Looking back on finance and HR software stocks' Q3 earnings, we examine the quarters’ best and worst performers, including Coupa Software (NASDAQ:COUP) and its peers.
Organizations are constantly looking to improve organizational efficiencies, whether it is financial planning, tax management or payroll. Finance and HR software benefit from the SaaS-ification of businesses, large and small, who much prefer the flexibility of cloud-based, web-browser delivered software paid for on a subscription basis than the hassle and expense of purchasing and managing on-premise enterprise software.
The 17 finance and HR software stocks we track reported a strong Q3; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 6.37%, while on average next quarter revenue guidance was 4.1% above consensus. Tech stocks have been under pressure since the end of last year and finance and HR software stocks have not been spared, with share price down 27.9% since earnings, on average.
Coupa Software (NASDAQ:COUP)
Founded in 2006 by former Oracle executives, Coupa Software (COUP) is a software as a service platform that helps enterprises manage their spending across procurement, billing and business expenses and get a better visibility into how the money is spent.
Coupa Software reported revenues of $185.8 million, up 39.7% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 4.46%. It was a very strong quarter for the company, with a significant improvement in gross margin and an exceptional revenue growth.
"We delivered another strong quarter with record revenue and profitability," said Rob Bernshteyn, chairman and chief executive officer at Coupa.
The stock is down 25.5% since the results and currently trades at $129.96.
Is now the time to buy Coupa Software? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.
Best Q3: Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ)
Founded by CEO Jason Gardner in 2009, Marqeta (NASDAQ: MQ) is an innovative card issuer that provides companies with the ability to issue and process virtual, physical, and tokenized credit and debit cards.
Marqeta reported revenues of $131.5 million, up 56% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 10.3%. It was an incredible quarter for the company, with a significant improvement in gross margin and an impressive beat of analyst estimates.
The stock is down 50% since the results and currently trades at $12.50.
Is now the time to buy Marqeta? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.
Weakest Q3: Ceridian (NYSE:CDAY)
Founded in 1992 as an outsourced payroll processor and transformed after the 2012 acquisition of Dayforce, Ceridian (NYSE:CDAY) is a provider of cloud based payroll and HR software targeted at mid-sized businesses.
Ceridian reported revenues of $257.2 million, up 25.8% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 1.19%. It was a weak quarter for the company, with a decline in gross margin and decelerating customer growth.
Ceridian had the weakest full year guidance update in the group. The company added 63 customers to a total of 5,227. The stock is down 38.1% since the results and currently trades at $79.40.
Read our full analysis of Ceridian's results here.
Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY)
Founded by payroll software veteran Steve Sarowitz in 1997, Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) is a provider of payroll and human resources software for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Paylocity reported revenues of $181.6 million, up 33.8% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 4.43%. It was a strong quarter for the company, with a full year guidance beating analysts' expectations.
The stock is down 34.3% since the results and currently trades at $191.
Read our full, actionable report on Paylocity here, it's free.
Flywire (NASDAQ:FLYW)
Originally created to process international tuition payments for universities, Flywire (NASDAQ:FLYW) is a cross border payments processor and software platform focusing on complex, high-value transactions like education, healthcare and B2B payments.
Flywire reported revenues of $67.7 million, up 61% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 29.4%. It was an incredible quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analyst estimates.
Flywire pulled off the strongest analyst estimates beat among the peers. The stock is down 34.2% since the results and currently trades at $29.18.
Read our full, actionable report on Flywire here, it's free.
The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned