As we look back at sales software stocks’ first-quarter results, we examine this quarter’s best and worst performers, including Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) and its peers.
Companies need to be able to interact with and sell to their customers as efficiently as possible. This reality, coupled with the continued migration of businesses to the cloud, is driving demand for cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) software that integrates data analytics with sales and marketing functions.
The four sales software stocks we tracked had mixed results in the first quarter. Overall, sales beat analyst consensus estimates by 1.5%, while the next quarter’s sales forecast was 0.8% below.
Amid this news, company stock prices experienced a difficult phase. On average, they are down 16.8% since the last earnings results.
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Salesforce (NYSE:CRM)
With its cloud-based platform named after the ticker symbol CRM (Customer Relationship Management), Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) offers customer relationship management software that helps companies connect with their customers in the areas of sales, service, marketing and commerce.
Salesforce reported revenue of $11.13 billion, up 13.3% year over year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 0.8%. Despite the increase in sales, it was still a mixed quarter for the company. While the full-year EPS forecast exceeded analyst expectations, it missed analysts’ billing estimates.
“This was an outstanding quarter for Salesforce – record revenue, deals and cash flow,” said Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of Salesforce.
The market appears to be disappointed with the results as the stock has fallen 6.6% since reporting and is currently trading at $165.82.
Read our full report on Salesforce here, it’s free.
Best Q1: HubSpot (NYSE:HUBS)
Born from the idea that traditional disruptive marketing is becoming less effective, HubSpot (NYSE:HUBS) provides an integrated platform that helps companies attract, retain and manage customer relationships through marketing, sales, service and content management tools.
HubSpot reported revenue of $881 million, up 23.4% year-over-year and beating analysts’ expectations by 2.1%. The company had a strong quarter, with EPS guidance for next quarter beating analysts’ expectations.
HubSpot experienced the fastest revenue growth among its competitors. Although the company had a good quarter compared to its peers, the market appears to be unhappy with the results as the stock has fallen 18.9% since reporting. Currently the transaction price is $197.58.
Is now the time to buy HubSpot? You can access our full earnings results analysis for free here.
Weakest Q1: ZoomInfo (NASDAQ:GTM)
ZoomInfo (NASDAQ:GTM) operates a platform called “RevOS” – short for Revenue Operating System – and provides sales, marketing and recruiting teams with business intelligence and analytics to identify prospects and make targeted contacts.
ZoomInfo reported revenue of $310.2 million, up 1.5% from a year earlier and beating analysts’ expectations by 0.7%. Still, it was a weaker quarter, as revenue guidance for the next quarter fell well short of analyst expectations and billings were in line with analyst estimates.
As expected, the stock has fallen 51.9% since the results and is currently trading at $2.91.
Read our full analysis of ZoomInfo’s results here.
Freshworks (NASDAQ:FRSH)
Freshworks (NASDAQ:FRSH) started as a customer service solution and then evolved into a comprehensive software suite. It offers AI-powered software-as-a-service solutions that help companies manage customer service, IT support, sales and marketing functions.
Freshworks reported revenue of $228.6 million, up 16.5% year over year. This value exceeded analysts’ expectations by 2.3%. It was a strong quarter as the company also provided full-year EPS guidance that beat analysts’ expectations and impressively beat analysts’ billing estimates.
Freshworks beat the largest analyst estimate, the largest forecast upgrade, and the largest full-year forecast upgrade among its peers. The company added 326 enterprise customers paying more than $5,000 per year, bringing its total to 25,088. The stock is up 10.1% since reporting and is currently trading at $10.12.
Read our full, actionable report on Freshworks here for free.
Market update
At the end of 2025 to the beginning of 2026 there was a dispute about artificial intelligence. There was concern among software companies that AI would erode pricing power and squeeze margins as new tools made it easier to replicate what once required expensive enterprise platforms. Crypto investors had their own version of the same fear: If AI agents could trade, allocate capital, and manage wallets autonomously, what exact long-term value would today’s crypto infrastructure have?
These concerns triggered a noticeable rotation away from these sectors and towards safer havens. But markets rarely dwell on one narrative for long. Spring 2026 arrived and the focus abruptly shifted from technological disruption to geopolitical risks. The US conflict with Iran has become the dominant driver of market psychology, and when geopolitics takes center stage, the script quickly changes. Investors stop debating growth rates and start worrying about oil supplies, inflation and global stability.
Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our top 6 stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.
https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/sales-software-stocks-q1-teardown-151700668.html
