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Q4 Earnings Roundup: Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ) And The Rest Of The Finance and HR Software Segment


Petr Huřťák /
2023/04/03 3:36 am EDT

As the craze of earnings season draws to a close, here's a look back at some of the most exciting (and some less so) results from Q4. Today we are looking at the finance and HR software stocks, starting with Marqeta (NASDAQ:MQ).

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 14 finance and HR software stocks we track reported a decent Q4; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 5.01%, while on average next quarter revenue guidance was 3.19% above consensus. Tech stocks have been under pressure as inflation makes their long-dated profits less valuable, but finance and HR software stocks held their ground better than others, with the share prices up 1.75% since the previous earnings results, on average.

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 $203.8 million, up 31.1% year on year, in line with analyst expectations. It was a solid quarter for the company, with strong top line growth and a meaningful improvement in gross margin.

"I am very proud of the scale our business reached in 2022," said Simon Khalaf, CEO of Marqeta.

Marqeta Total Revenue

The stock is down 21.9% since the results and currently trades at $4.54.

Is now the time to buy Marqeta? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.

Best Q4: Asure Software (NASDAQ:ASUR)

Created from the merger of two small workforce management companies in 2007, Asure (NASDAQ:ASUR) provides cloud based payroll and HR software for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

Asure Software reported revenues of $29.3 million, up 38.7% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 23.3%. It was an impressive quarter for the company, with a significant improvement in gross margin and a solid beat of analyst estimates.

Asure Software Total Revenue

Asure Software achieved the strongest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The stock is up 28.2% since the results and currently trades at $14.4.

Is now the time to buy Asure Software? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.

Slowest Q4: BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL)

Started in 2001 by software engineer Therese Tucker, one of the very few women founders who took their companies public, BlackLine (NASDAQ:BL) provides software for organizations to automate accounting and finance tasks.

BlackLine reported revenues of $140 million, up 21.4% year on year, in line with analyst expectations. It was a weaker quarter for the company, with full-year revenue guidance missing analysts' expectations.

BlackLine had the weakest performance against analyst estimates and weakest full year guidance update in the group. The company added 128 customers to a total of 4,188. The stock is down 7.4% since the results and currently trades at $67.15.

Read our full analysis of BlackLine's results here.

Zuora (NYSE:ZUO)

Founded in 2007, Zuora (NYSE:ZUO) offers software as a service platform that allows companies to bill and accept payments for recurring subscription products.

Zuora reported revenues of $103 million, up 13.6% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 2.8%. It was a slower quarter for the company, with decelerating growth in large customers and underwhelming guidance for the next year.

The company added 3 enterprise customers paying more than $100,000 annually to a total of 773. The stock is up 18.3% since the results and currently trades at $9.69.

Read our full, actionable report on Zuora 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 $73.1 million, up 42.1% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 11.5%. It was a strong quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analyst estimates.

Flywire pulled off the highest full year guidance raise among the peers. The stock is up 17.3% since the results and currently trades at $29.02.

Read our full, actionable report on Flywire here, it's free.

The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned