Latest news with #SteveSarowitz
Forbes
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
How The Blake Lively Saga Led A Billionaire To Shut Down His Foundation
A ll appeared normal at the Wayfarer Foundation in the weeks prior to its announcement that it was shutting down. The team was actively recruiting a grant manager and summer interns. A new manager of growth and culture started in April. Employees were planning events with Wayfarer's nonprofit grantees. Even its billionaire founder, Steve Sarowitz, was talking about a bright future, emailing grantees on April 9: 'Though we're living in a time of profound change, the Foundation remains committed to our mission [...]. Our work is only beginning and we have much to do together.' Then, around 5:30 a.m. on Monday, April 28, Sarowitz awoke to a dwindling fire in a trash can in the driveway of his home in a Chicago suburb; he put it out with two water bottles, according to a fire department report. Later that day, his wife received a text from an unknown sender claiming to have helped set the fire. The person threatened to kidnap the couple's daughter, a senior at Northwestern University, writing that she wouldn't 'make graduation' unless they forked over $80,000, a Lake County State's Attorney's Office spokesperson confirms. 'If you guys are prepared to spend a hundred million to ruin the lives of Ms. [Blake] Lively and her family, we are sure you can spare a few for your daughter,' the text said, referencing a claim in actress Blake Lively's lawsuit against Sarowitz, his partner Jason Baldoni and the film studio they cofounded, Wayfarer Studios. The threats kept coming and became increasingly violent, per an indictment filed with the 19th Judicial Circuit Court of Illinois. By that Friday, Sarowitz had decided to shut down his foundation. 'Upon unanimous decision of the board of directors, today we will begin the process of sunsetting,' he wrote on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, hours after informing staff. In an email to grantees, he added that the foundation would honor existing grants, but provided no specific explanation for the closure: 'We have determined that this decision is necessary to ensure the long-term sustainability and impact of our charitable mission.' 'I was shocked when I heard the news,' says Christopher LeMark, founder and CEO of Coffee, Hip Hop & Mental Health, one of the nonprofits Wayfarer had been funding. 'It's hard to even put on paper how much they were doing for us.' 'We decided that private giving was a better way to go forward,' Sarowitz tells Forbes , explaining that he will start donating through a donor-advised fund instead. DAFs are increasingly popular philanthropy vehicles for high-net-worth individuals, in part because they do not require filing public financial reports. He adds: 'Foundations can be slow and bureaucratic. This gives us a lot more flexibility and allows us to give more money with fewer resources.' DAFs also allow the ultra wealthy to give in near secrecy. Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively captured in a scene from their movie "It Ends with Us," in which Baldoni plays an abusive husband. The movie came out in August 2024. Four months later Lively sued Baldoni, Sarowitz and Wayfarer Studios. Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/There's ample reason for Sarowitz to want privacy at the moment. In December, Blake Lively sued him, Baldoni and Wayfarer Studios. She accused Baldoni of sexually harassing her on the set of their movie It Ends with Us , which he directed, they co-starred in and the studio produced. She alleged that Baldoni then illegally retaliated with a media smear campaign—funded by Sarowitz—when she spoke out about his behavior. He, Sarowitz and the studio have denied the allegations. They countersued Lively for defamation and extortion, claims that a judge dismissed on June 9. The Wayfarer Foundation was widely reported to be Baldoni's organization when the news of its closure broke. According to Forbes reporting, though, it was Sarowitz's entity: He provided the funding, while Baldoni advised on its activities as a board member. Sarowitz contributed some $160 million to the foundation, which doled out nearly $60 million to over 200 nonprofits from its 2021 founding through 2024. (He's contributed another $90 million to a separate charitable family foundation with a separate mission that his wife runs.) Inspired by Sarowitz's Baháʼí faith, the name Wayfarer was meant to evoke traveling the path toward a more unified world. The foundation—which aimed to promote social justice and empower minorities—tried to avoid being associated with the studio's legal drama, which has captured the public's attention like few other Hollywood spectacles in recent years. For instance, it armed staff with language to help differentiate between the two entities. But sharing the now controversial Wayfarer name may have led to its shutdown. 'To me, the purpose of money is to serve humanity. Period,' Sarowitz told Forbes in an interview in Highland Park, Illinois last year discussing his giving, before the controversy erupted. Yet the shuttering of Wayfarer complicates that goal, and may have turned its 150-plus grantees into the latest casualties of the PR circus. Some say their nonprofits will struggle to survive without Wayfarer's backing. 'One thing private foundations can provide is stability and as close as you can get to a long-term commitment to funding,' says Brian Mittendorf, an accounting professor and nonprofit specialist at Ohio State University. 'To suddenly shut down all at once undermines that.' W ell-established private foundations typically sunset over years, not weeks. Several media outlets blamed Wayfarer's shuttering in part on financial difficulties arising from the legal battle. That's not likely the case. While experts say the hefty legal, security and PR expenses could already total $40 million, Sarowitz still has an estimated $2.3 billion fortune, which stems from founding payroll firm Paylocity (market cap: $10.2 billion) decades ago and running it as CEO until 2011. While $1.6 billion of that is tied up in Paylocity shares, Forbes estimates he has another $700 million in cash and other investments—more than enough for him to have funded the foundation's 2025 budget of $40 million for several decades. When asked why he shut down so quickly or if there were specific events that led to his decision, Sarowitz declined to comment on the Lively lawsuit or the personal threats and instead simply said that now was 'as good a time as any.' The day after Wayfarer announced its shutdown, police arrested a suspect in the arson and blackmail incidents: Eduardo Aragon, 26; he has been charged with 13 criminal counts of arson, intimidation and harassment. Illinois does not allow bail at all, and Aragon must remain in custody until the case is resolved, a judge ruled. The next court date is scheduled for July 8. Nevertheless, Sarowitz has remained on high alert. He stationed 24/7 security guards outside his homes as well as the foundation headquarters, according to a source familiar with the deployment. Foundation staff signed NDAs as part of their severance agreements, so none would speak to Forbes on the record. But two former workers who asked not to be identified said that safety concerns were discussed at Wayfarer even before the arson. Several defendants named in Lively's case have said they received death threats in recent months. Safety concerns at many nonprofits have increased since President Trump's inauguration, says Elisha Smith Arrillaga, research VP at the Center for Effective Philanthropy. That's been especially true if their work lies in a controversial area: 'Anything can become a lightning rod.' S arowitz, who is 59, still plans to give away all his money well before he dies. His interest in social justice began early, inspired in part by getting bullied and beaten up for being Jewish while growing up in Homewood, Illinois. In 1997, he founded Paylocity, which took off after he launched one of the first cloud-based payroll systems in 2004. By the time it went public in 2014, Sarowitz had stepped away from day-to-day involvement, though he stayed on as chairman until August and still sits on the board. That IPO turbocharged Sarowitz's wealth and inspired his pivot to philanthropy. Meanwhile, friends teased him for continuing to fly coach, drive a Prius and dress simply. 'I'm not interested in luxury,' he told Forbes last year. Around the time of the IPO, after studying the Bahá'í faith for a few years at the recommendation of a friend, Sarowitz says he had an epiphany, followed by a four-day spiritual transformation while visiting the prophet Bahá'u'lláh's shrine in Israel. His wife promptly sent him to two psychologists. He appeared to be in something like a manic state, constantly elated and sleeping little. Sarowitz formally converted in 2015. 'Baháʼí made the most sense to me. I have a very logical mind,' he told Forbes last year. Baháʼís believe that all faiths are manifestations of the same fundamental religion—and it would be illogical to think that the billions of people who follow Christianity, Islam and Judaism are all mistaken, he argued. Around 2018, Sarowitz met Baldoni, from whom he sought advice for a documentary he was producing on the origins of Baháʼí. Baldoni, who also follows the faith, was already running a small company called Wayfarer Entertainment and a small nonprofit called The Wayfarer Foundation that put on an annual Skid Row Carnival of Love for unhoused residents of L.A. Sarowitz joined the foundation board and worked with Baldoni to transform the film company into a new entity that he would finance, Wayfarer Studios. Since 2020, the studio has helped produce a diverse array of films it deems to have positive messages, like Garfield and Will & Harper . It Ends with Us depicted overcoming spousal abuse. Sarowitz has also created Wayfarer Theater, a cinema outside Chicago that only plays movies that 'uplift the spirit.' For him, that means no gratuitous sex, violence or drug use, and no objectification of women. Movies like The Life of Chuck , Jurassic World Rebirth and Everything's Going to Be Great are currently playing. In 2021, when Baldoni changed his foundation's name to Sarowitz started his own Wayfarer Foundation, which he funded entirely himself. Baldoni, who was a 'key advisor' to Sarowitz's entity, will continue to advise him on new philanthropic efforts, says Sarowitz. The foundation, which was supposed to disburse nearly $40 million this year (up from about $20 million), funded nonprofits that identified as having a spiritual purpose. 