As finance and HR software stocks’ Q2 earnings season wraps, let's dig into this quarter's best and worst performers, including 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 Q2; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 4.11%, while on average next quarter revenue guidance was 0.15% above consensus. Investors abandoned cash burning companies since high interest rates will make it harder to raise capital, but finance and HR software stocks held their ground better than others, with share prices down 1.19% since the previous earnings results, on average.

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 $144.6 million, up 12.5% year on year, in line with analyst expectations. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter. In addition, the revenue retention rate has been declining, and user growth has been slowing down. On the other hand, revenue outlook aligned with what analysts were expecting and free cash flow turned positive year on year.

“BlackLine delivered total revenue and non-GAAP net income that exceeded our targets this quarter,” said Owen Ryan, co-CEO of BlackLine.

The stock is up 5.41% since the results and currently trades at $55.29.

Read our full report on BlackLine here, it's free.

Best Q2: 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 $84.9 million, up 50.1% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 15.5%. It was an exceptional quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analysts' revenue estimates and full-year revenue guidance exceeding analysts' expectations.

Flywire scored the fastest revenue growth and highest full year guidance raise among its peers. The stock is down 4.51% since the results and currently trades at $30.72.

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

Weakest Q2: Zuora (NYSE:ZUO)

Founded in 2007, Zuora (NYSE:ZUO) offers software as a service platform that allows companies to bill and accept payments for recurring subscription products.

Zuora reported revenues of $108 million, up 9.39% year on year, missing analyst expectations by 0.69%. It was a weak quarter for the company, with full-year revenue guidance missing analysts' expectations and underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter.

Zuora had the weakest performance against analyst estimates and weakest full year guidance update in the group. The stock is down 17.6% since the results and currently trades at $7.98.

Read our full analysis of Zuora's results here.

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 $231.1 million, up 23.8% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 5.13%. It was a solid quarter for the company, with TPV (total processing volume) and revenue surpassing Wall Street's expectations. Adjusted EBITDA also beat by a meaningful amount. On the other hand, its deteriorating gross margin was a minor negative.

The stock is up 18.8% since the results and currently trades at $5.88.

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

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 $155 million, up 17.8% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 1.05%. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter. On the other hand, the net revenue retention rate improved, and customer growth accelerated.

The company added 107 enterprise customers paying more than $100,000 annually to a total of 1,470. The stock is down 1.38% since the results and currently trades at $101.24.

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

Join Paid Stock Investor Research

Help us make StockStory more helpful to investors like yourself. Join our paid user research session and receive a $50 Amazon gift card for your opinions. Sign up here.

The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned