Let's dig into the relative performance of Zuora (NYSE:ZUO) and its peers as we unravel the now-completed Q4 finance and HR software earnings season.

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. Stocks--especially those trading at higher multiples--had a strong end of 2023, but 2024 has seen periods of volatility. Mixed signals about inflation have led to uncertainty around rate cuts, and finance and HR software stocks have had a rough stretch, with share prices down 9.8% on average since the previous earnings results.

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 $110.7 million, up 7.4% year on year, falling short of analyst expectations by 0.1%. It was a weaker quarter for the company, with full-year revenue guidance missing analysts' expectations and management forecasting growth to slow.

“Fiscal 2024 was a year of balanced growth and profitability where we accelerated new customer acquisition by focusing on smaller, faster lands,” said Tien Tzuo, Founder and CEO at Zuora.

Zuora delivered the weakest full-year guidance update of the whole group. The stock is up 0.1% since the results and currently trades at $8.6.

Read our full report on Zuora 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 a very strong 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 25.9% since the results and currently trades at $5.44.

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

Weakest Q4: Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX)

One of the oldest service providers in the industry, Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) offers its customers payroll and HR software solutions.

Paychex reported revenues of $1.44 billion, up 4.2% year on year, falling short of analyst expectations by 1.2%. It was a weak quarter for the company, with a miss of analysts' revenue estimates.

Paychex had the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. The stock is up 1.6% since the results and currently trades at $123.55.

Read our full analysis of Paychex's results here.

Paycom (NYSE:PAYC)

Founded in 1998 as one of the first online payroll companies, Paycom (NYSE:PAYC) provides software for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to manage their payroll and HR needs in one place.

Paycom reported revenues of $434.6 million, up 17.3% year on year, surpassing analyst expectations by 2.9%. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with management forecasting growth to slow and underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter.

The stock is down 0.5% since the results and currently trades at $198.

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

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 $100.5 million, up 37.6% year on year, surpassing analyst expectations by 13.3%. It was a solid quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analysts' revenue estimates and full-year revenue guidance exceeding analysts' expectations.

Flywire pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat, fastest revenue growth, and highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. The stock is down 11.5% since the results and currently trades at $21.7.

Read our full, actionable report on Flywire 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.