Looking back on finance and HR software stocks' Q4 earnings, we examine this quarter's best and worst performers, including Workiva (NYSE:WK) 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 slower Q4; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 2.5% while next quarter's revenue guidance was 1% below consensus. Investors abandoned cash-burning companies to buy stocks with higher margins of safety, and while some of the finance and HR software stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they have not been spared, with share prices declining 7.7% on average since the previous earnings results.

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 $166.7 million, up 15.9% year on year, topping analyst expectations by 1.5%. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with a solid beat of analysts' billings estimates but full-year revenue guidance missing analysts' expectations.

"Workiva closed out the year with another solid quarter," said Workiva CEO Julie Iskow.

The stock is down 13% since the results and currently trades at $81.88.

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

Best Q4: 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 $118.8 million, down 41.7% year on year, outperforming analyst expectations by 7.7%. It was an impressive quarter for the company, with a significant improvement in its gross margin and an impressive beat of analysts' revenue estimates.

Marqeta had the slowest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is down 18% since the results and currently trades at $6.03.

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

Weakest Q4: Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY)

Founded by payroll software veteran Steve Sarowitz in 1997, Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) is a provider of payroll and HR software for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Paylocity reported revenues of $326.4 million, up 19.5% year on year, in line with analyst expectations. It was a weak quarter for the company, with full-year revenue guidance missing analysts' expectations and underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter.

The stock is down 2.6% since the results and currently trades at $167.88.

Read our full analysis of Paylocity's results here.

Intuit (NASDAQ:INTU)

Created in 1983 when founder Scott Cook watched his wife struggle to reconcile the family's checkbook, Intuit provides tax and accounting software for small and medium-sized businesses.

Intuit reported revenues of $3.39 billion, up 11.3% year on year, falling short of analyst expectations by 0.1%. It was a slower quarter for the company, with full-year revenue guidance missing analysts' expectations and a miss of analysts' billings estimates.

The stock is down 4.9% since the results and currently trades at $625.2.

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

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 $155.7 million, up 11.3% year on year, surpassing analyst expectations by 1.1%. It was a slower quarter for the company, with full-year revenue guidance missing analysts' expectations and decelerating customer growth.

The company added 30 customers to reach a total of 4,398. The stock is up 9.6% since the results and currently trades at $63.92.

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

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