Software Development Stocks Q4 Results: Benchmarking F5 (NASDAQ:FFIV)
Quarterly earnings results are a good time to check in on a company’s progress, especially compared to other peers in the same sector. Today we are looking at F5 (NASDAQ:FFIV), and the best and worst performers in the software development group.
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. Valuation multiples for growth stocks have reverted to their historical means after reaching highs in early 2021, but software development stocks held their ground better than others, with the share prices up 0.9% on average since the previous earnings results.
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, topping analyst expectations by 1.1%. It was a very strong quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analysts' billings estimates and strong sales guidance for the next quarter.
“Our team delivered solid first quarter results, including revenue near the high end and earnings per share above the high end of our guidance ranges,” said François Locoh-Donou, F5’s President and CEO.
F5 delivered the slowest revenue growth of the whole group. The stock is up 1.7% since the results and currently trades at $188.63.
Is now the time to buy F5? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.
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, outperforming analyst expectations by 7.4%. It was an exceptional quarter for the company, with optimistic revenue guidance for the next quarter.
Bandwidth scored the biggest analyst estimates beat and highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. The stock is up 51.2% since the results and currently trades at $18.4.
Is now the time to buy Bandwidth? 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 13.4% since the results and currently trades at $108.41.
Read our full analysis of Akamai's results here.
JFrog (NASDAQ:FROG)
Named after the founders' affinity for frogs, JFrog (NASDAQ:FROG) provides a software-as-a-service platform that makes developing and releasing software easier and faster, especially for large teams.
JFrog reported revenues of $97.26 million, up 27.1% year on year, surpassing analyst expectations by 4.7%. It was a solid quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analysts' billings and revenue estimates.
The company added 38 enterprise customers paying more than $100,000 annually to reach a total of 886. The stock is up 16.6% since the results and currently trades at $43.3.
Read our full, actionable report on JFrog here, it's free.
Datadog (NASDAQ:DDOG)
Named after a database the founders had to painstakingly look after at their previous company, Datadog (NASDAQ:DDOG) is a software-as-a-service platform that makes it easier to monitor cloud infrastructure and applications.
Datadog reported revenues of $589.6 million, up 25.6% year on year, surpassing analyst expectations by 3.8%. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analysts' ARR (annual recurring revenue) estimates but decelerating growth in large customers.
The company added 60 enterprise customers paying more than $100,000 annually to reach a total of 3,190. The stock is down 8.3% since the results and currently trades at $123.63.
Read our full, actionable report on Datadog here, it's free.
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