Earnings results often indicate what direction a company will take in the months ahead. With Q4 behind us, let’s have a look at BlackLine (NASDAQ: BL) 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 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 12.2% since the latest earnings results.

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 exceeded analysts’ expectations by 0.6%. Despite the top-line beat, it was still a slower quarter for the company with full-year EPS guidance missing analysts’ expectations.

“We believe our recent user conference and accelerating innovation are creating momentum for BlackLine,” said Owen Ryan, Co-CEO of BlackLine.

The stock is down 26.5% since reporting and currently trades at $46.56.

Read our full report on BlackLine 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 a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ billings estimates.

The market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 6.2% since reporting. It currently trades at $239.30.

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 the 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 51% since the results and currently trades at $8.64.

Read our full analysis of Flywire’s results here.

Paycor (NASDAQ: PYCR)

Founded in 1990 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Paycor (NASDAQ: PYCR) provides software for small businesses to manage their payroll and HR needs in one place.

Paycor reported revenues of $180.4 million, up 13.1% year on year. This number beat analysts’ expectations by 1.9%. However, it was a slower quarter as it logged a significant miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

The stock is up 1.6% since reporting and currently trades at $22.49.

Read our full, actionable report on Paycor here, it’s free.

Asure (NASDAQ: ASUR)

Created from the merger of two small workforce management companies in 2007, Asure (NASDAQ: ASUR) provides cloud based payroll and HR software for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

Asure reported revenues of $30.79 million, up 17.2% year on year. This print met analysts’ expectations. Aside from that, it was a slower quarter as it produced EBITDA guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations.

The stock is down 3.8% since reporting and currently trades at $9.32.

Read our full, actionable report on Asure here, it’s free.

Market Update

Thanks to the Fed’s rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has been on a steady path downward, easing back toward that 2% sweet spot. Fortunately (miraculously to some), all this tightening didn’t send the economy tumbling into a recession, so here we are, cautiously celebrating a soft landing. The cherry on top? Recent rate cuts (half a point in September 2024, a quarter in November) have propped up markets, especially after Trump’s November win lit a fire under major indices and sent them to all-time highs. However, there’s still plenty to ponder — tariffs, corporate tax cuts, and what 2025 might hold for the economy.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Strong Momentum Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.

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