'If you only apply material solutions, which we tend to do—we see a person who's starving and give them food; we see a person who's homeless and give them a home—we haven't actually solved the core problem,' he argued. 'And it becomes, in the long run, a band-aid solution.' Wayfarer estimated it was the first significant donor for 15% of grantees. Grantees' annual budgets were usually around $1 million and always less than $5 million, meaning they often relied heavily on Wayfarer, which bequeathed more and smaller awards than was typical for a private foundation of its size. Its 152 recipients in 2023 received an average of $127,804. 'It goes back to the entrepreneurial spirit that Steve has,' the foundation's former executive director, Laura Herrick, told Forbes last year. 'He has seen so often what can happen when somebody invests in a project early on, and the impact that it can make.' Most of Wayfarer's donations were unrestricted—a rarity among private foundations, which often prefer to fund programs rather than salaries or other crucial operational expenses. Grantees gushed to Forbes about the ultra-supportive attitude of the foundation's staff (who regularly sent them care packages and showed up to their events), and Sarowitz himself. They praised the fact that Wayfarer gave not only donations but mentorship, including trainings in everything from communications to fundraising. Wayfarer shut down for good on June 30. By then, nearly all remaining grants had been paid, according to Sarowitz, though a few final sums are going out in the next couple of days. He says he will keep funding many grantees in private, though it's unclear which ones, and to what extent future donations will be commensurate with the old. He also says he is not accepting any new grant solicitations at this time. 'At times, my biggest frustration is feeling like I'm an ATM and not a human being,' he told Forbes last year. Many of those previously funded by Wayfarer who hadn't submitted their renewal applications before the buzzer are scrambling. 'We'd just started the conversation with them to fund us again,' says Takisha Miller, executive director of Chocolate Milk Café, which organizes lactation support for African diaspora families. But she hadn't yet applied. 'So we're not promised anything. Which is why it's unfortunate—like, 'Aw man, one more month…'' Organic Oneness founder Syda Segovia Taylor's renewal application was denied, but Sarowitz has assured her that he will continue to fund her in some way privately. She remembers learning of Wayfarer's closure during a break at her annual board gathering. 'I was like, 'Okay, you guys, our safety net is not as thick or as wide as we thought,'' she says. But like all grantees with whom Forbes spoke, her primary emphasis was gratitude for Wayfarer's support until now. 'I feel like they've prepared me for this moment,' she says, citing guidance she'd received on fundraising and strategizing. 'Now I've just got to stand on my own two feet.' No matter how Sarowitz proceeds as a philanthropist, his decision to step back and go dark has had an impact. 'I looked to them as an example of what a foundation could be,' says Mary Carl, executive director of Miracle Messages, a group helping people experiencing homelessness. 'For that to be taken away from some of the nonprofits that are very small is devastating for their sustainability.' 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Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
2 Software Stocks with Competitive Advantages and 1 to Ignore
