Wrapping up Q1 earnings, we look at the numbers and key takeaways for the finance and HR software stocks, including Avalara (NYSE:AVLR) 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 16 finance and HR software stocks we track reported a decent Q1; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 3.22%, while on average next quarter revenue guidance was 2.1% above consensus. Tech stocks have had a rocky start in 2022, but finance and hr software stocks held their ground better than others, with share price down 6.48% since earnings, on average.
Avalara (NYSE:AVLR)
Founded by Scott McFarlane in 2004, Avalara (NYSE:AVLR) offers software as a service that provides companies with real-time information on how much tax to charge and automates tax compliance.
Avalara reported revenues of $204.5 million, up 33.1% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 3.26%. It was a decent quarter for the company, with a strong top line growth.
“We started 2022 with another strong quarter, exceeding our guidance and achieving topline revenue growth of 33% year-over-year,” said Scott McFarlane, Avalara co-founder and chief executive officer.
The stock is up 16.2% since the results and currently trades at $81.34.
Is now the time to buy Avalara? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.
Best Q1: 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 $64.5 million, up 43.4% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 13.5%. It was an exceptional quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analyst estimates and a very optimistic guidance for the next quarter.
Flywire pulled off the strongest analyst estimates beat and highest full year guidance raise among its peers. The stock is up 1.89% since the results and currently trades at $21.52.
Is now the time to buy Flywire? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.
Slowest Q1: 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 $93.1 million, up 16% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 1.03%. It was a weaker quarter for the company, with an underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter and decelerating growth in large customers.
The stock is down 9.75% since the results and currently trades at $8.60.
Read our full analysis of Zuora'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 $245.9 million, up 32.2% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 1.79%. It was a very strong quarter for the company, with a significant improvement in gross margin.
The stock is down 9.37% since the results and currently trades at $171.33.
Read our full, actionable report on Paylocity here, it's free.
Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY)
Founded by industry veterans Aneel Bushri and Dave Duffield after their former company PeopleSoft was acquired by Oracle in a hostile takeover, Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) provides cloud-based software for organizations to manage and plan finance and human resources.
Workday reported revenues of $1.43 billion, up 22% year on year, in line with analyst expectations. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with top-line results in line with analysts' estimates but a miss on the bottom line.
The stock is down 17.2% since the results and currently trades at $139.07.
Read our full, actionable report on Workday here, it's free.
The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned