As finance and HR software stocks’ Q4 earnings season wraps, let's dig into this quarter's best and worst performers, including Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) 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. Valuation multiples for growth stocks have reverted to their historical means after reaching highs in early 2021, 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 7.9% on average since the previous earnings results.

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY)

Founded by industry veterans Aneel Bushri and Dave Duffield after their former company PeopleSoft was acquired by Oracle in a hostile takeover, Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) provides cloud-based software for organizations to manage and plan finance and human resources.

Workday reported revenues of $1.92 billion, up 16.7% year on year, in line with analyst expectations. It was a decent quarter for the company, with revenue and EPS exceeding analysts' estimates. The company also reiterated its full-year subscription revenue guidance.

"Workday's results this quarter are a testament to the strength of our value proposition and the durability of our business," said Carl Eschenbach, CEO, Workday.

The stock is down 12% since the results and currently trades at $270.6.

Is now the time to buy Workday? 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 a solid 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.

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

Read our full analysis of Paylocity's results here.

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, surpassing analyst expectations by 1.5%. It was a weak quarter for the company, with full-year revenue guidance missing analysts' expectations as its net revenue retention rate decreased.

The company added 70 enterprise customers paying more than $100,000 annually to reach a total of 1,631. The stock is down 13% since the results and currently trades at $81.88.

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

Paycor (NASDAQ:PYCR)

Found in 1990 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Paycor (NASDAQ: PYCR) provides software for small businesses to manage their payroll and HR needs in one place.

Paycor reported revenues of $159.5 million, up 20.1% year on year, surpassing analyst expectations by 2.4%. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with a decent beat of analysts' billings estimates but underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter.

The stock is down 3.7% since the results and currently trades at $18.86.

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

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