Software is rapidly reducing operating expenses for businesses. In the past, the undeniable tailwinds fueling SaaS companies led to lofty valuation multiples that made it easier to raise capital. But this was a double-edged sword as the high prices exposed them to big drawdowns, and unfortunately, the industry has tumbled by 6.9% over the last six months. This drop was disappointing since the S&P 500 held steady. Investors should tread carefully as only some businesses are worthy of their valuations, and luckily for you, we started StockStory to help you find them. On that note, here are two software stocks we think can generate sustainable market-beating returns and one best left ignored. Market Cap: $9.82 billion 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. Why Are We Hesitant About PCTY? Estimated sales growth of 8.3% for the next 12 months implies demand will slow from its three-year trend Gross margin of 68.8% is below its competitors, leaving less money to invest in areas like marketing and R&D Paylocity's stock price of $175.26 implies a valuation ratio of 6x forward price-to-sales. If you're considering PCTY for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more. Market Cap: $50.6 billion Founded by Australian co-CEOs Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar in 2002, Atlassian (NASDAQ:TEAM) provides software as a service that makes it easier for large teams of software developers to manage projects, especially in software development. Why Will TEAM Beat the Market? Average billings growth of 14.7% over the last year enhances its liquidity and shows there is steady demand for its products Software platform has product-market fit given the rapid recovery of its customer acquisition costs Strong free cash flow margin of 29.6% enables it to reinvest or return capital consistently Atlassian is trading at $196.31 per share, or 8.6x forward price-to-sales. Is now the right time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it's free. Market Cap: $45.8 billion Built on top of Salesforce as one of the first vertical-focused cloud platforms, Veeva (NYSE:VEEV) provides data and customer relationship management (CRM) software for organizations in the life sciences industry. Why Is VEEV Interesting? Billings have averaged 14.6% growth over the last year, showing it's securing new contracts that could potentially increase in value over time Highly efficient business model is illustrated by its impressive 27% operating margin, and its rise over the last year was fueled by some leverage on its fixed costs Impressive free cash flow profitability enables the company to fund new investments or reward investors with share buybacks/dividends At $280.30 per share, Veeva Systems trades at 14.6x forward price-to-sales. Is now the time to initiate a position? See for yourself in our in-depth research report, it's free. The market surged in 2024 and reached record highs after Donald Trump's presidential victory in November, but questions about new economic policies are adding much uncertainty for 2025. While the crowd speculates what might happen next, we're homing in on the companies that can succeed regardless of the political or macroeconomic environment. Put yourself in the driver's seat and build a durable portfolio by checking out our Top 6 Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025). Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,754% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free. Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Find your next big winner with StockStory today Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Firing on All Cylinders: Flywire (NASDAQ:FLYW) Q1 Earnings Lead the Way
As the Q1 earnings season comes to a close, it's time to take stock of this quarter's best and worst performers in the finance and HR software industry, including Flywire (NASDAQ:FLYW) 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 13 finance and HR software stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q1. As a group, revenues beat analysts' consensus estimates by 1.4% while next quarter's revenue guidance was 1.2% below. In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady as they are up 1.4% on average since the latest earnings results. Originally created to process international tuition payments for universities, Flywire (NASDAQ:FLYW) is a cross border payments processor and software platform focusing on complex, high-value transactions like education, healthcare and B2B payments. Flywire reported revenues of $133.5 million, up 17% year on year. This print exceeded analysts' expectations by 5%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts' EBITDA estimates and revenue guidance for next quarter meeting analysts' expectations. "We are pleased with our 2025 first quarter results, as we signed more than 200 new clients, led by our Travel and Education verticals, and exceeded the high end of our FX Neutral Revenue Guidance, while expanding Adjusted EBITDA margins above our guidance mid-point," said Mike Massaro, CEO of Flywire. Flywire achieved the biggest analyst estimates beat of the whole group. The stock is up 8% since reporting and currently trades at $10.85. Is now the time to buy Flywire? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free. 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 $454.5 million, up 13.3% year on year, outperforming analysts' expectations by 2.9%. The business had a very strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts' EBITDA estimates and full-year EBITDA guidance exceeding analysts' expectations. Although it had a fine quarter compared its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 9% since reporting. It currently trades at $176.78. Is now the time to buy Paylocity? