The end of the earnings season is always a good time to take a step back and see who shined (and who not so much). Let’s take a look at how finance and hr software stocks fared in Q1, starting with Flywire (NASDAQ:FLYW).
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 15 finance and HR software stocks we track reported a slower Q1; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 1.3%. while next quarter's revenue guidance was in line with consensus. Stocks--especially those trading at higher multiples--had a strong end of 2023, but 2024 has seen periods of volatility. Mixed signals about inflation have led to uncertainty around rate cuts, and finance and HR software stocks have had a rough stretch, with share prices down 12.1% on average since the previous earnings results.
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 $114.1 million, up 20.9% year on year, topping analysts' expectations by 6%. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with full-year revenue guidance topping analysts' expectations.
"We are pleased with our 2024 first quarter results, where we signed more than 200 new clients, the highest the company has signed in a quarter," said Mike Massaro, CEO of Flywire.
Flywire achieved the biggest analyst estimates beat and fastest revenue growth of the whole group. The stock is down 21% since the results and currently trades at $16.26.
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Best Q1: Bill.com (NYSE:BILL) Started by René Lacerte in 2006 after selling his previous payroll and accounting software company PayCycle to Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU), 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 $323 million, up 18.5% year on year, outperforming analysts' expectations by 5.6%. It was a very strong quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analysts' billings estimates and optimistic revenue guidance for the next quarter.
The stock is down 23.9% since the results and currently trades at $48.14.
Weakest Q1: Global Business Travel (NYSE:GBTG) Holding close ties to American Express (NYSE:AXP), Global Business Travel (NYSE:GBTG) is a comprehensive travel and expense management services provider to corporations worldwide.
Global Business Travel reported revenues of $610 million, up 5.5% year on year, falling short of analysts' expectations by 2.3%. It was a weak quarter for the company: Its revenue unfortunately missed analysts' expectations and its full-year revenue guidance slightly missed Wall Street's estimates.
Global Business Travel had the weakest performance against analyst estimates and weakest full-year guidance update in the group. The stock is up 5.7% since the results and currently trades at $6.58.
Paycom (NYSE:NYSE:PAYC) Founded in 1998 as one of the first online payroll companies, Paycom (NYSE:PAYC) provides software for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to manage their payroll and HR needs in one place.
Paycom reported revenues of $499.9 million, up 10.7% year on year, in line with analysts' expectations. It was a slower quarter for the company, with a decline in its gross margin.
The stock is down 20.9% since the results and currently trades at $147.3.
Workiva (NYSE: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 $175.7 million, up 17% year on year, in line with analysts' expectations. It was a weak quarter for the company, with decelerating customer growth and a miss of analysts' billings estimates.
The company added 65 enterprise customers paying more than $100,000 annually to reach a total of 1,696. The stock is down 8.7% since the results and currently trades at $73.07.
