Wrapping up Q4 earnings, we look at the numbers and key takeaways for the software development stocks, including Bandwidth (NASDAQ:BAND) and its peers.

As legendary VC investor Marc Andreessen says, "Software is eating the world", and it touches virtually every industry. That drives increasing demand for tools helping software developers do their jobs, whether it be monitoring critical cloud infrastructure, integrating audio and video functionality, or ensuring smooth content streaming.

The 11 software development stocks we track reported a mixed Q4; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 3% while next quarter's revenue guidance was 0.8% above consensus. Stocks have faced challenges as investors prioritize near-term cash flows, but software development stocks held their ground better than others, with share prices down 2.1% on average since the previous earnings results.

Best Q4: Bandwidth (NASDAQ:BAND)

Started in 1999 by David Morken who was later joined by Henry Kaestner as co-founder in 2001, Bandwidth (NASDAQ:BAND) provides thousands of customers with a software platform that uses its own global network to provide phone numbers, voice, and text connectivity.

Bandwidth reported revenues of $165.4 million, up 5.4% year on year, topping analyst expectations by 7.4%. It was an exceptional quarter for the company, with a significant improvement in its net revenue retention rate and optimistic revenue guidance for the next quarter.

"We are proud to conclude 2023 with outstanding results, reflecting our commitment to innovation in cloud communications and profitable growth. Thanks to the disciplined execution of the team in the fourth quarter we surpassed our guidance and set new records in profitability," said David Morken, Bandwidth's Chief Executive Officer.

Bandwidth achieved the biggest analyst estimates beat and highest full-year guidance raise of the whole group. The stock is up 46.2% since the results and currently trades at $17.79.

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

F5 (NASDAQ:FFIV)

Initially started as a hardware appliances company in the late 1990s, F5 (NASDAQ:FFIV) makes software that helps large enterprises ensure their web applications are always available by distributing network traffic and protecting them from cyberattacks.

F5 reported revenues of $692.6 million, down 1.1% year on year, outperforming analyst expectations by 1.1%. It was a strong quarter for the company, with a decent beat of analysts' revenue estimates and strong sales guidance for the next quarter.

F5 had the slowest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 2.2% since the results and currently trades at $189.5.

Is now the time to buy F5? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.

Weakest Q4: Akamai (NASDAQ:AKAM)

Founded in 1999 by two engineers from MIT, Akamai (NASDAQ:AKAM) provides software for organizations to efficiently deliver web content to their customers.

Akamai reported revenues of $995 million, up 7.2% year on year, falling short of analyst expectations by 0.5%. It was a weak quarter for the company, with underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter and a miss of analysts' revenue estimates.

Akamai had the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. The stock is down 15.3% since the results and currently trades at $106.

Read our full analysis of Akamai's results here.

PagerDuty (NYSE:PD)

Started by three former Amazon engineers, PagerDuty (NYSE:PD) is a software-as-a-service platform that helps companies respond to IT incidents fast and make sure that any downtime is minimized.

PagerDuty reported revenues of $111.1 million, up 10.1% year on year, in line with analyst expectations. It was a slower quarter for the company, with full-year revenue guidance missing analysts' expectations.

The company lost 10 customers and ended up with a total of 15,039. The stock is down 7.4% since the results and currently trades at $21.25.

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

Twilio (NYSE:TWLO)

Founded in 2008 by Jeff Lawson, a former engineer at Amazon, Twilio (NYSE:TWLO) is a software as a service platform that makes it really easy for software developers to use text messaging, voice calls and other forms of communication in their apps.

Twilio reported revenues of $1.08 billion, up 5% year on year, surpassing analyst expectations by 3.2%. It was a weaker quarter for the company, with underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter and decelerating customer growth.

The company lost 1000 customers and ended up with a total of 305,000. The stock is down 16.6% since the results and currently trades at $60.37.

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

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