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free. 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 $621 million, up 1.8% year on year, falling short of analysts' expectations by 1.9%. It was a disappointing quarter as it posted full-year EBITDA guidance missing analysts' expectations. Global Business Travel delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth in the group. As expected, the stock is down 12.3% since the results and currently trades at $6.04. Read our full analysis of Global Business Travel's results here. Created from the merger of two small workforce management companies in 2007, Asure (NASDAQ:ASUR) provides cloud based payroll and HR software for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Asure reported revenues of $34.85 million, up 10.1% year on year. This number topped analysts' expectations by 1.7%. More broadly, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also logged an impressive beat of analysts' EBITDA estimates. The stock is down 4.8% since reporting and currently trades at $9.30. Read our full, actionable report on Asure here, it's free. 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 $7.75 billion, up 15.1% year on year. This result surpassed analysts' expectations by 2.6%. It was a very strong quarter as it also recorded full-year EPS guidance exceeding analysts' expectations and an impressive beat of analysts' EBITDA estimates. Intuit achieved the highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. The stock is up 14.6% since reporting and currently trades at $762.99. Read our full, actionable report on Intuit here, it's free. Thanks to the Fed's rate hikes in 2022 and 2023, inflation has been on a steady path downward, easing back toward that 2% sweet spot. Fortunately (miraculously to some), all this tightening didn't send the economy tumbling into a recession, so here we are, cautiously celebrating a soft landing. The cherry on top? Recent rate cuts (half a point in September 2024, a quarter in November) have propped up markets, especially after Trump's November win lit a fire under major indices and sent them to all-time highs. However, there's still plenty to ponder — tariffs, corporate tax cuts, and what 2025 might hold for the economy. Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Top 5 Quality Compounder Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
1 Profitable Stock on Our Buy List and 2 to Question
While profitability is essential, it doesn't guarantee long-term success. Some companies that rest on their margins will lose ground as competition intensifies - as Jeff Bezos said, "Your margin is my opportunity". A business making money today isn't necessarily a winner, which is why we analyze companies across multiple dimensions at StockStory. That said, here is one profitable company that leverages its financial strength to beat the competition and two best left off your watchlist. Trailing 12-Month GAAP Operating Margin: 19.4% 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. Why Are We Hesitant About PCTY? Estimated sales growth of 8.3% for the next 12 months implies demand will slow from its three-year trend Gross margin of 68.8% reflects its relatively high servicing costs At $176.78 per share, Paylocity trades at 6x forward price-to-sales. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than PCTY. Trailing 12-Month GAAP Operating Margin: 10.2% Expanding its markets through acquisitions since its founding, Alamo (NSYE:ALG) designs, manufactures, and services vegetation management and infrastructure maintenance equipment for governmental, industrial, and agricultural use. Why Should You Sell ALG? Sales stagnated over the last two years and signal the need for new growth strategies Projected sales growth of 2.8% for the next 12 months suggests sluggish demand Flat earnings per share over the last two years lagged its peers Alamo's stock price of $214.51 implies a valuation ratio of 21x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why ALG doesn't pass our bar. Trailing 12-Month GAAP Operating Margin: 11.2% Formed through the merger of 12 companies, Comfort Systems (NYSE:FIX) provides mechanical and electrical contracting services. Why Will FIX Beat the Market? Sales pipeline is in good shape as its backlog averaged 30.5% growth over the past two years Earnings per share grew by 67.6% annually over the last two years and trumped its peers Returns on capital are climbing as management makes more lucrative bets Comfort Systems is trading at $499.58 per share, or 26.7x forward P/E. Is now a good time to buy? See for yourself in our comprehensive research report, it's free. The market surged in 2024 and reached record highs after Donald Trump's presidential victory in November, but questions about new economic policies are adding much uncertainty for 2025. While the crowd speculates what might happen next, we're homing in on the companies that can succeed regardless of the political or macroeconomic environment. Put yourself in the driver's seat and build a durable portfolio by checking out our Top 5 Strong Momentum Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025). Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,754% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free. Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Find your next big winner with StockStory today Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
