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 finance and hr software stocks, starting with Global Business Travel (NYSE:GBTG).
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 mixed Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.1% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 1.4% below.
Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 13.1% since the latest earnings results.
Global Business Travel (NYSE:GBTG)
Holding close ties to American Express, Global Business Travel (NYSE:GBTG) is a comprehensive travel and expense management services provider to corporations worldwide.
Global Business Travel reported revenues of $591 million, up 7.7% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 0.5%. Despite the top-line beat, it was still a mixed quarter for the company with full-year EBITDA guidance slightly topping analysts’ expectations but full-year revenue guidance missing analysts’ expectations.
Paul Abbott, Amex GBT’s Chief Executive Officer, stated: “We delivered on our financial targets for 2024 with a strong finish in the fourth quarter, thanks to consistent execution of our commercial strategy and focus on cost control. Our efficient financial model is demonstrating its ability to generate attractive double-digit earnings growth, by adding share gains on top of stable industry growth and then expanding margins with a scalable cost base. In 2025, we expect this model to generate 11-17% growth for Adjusted EBITDA on 5%-7% Constant Currency revenue growth at the top line, while also continuing to invest to drive revenue growth, margin expansion and earnings growth in the years ahead.”
Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 33.7% since reporting and currently trades at $5.71.
Read our full report on Global Business Travel here, it’s free.
Best Q4: 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 $2.21 billion, up 15% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 1.3%. The business had a very strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ billings estimates.
The market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 6.9% since reporting. It currently trades at $237.50.
Is now the time to buy Workday? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Weakest Q4: 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 $117.6 million, up 22.4% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 4.9%. It was a softer quarter as it posted revenue guidance for next quarter slightly missing analysts’ expectations.
Flywire delivered the fastest revenue growth but had the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. As expected, the stock is down 49.3% since the results and currently trades at $8.95.
Read our full analysis of Flywire’s results here.
Workiva (NYSE:WK)
Founded in 2010, Workiva (NYSE:WK) offers software as a service product that makes financial and compliance reporting easier, especially for publicly traded corporations.
Workiva reported revenues of $199.9 million, up 19.9% year on year. This result surpassed analysts’ expectations by 2.4%. More broadly, it was a mixed quarter as it also logged an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but full-year EPS guidance missing analysts’ expectations.
Workiva delivered the highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. The company added 129 enterprise customers paying more than $100,000 annually to reach a total of 2,055. The stock is down 13.6% since reporting and currently trades at $72.26.
Read our full, actionable report on Workiva here, it’s free.
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 $169.5 million, up 8.8% year on year. This print topped analysts’ expectations by 0.6%. More broadly, it was a slower quarter as it logged full-year EPS guidance missing analysts’ expectations.
The company added 10 customers to reach a total of 4,443. The stock is down 25.1% since reporting and currently trades at $47.49.
Read our full, actionable report on BlackLine here, it’s free.
Market Update
Thanks to the Fed’s series of rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has cooled significantly from its post-pandemic highs, drawing closer to the 2% goal. This disinflation has occurred without severely impacting economic growth, suggesting the success of a soft landing. The stock market thrived in 2024, spurred by recent rate cuts (0.5% in September and 0.25% in November), and a notable surge followed Donald Trump’s presidential election win in November, propelling indices to historic highs. Nonetheless, the outlook for 2025 remains clouded by potential trade policy changes and corporate tax discussions, which could impact business confidence and growth. The path forward holds both optimism and caution as new policies take shape.
Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Top 6 Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.
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