A Look Back at Finance and HR Software Stocks’ Q2 Earnings: Global Business Travel (NYSE:GBTG) Vs The Rest Of The Pack

Quarterly earnings results are a good time to check in on a company’s progress, especially compared to its peers in the same sector. Today we are looking at Global Business Travel (NYSE:GBTG) and the best and worst performers in the finance and HR software industry.

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 15 finance and HR software stocks we track reported a slower Q2. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.5% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 0.5% below.

Inflation progressed towards the Fed’s 2% goal at the end of 2023, leading to strong stock market performance. On the other hand, 2024 has been a bumpier ride as the market switches between optimism and pessimism around rate cuts and inflation. Thankfully, finance and HR software stocks have been resilient with share prices up 5.5% on average since the latest earnings results.

Slowest Q2: Global Business Travel (NYSE:GBTG)

Holding close ties to American Express, Global Business Travel (NYSE:GBTG) is a comprehensive travel and expense management services provider to corporations worldwide.

Global Business Travel reported revenues of $625 million, up 5.6% year on year. This print fell short of analysts’ expectations by 1.1%. Overall, it was a weak quarter for the company with full-year revenue guidance missing analysts’ expectations.

Paul Abbott, Amex GBT’s Chief Executive Officer, stated: “In the second quarter, we delivered strong Adjusted EBITDA growth, significant margin expansion and accelerated Free Cash Flow, and with our recent debt refinancing, we significantly lowered interest costs. We have a solid foundation with increasingly strong customer retention, and we continue to gain share while controlling costs. This puts us well on track to deliver against our full-year revenue and Adjusted EBITDA guidance and raise our full-year Free Cash Flow guidance."

Interestingly, the stock is up 17.4% since reporting and currently trades at $7.08.

Read our full report on Global Business Travel here, it’s free.

Best 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 $115.4 million, up 6.8% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 2.5%. It was a strong quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ billings estimates and in-line revenue guidance for the next quarter.

The market seems content with the results as the stock is up 3.5% since reporting. It currently trades at $8.81.

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

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 $357.3 million, up 15.8% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 2.1%. It was a weak quarter for the company with management forecasting growth to slow and underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter.

Paylocity had the weakest full-year guidance update in the group. Interestingly, the stock is up 9.5% since the results and currently trades at $162.27.

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 $3.18 billion, up 17.4% year on year, surpassing analysts’ expectations by 3.1%. Zooming out, it was a mixed quarter for the company with management forecasting healthy growth but a decline in its gross margin.

The stock is down 6.5% since reporting and currently trades at $622.81.

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

Bill.com (NYSE:BILL)

Started by René Lacerte in 2006 after selling his previous payroll and accounting software company PayCycle to Intuit, Bill.com (NYSE:BILL) is a software as a service platform that aims to make payments and billing processes easier for small and medium-sized businesses.

Bill.com reported revenues of $343.7 million, up 16.1% year on year, surpassing analysts’ expectations by 4.8%. Overall, it was a decent quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ billings estimates but management forecasting growth to slow.

Bill.com pulled off the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The stock is up 8.5% since reporting and currently trades at $55.08.

Read our full, actionable report on Bill.com here, it’s free.

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