HR Software Stocks Q1 Teardown: Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) Vs The Rest
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 hr software stocks fared in Q1, starting with Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX). Modern HR software has two powerful benefits: cost savings and ease of use. For cost savings, businesses large and small much prefer the flexibility of cloud-based, web-browser-delivered software paid for on a subscription basis rather than the hassle and complexity of purchasing and managing on-premise enterprise software. On the usability side, the consumerization of business software creates seamless experiences whereby multiple standalone processes like payroll processing and compliance are aggregated into a single, easy-to-use platform. The 5 HR software stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q1. As a group, revenues beat analysts' consensus estimates by 1.3% while next quarter's revenue guidance was 3.6% below. Thankfully, share prices of the companies have been resilient as they are up 5.2% on average since the latest earnings results. One of the oldest service providers in the industry, Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) offers its customers payroll and HR software solutions. Paychex reported revenues of $1.51 billion, up 4.8% year on year. This print was in line with analysts' expectations, but overall, it was a mixed quarter for the company with EBITDA in line with analysts' estimates. Paychex delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and slowest revenue growth of the whole group. Interestingly, the stock is up 11% since reporting and currently trades at $159.96. Is now the time to buy Paychex? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free. 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 $454.5 million, up 13.3% year on year, outperforming analysts' expectations by 2.9%. The business had a very strong quarter with a solid beat of analysts' EBITDA estimates. Paylocity delivered the biggest analyst estimates beat, fastest revenue growth, and highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. However, the results were likely priced into the stock as it's traded sideways since reporting. Shares currently sit at $193.72. Is now the time to buy Paylocity? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free. Founded in 1992 as Ceridian, an outsourced payroll processor and transformed after the 2012 acquisition of Dayforce, Dayforce (NYSE:DAY) is a provider of cloud based payroll and HR software targeted at mid-sized businesses. Dayforce reported revenues of $481.8 million, up 11.7% year on year, exceeding analysts' expectations by 1.1%. Still, it was a slower quarter as it posted revenue guidance for next quarter missing analysts' expectations. Dayforce delivered the weakest full-year guidance update in the group. Interestingly, the stock is up 1.7% since the results and currently trades at $59.20. Read our full analysis of Dayforce's results here. Created from the merger of two small workforce management companies in 2007, Asure (NASDAQ:ASUR) provides cloud based payroll and HR software for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Asure reported revenues of $34.85 million, up 10.1% year on year. This number topped analysts' expectations by 1.7%. Zooming out, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also produced an impressive beat of analysts' EBITDA estimates. The stock is down 1.8% since reporting and currently trades at $9.59. Read our full, actionable report on Asure here, it's free. Founded in 1998 as one of the first online payroll companies, Paycom (NYSE:PAYC) provides software for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to manage their payroll and HR needs in one place. Paycom reported revenues of $530.5 million, up 6.1% year on year. This print surpassed analysts' expectations by 0.9%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter as it also produced a solid beat of analysts' EBITDA estimates and full-year EBITDA guidance exceeding analysts' expectations. The stock is up 15.3% since reporting and currently trades at $263.57. Read our full, actionable report on Paycom here, it's free. 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. Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our 9 Best Market-Beating Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
