Bentley Systems’s stock price has taken a beating over the past six months, shedding 24.5% of its value and falling to $39.65 per share. This may have investors wondering how to approach the situation.
Is now the time to buy Bentley Systems, or should you be careful about including it in your portfolio? Check out our in-depth research report to see what our analysts have to say, it’s free for active Edge members.
Why Is Bentley Systems Not Exciting?
Even with the cheaper entry price, we're cautious about Bentley Systems. Here are three reasons you should be careful with BSY and a stock we'd rather own.
1. Weak Billings Point to Soft Demand
Billings is a non-GAAP metric that is often called “cash revenue” because it shows how much money the company has collected from customers in a certain period. This is different from revenue, which must be recognized in pieces over the length of a contract.
Bentley Systems’s billings came in at $363.5 million in Q3, and over the last four quarters, its year-on-year growth averaged 10.9%. This performance was underwhelming and suggests that increasing competition is causing challenges in acquiring/retaining customers. 
2. Projected Revenue Growth Is Slim
Forecasted revenues by Wall Street analysts signal a company’s potential. Predictions may not always be accurate, but accelerating growth typically boosts valuation multiples and stock prices while slowing growth does the opposite.
Over the next 12 months, sell-side analysts expect Bentley Systems’s revenue to rise by 9.7%, close to its 13.2% annualized growth for the past five years. This projection doesn't excite us and suggests its newer products and services will not lead to better top-line performance yet.
3. Operating Margin Rising, Profits Up
Many software businesses adjust their profits for stock-based compensation (SBC), but we prioritize GAAP operating margin because SBC is a real expense used to attract and retain engineering and sales talent. This metric shows how much revenue remains after accounting for all core expenses – everything from the cost of goods sold to sales and R&D.
Looking at the trend in its profitability, Bentley Systems’s operating margin rose by 2.5 percentage points over the last two years, as its sales growth gave it operating leverage. Its operating margin for the trailing 12 months was 23.7%.
Final Judgment
Bentley Systems isn’t a terrible business, but it isn’t one of our picks. After the recent drawdown, the stock trades at 8.3× forward price-to-sales (or $39.65 per share). Investors with a higher risk tolerance might like the company, but we think the potential downside is too great. We're fairly confident there are better stocks to buy right now. Let us point you toward one of our all-time favorite software stocks.
Stocks We Would Buy Instead of Bentley Systems
The market’s up big this year - but there’s a catch. Just 4 stocks account for half the S&P 500’s entire gain. That kind of concentration makes investors nervous, and for good reason. While everyone piles into the same crowded names, smart investors are hunting quality where no one’s looking - and paying a fraction of the price. Check out the high-quality names we’ve flagged in our Top 5 Growth Stocks for this month. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 244% over the last five years (as of June 30, 2025).
Stocks that have made our list include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Exlservice (+354% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.