Quarterly earnings results are a good time to check in on a company’s progress, especially compared to its peers in the same sector. Today we are looking at Workday (NASDAQ: WDAY) and the best and worst performers in the finance and hr software industry.

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 13 finance and HR software stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q1. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.4% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 1.1% below.

In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady as they are up 4.5% on average since the latest earnings results.

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 $2.24 billion, up 12.6% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 1%. Overall, it was a satisfactory quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but a significant miss of analysts’ billings estimates.

"Workday delivered another solid quarter, a testament to the durability of our business and the relevance of our platform as CEOs increasingly turn to us to drive efficiency, agility, and growth," said Carl Eschenbach, CEO, Workday.

The stock is down 12% since reporting and currently trades at $239.43.

Is now the time to buy Workday? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Best Q1: 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 $133.5 million, up 17% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 5%. The business had a very strong quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and revenue guidance for next quarter meeting analysts’ expectations.

Flywire delivered the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 6.1% since reporting. It currently trades at $10.66.

Is now the time to buy Flywire? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q1: 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 $621 million, up 1.8% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 1.9%. It was a softer quarter as it posted full-year EBITDA guidance missing analysts’ expectations.

Global Business Travel delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth in the group. As expected, the stock is down 9.1% since the results and currently trades at $6.26.

Read our full analysis of Global Business Travel’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 $206.3 million, up 17.4% year on year. This result topped analysts’ expectations by 1.1%. Aside from that, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

The company added 24 enterprise customers paying more than $100,000 annually to reach a total of 2,079. The stock is down 9.5% since reporting and currently trades at $67.19.

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

Marqeta (NASDAQ: MQ)

Founded by CEO Jason Gardner in 2009, Marqeta (NASDAQ: MQ) is an innovative card issuer that provides companies with the ability to issue and process virtual, physical, and tokenized credit and debit cards.

Marqeta reported revenues of $139.1 million, up 17.9% year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 2.4%. Overall, it was a strong quarter as it also logged a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and a narrow beat of analysts’ total payment volume estimates.

Marqeta pulled off the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 28% since reporting and currently trades at $5.24.

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

Market Update

The Fed’s interest rate hikes throughout 2022 and 2023 have successfully cooled post-pandemic inflation, bringing it closer to the 2% target. Inflationary pressures have eased without tipping the economy into a recession, suggesting a soft landing. This stability, paired with recent rate cuts (0.5% in September 2024 and 0.25% in November 2024), fueled a strong year for the stock market in 2024. The markets surged further after Donald Trump’s presidential victory in November, with major indices reaching record highs in the days following the election. Still, questions remain about the direction of economic policy, as potential tariffs and corporate tax changes add uncertainty for 2025.

Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Top 5 Quality Compounder Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.

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