As we reflect back on the just completed Q2 finance and HR software sector earnings season, we dig into the relative performance of Anaplan (NYSE:PLAN) 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 9 finance and HR software stocks we track reported a a strong Q2; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 6.21%, while on average next quarter revenue guidance was 5.93% above consensus. The market rewarded the results with the average return the day after earnings coming in at 5.79%.
Anaplan (NYSE:PLAN)
Founded by Michael Gould in 2006 in a stone barn in Yorkshire, England, Anaplan is a financial modelling software that helps large enterprises with complex decision-making around budgets and financial forecasts.
Anaplan reported revenues of $144.3 million, up 35.5% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 7.86%. It was a strong quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analyst estimates and a strong revenue growth.
“We are pleased with our strong performance and healthy momentum across the business,” said Frank Calderoni, chief executive officer of Anaplan.
The stock is up 7.58% since the results and currently trades at $64.52.
Is now the time to buy Anaplan? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.
Best Q2: Bill.com (NYSE:BILL)
Started by René Lacerte in 2006 after selling his previous payroll and accounting software company PayCycle to Intuit, Bill.com (NYSE:BILL) is a software as a service platform that aims to make payments and billing processes easier for small and medium-sized businesses.
Bill.com reported revenues of $78.2 million, up 85.8% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 20.4%. It was a strong quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analyst estimates and an exceptional revenue growth.
Bill.com scored the strongest analyst estimates beat, fastest revenue growth, and highest full year guidance raise among its peers. The company added 5,600 customers to a total of 121,200. The stock is up 35.2% since the results and currently trades at $295.62.
Is now the time to buy Bill.com? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.
Slowest Q2: 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 $1.26 billion, up 18.6% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 1.61%. It was a solid quarter for the company, with a decent beat of analyst estimates.
The stock is up 9.1% since the results and currently trades at $269.27.
Read our full analysis of Workday's results here.
Avalara (NYSE:AVLR)
Founded by Scott McFarlane in 2004, Avalara offers software as a service that provides companies with real-time information on how much tax to charge and automates tax compliance. Transactional taxes are complex, with thousands of rules set by local, regional, state, federal and international authorities.
Avalara reported revenues of $169 million, up 45.1% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 9.62%. It was a very strong quarter for the company, with a significant improvement in net revenue retention rate.
The company added 990 customers to a total of 16,570. The stock is up 1.86% since the results and currently trades at $172.85.
Read our full, actionable report on Avalara here, it's free.
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 $179.2 million, up 42.3% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 9.98%. It was an impressive quarter for the company, with a significant improvement in gross margin.
The stock is down 4.09% since the results and currently trades at $253.
Read our full, actionable report on Coupa Software here, it's free.
The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned