Wrapping up Q4 earnings, we look at the numbers and key takeaways for the software development stocks, including F5 Networks (NASDAQ:FFIV) and its peers.
Software is eating the world, as Marc Andreessen says, and there is virtually no industry left that has been untouched by it. That in turn drives increasing demand for tools that help software developers do their jobs, whether it is monitoring critical cloud infrastructure, integrating audio and video functionality or ensuring smooth streaming of content.
The 13 software development stocks we track reported a mixed Q4; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 5.08%, while on average next quarter revenue guidance was 1.67% above consensus. Tech stocks have had a rocky start in 2022, but software development stocks held their ground better than others, with share price down 7.19% since earnings, on average.
F5 Networks (NASDAQ:FFIV)
While the company initially started in the late 90s by selling hardware appliances, these days F5 (NASDAQ:FFIV) is making software that helps large enterprises ensure their web applications are always available, by distributing network traffic and protecting them from cyber attacks.
F5 Networks reported revenues of $687.1 million, up 10% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 1.31%. It was a weak quarter for the company, with an underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter and a slow revenue growth.
“Our customers’ need to grow and evolve the applications that support and drive their businesses led to strong demand for F5’s application security and delivery solutions, fueling 10% revenue growth in our first quarter,” said François Locoh-Donou, F5’s President and CEO.
The stock is down 8.41% since the results and currently trades at $202.68.
Read our full report on F5 Networks here, it's free.
Best Q4: GitLab (NASDAQ:GTLB)
Founded as an open-source project in 2011, GitLab (NASDAQ:GTLB) is a leading software development tools platform.
GitLab reported revenues of $77.7 million, up 76.2% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 10.6%. It was a very strong quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analyst estimates and an exceptional revenue growth.
GitLab scored the highest full year guidance raise among its peers. The stock is up 62.4% since the results and currently trades at $53.79.
Is now the time to buy GitLab? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.
Weakest Q4: Bandwidth (NASDAQ:BAND)
Started in 1999 by David Morken who was later joined by Henry Kaestner as co-founder in 2001, Bandwidth (NASDAQ:BAND) provides thousands of customers with a software platform that uses its own global network to provide phone numbers, voice, and text connectivity.
Bandwidth reported revenues of $126.1 million, up 11.5% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 6.72%. It was a weaker quarter for the company, with decelerating customer growth and revenue guidance missing analysts' expectations for both the full year and the next quarter.
Bandwidth had the weakest full year guidance update in the group. The company added 55 customers to a total of 3,228. The stock is down 38.1% since the results and currently trades at $28.74.
Read our full analysis of Bandwidth's results here.
Twilio (NYSE:TWLO)
Founded in 2008 by Jeff Lawson, a former engineer at Amazon, Twilio (NYSE:TWLO) is a software as a service platform that makes it really easy for software developers to use text messaging, voice calls and other forms of communication in their apps.
Twilio reported revenues of $842.7 million, up 53.7% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 9.53%. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with a very optimistic guidance for the next quarter but a decline in gross margin.
The company added 6,000 customers to a total of 256,000. The stock is down 28.9% since the results and currently trades at $143.50.
Read our full, actionable report on Twilio here, it's free.
JFrog (NASDAQ:FROG)
With the name chosen due to the founders' fondness for frogs, JFrog (NASDAQ:FROG) provides software as a service platform that makes developing and releasing software easier and faster, especially for large teams.
JFrog reported revenues of $59.2 million, up 38.7% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 2.06%. It was a solid quarter for the company, with accelerating growth in large customers and revenue guidance for the next year beating analysts' estimates.
The company added 71 enterprise customers paying more than $100,000 annually to a total of 537. The stock is down 5.18% since the results and currently trades at $25.42.
Read our full, actionable report on JFrog here, it's free.
The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned