 50 basis points (half a percent) in September 2024, the first in about four years. This marks the end of the most targeted anti-inflation campaign since the 1980s. While the CPI (inflation) numbers have been supportive lately, the employment measures have turned out to be almost worrisome. Markets will assess whether the timing of this rate cut (and more potential ones in 2024 and 2025) is ideal to support the economy or a bit too late for a macro that has already cooled too much.
Fortunately, financial and HR software stocks have been resilient, with share prices up an average of 5.7% since the last earnings results.
Flywire (NASDAQ:FLYW)
Originally created to process international tuition payments for universities, Flywire (NASDAQ:FLYW) is a cross-border payments processor and software platform focused on complex, high-value transactions such as education, healthcare and B2B payments.
Flywire reported revenue of $103.7 million, up 22.2% year over year. This print exceeded analyst expectations by 3.3%. Overall, it was a strong quarter for the company, with full-year revenue expectations exceeding analyst expectations.
“Our second quarter results demonstrate resilient performance across the business, as we added more than 200 new customers and grew revenue by 22% and revenue minus support services by 26% year-over-year, despite revenue headwinds related to the Canadian government’s ongoing actions restricting student study permits,” said Mike Massaro, CEO of Flywire.
Flywire scored the fastest revenue growth of the entire group. However, investor expectations were likely higher than Wall Street’s published projections, leaving some wanting even better results (analyst consensus estimates are those published by major banks and consulting firms, not by the investors who make buying and selling decisions). The stock is down 7.3% since reporting and is currently trading at $16.49.
Is Now the Time to Buy Flywire? 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 very strong quarter with an impressive performance against analyst expectations and full-year revenue guidance that exceeded analyst expectations.
The market seems pleased with the results, as the stock is up 3.6% since reporting. It is currently trading at $8.82.
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 mixed quarter as full-year revenue expectations exceeded analyst expectations.
Interestingly, the stock is up 25.4% since the results and is currently trading at $7.56.
Read our full analysis of Global Business Travel results here.
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%. That aside, it was a satisfying quarter as it also showed a decent improvement in analysts’ total payment volume estimates, but a decline in gross margin.
Marqeta had the slowest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 2% since reporting and is currently trading at $5.03.
Read our full, actionable report on Marqeta here. It’s free.
BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL)
Founded in 2001 by software engineer Therese Tucker, one of the few female founders to take their company public, BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL) provides software for organizations to automate accounting and financial tasks.
BlackLine reported revenue of $160.5 million, up 11% year over year. This figure exceeded analyst expectations by 1.4%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter as it also delivered accelerating customer growth and full-year revenue guidance that exceeded analyst expectations.
The company added 24 customers, reaching a total of 4,435. The stock is up 26% since reporting and is currently trading at $55.57.
Read our full, actionable report on BlackLine here. It’s free.
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