The end of the earnings season is always a good time to take a step back and see who shined (and who not so much). Let’s take a look at how sales software stocks fared in Q2, starting with Salesforce (NYSE: CRM).

Companies need to be able to interact with and sell to their customers as efficiently as possible. This reality coupled with the ongoing migration of enterprises to the cloud drives demand for cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) software that integrates data analytics with sales and marketing functions.

The 4 sales software stocks we track reported a strong Q2. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.6% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 8.2% since the latest earnings results.

Weakest Q2: Salesforce (NYSE: CRM)

With its cloud-based platform named after its stock ticker symbol CRM (Customer Relationship Management), Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) provides customer relationship management software that helps businesses connect with their customers across sales, service, marketing, and commerce.

Salesforce reported revenues of $10.24 billion, up 9.8% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 1%. Despite the top-line beat, it was still a mixed quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but a miss of analysts’ billings estimates.

Salesforce delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and weakest full-year guidance update of the whole group. The market was likely pricing in the results, and the stock is flat since reporting. It currently trades at $253.97.

Is now the time to buy Salesforce? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Best Q2: HubSpot (NYSE: HUBS)

Born from the idea that traditional interruptive marketing was becoming less effective, HubSpot (NYSE: HUBS) provides an integrated platform that helps businesses attract, engage, and manage customer relationships through marketing, sales, service, and content management tools.

HubSpot reported revenues of $760.9 million, up 19.4% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 2.9%. The business had a very strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ billings estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

HubSpot scored the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The company added 9,724 customers to reach a total of 267,982. Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 4.8% since reporting. It currently trades at $467.04.

Is now the time to buy HubSpot? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

ZoomInfo (NASDAQ: GTM)

Operating a platform it calls "RevOS" - short for Revenue Operating System - ZoomInfo (NASDAQ: GTM) provides sales, marketing, and recruiting teams with business intelligence and analytics to identify prospects and deliver targeted outreach.

ZoomInfo reported revenues of $306.7 million, up 5.2% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 3.5%. It was a satisfactory quarter as it also posted accelerating growth in large customers but EPS guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations.

ZoomInfo delivered the biggest analyst estimates beat but had the slowest revenue growth in the group. The company added 16 enterprise customers paying more than $100,000 annually to reach a total of 1,884. As expected, the stock is down 8.2% since the results and currently trades at $11.15.

Read our full analysis of ZoomInfo’s results here.

Freshworks (NASDAQ: FRSH)

Starting as a customer service solution before expanding into a comprehensive software suite, Freshworks (NASDAQ: FRSH) provides AI-powered software-as-a-service solutions that help companies manage customer service, IT support, sales, and marketing functions.

Freshworks reported revenues of $204.7 million, up 17.5% year on year. This number beat analysts’ expectations by 2.9%. It was a strong quarter as it also recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and EPS guidance for next quarter beating analysts’ expectations.

Freshworks achieved the highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. The company added 700 enterprise customers paying more than $5,000 annually to reach a total of 23,975. The stock is down 18.8% since reporting and currently trades at $11.30.

Read our full, actionable report on Freshworks here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Market Update

In response to the Fed’s rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has been gradually trending down from its post-pandemic peak, trending closer to the Fed’s 2% target. Despite higher borrowing costs, the economy has avoided flashing recessionary signals. This is the much-desired soft landing that many investors hoped for. The recent rate cuts (0.5% in September and 0.25% in November 2024) have bolstered the stock market, making 2024 a strong year for equities. Donald Trump’s presidential win in November sparked additional market gains, sending indices to record highs in the days following his victory. However, debates continue over possible tariffs and corporate tax adjustments, raising questions about economic stability in 2025.

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