Let’s dig into the relative performance of DocuSign (NASDAQ: DOCU) and its peers as we unravel the now-completed Q3 productivity software earnings season.

Rising employee costs and the shift to more remote work has increased the ever-present pressure to improve corporate productivity, which in turn has driven rising demand for productivity software that enables remote work, streamline project management and automate business tasks.

The 17 productivity software stocks we track reported a strong Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.6% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

While some productivity software stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they have collectively declined. On average, share prices are down 1.4% since the latest earnings results.

DocuSign (NASDAQ: DOCU)

Creating the digital equivalent of "sign on the dotted line" for over a billion users worldwide, DocuSign (NASDAQ: DOCU) provides an agreement management platform that enables businesses to electronically prepare, sign, and manage documents and contracts.

DocuSign reported revenues of $818.4 million, up 8.4% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 1.4%. Overall, it was a strong quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ billings estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

"Q3 was a strong quarter with growing customer investment into the IAM platform, where we now have more than 25,000 customers," said Allan Thygesen, CEO of Docusign.

DocuSign scored the highest full-year guidance raise of the whole group. Investor expectations, however, were likely higher than Wall Street’s published projections, leaving some wishing for even better results (analysts’ consensus estimates are those published by big banks and advisory firms, not the investors who make buy and sell decisions). The stock is down 4.2% since reporting and currently trades at $68.10.

Is now the time to buy DocuSign? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Best Q3: Pegasystems (NASDAQ: PEGA)

With a "Center-out Business Architecture" approach that transcends organizational silos, Pegasystems (NASDAQ: PEGA) develops software that helps organizations automate workflows and use artificial intelligence to improve customer experiences and business processes.

Pegasystems reported revenues of $381.4 million, up 17.3% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 8.5%. The business had a stunning quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ billings estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

Pegasystems scored the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The market seems content with the results as the stock is up 1.8% since reporting. It currently trades at $58.10.

Is now the time to buy Pegasystems? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Weakest Q3: SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN)

Born from the idea that machines should understand human speech as naturally as people do, SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN) develops voice recognition and conversational intelligence technology that enables businesses to integrate voice assistants into their products and services.

SoundHound AI reported revenues of $42.05 million, up 67.6% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 2.7%. Still, it was a softer quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and a miss of analysts’ billings estimates.

As expected, the stock is down 25.7% since the results and currently trades at $10.67.

Read our full analysis of SoundHound AI’s results here.

Appian (NASDAQ: APPN)

Powering billions of transactions daily since its founding in 1999, Appian (NASDAQ: APPN) provides a low-code platform that helps businesses automate complex processes and operationalize artificial intelligence without extensive programming knowledge.

Appian reported revenues of $187 million, up 21.4% year on year. This print surpassed analysts’ expectations by 7.4%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter as it also put up an impressive beat of analysts’ billings estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

The stock is up 26.6% since reporting and currently trades at $37.12.

Read our full, actionable report on Appian here, it’s free for active Edge members.

ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW)

Built on a single code base that processes over 4 billion workflow transactions daily, ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) provides a cloud-based platform that helps organizations automate and digitize workflows across departments, from IT and HR to customer service and security.

ServiceNow reported revenues of $3.41 billion, up 21.8% year on year. This number beat analysts’ expectations by 1.4%. Aside from that, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but a significant miss of analysts’ billings estimates.

The stock is down 15.9% since reporting and currently trades at $766.95.

Read our full, actionable report on ServiceNow here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Market Update

As a result of the Fed’s rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has come down from frothy levels post-pandemic. The general rise in the price of goods and services is trending towards the Fed’s 2% goal as of late, which is good news. The higher rates that fought inflation also didn't slow economic activity enough to catalyze a recession. So far, soft landing. This, combined with recent rate cuts (half a percent in September 2024 and a quarter percent in November 2024) have led to strong stock market performance in 2024. The icing on the cake for 2024 returns was Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. Presidential Election in early November, sending major indices to all-time highs in the week following the election. Still, debates around the health of the economy and the impact of potential tariffs and corporate tax cuts remain, leaving much uncertainty around 2025.

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