The end of an earnings season can be a great time to discover new stocks and assess how companies are handling the current business environment. Let’s take a look at how Sprout Social (NASDAQ: SPT) and the rest of the sales and marketing software stocks fared in Q1.

The Internet and the exploding amount of data have transformed how businesses interact with, market to, and transact with their customers. Personalization of offerings, e-commerce, targeted advertising and data-empowered sales teams are now table stakes for modern businesses, and sales and marketing software providers are becoming the tools of evolving customer interaction.

The 18 sales and marketing software stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q1. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

Luckily, sales and marketing software stocks have performed well with share prices up 30.4% on average since the latest earnings results.

Sprout Social (NASDAQ: SPT)

Born from the recognition that businesses needed a centralized way to handle their growing social media presence, Sprout Social (NASDAQ: SPT) provides a comprehensive software platform that helps businesses manage, analyze, and optimize their presence across various social media networks.

Sprout Social reported revenues of $121.5 million, up 11.2% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 0.9%. Despite the top-line beat, it was still a slower quarter for the company with EPS guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations and a miss of analysts’ billings estimates.

The market seems disappointed with the results as the stock is down 1.6% since reporting and currently trades at $6.69.

Read our full report on Sprout Social here, it’s free.

Best Q1: PubMatic (NASDAQ: PUBM)

Powering billions of daily ad impressions across the open internet, PubMatic (NASDAQ: PUBM) operates a technology platform that helps publishers maximize revenue from their digital advertising inventory while giving advertisers more control and transparency.

PubMatic reported revenues of $62.57 million, down 2% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 4.4%. The business had an exceptional quarter with EBITDA guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

PubMatic pulled off the highest guidance raise among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 10.4% since reporting. It currently trades at $11.31.

Is now the time to buy PubMatic? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Slowest Q1: Upland Software (NASDAQ: UPLD)

Operating under the mantra "land and expand," Upland Software (NASDAQ: UPLD) provides cloud-based applications that help organizations manage projects, workflows, and digital transformation across various business functions.

Upland Software reported revenues of $48.69 million, down 23.5% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. It was a softer quarter as it posted full-year EBITDA guidance missing analysts’ expectations significantly and revenue guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations.

Upland Software delivered the slowest revenue growth in the group. Interestingly, the stock is up 738% since the results and currently trades at $5.24.

Read our full analysis of Upland Software’s results here.

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 $11.13 billion, up 13.3% year on year. This print surpassed analysts’ expectations by 0.8%. Zooming out, it was a mixed quarter as it also logged full-year EPS guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations but a miss of analysts’ billings estimates.

The stock is down 14.2% since reporting and currently trades at $152.28.

Read our full, actionable report on Salesforce here, it’s free.

The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD)

Built as an alternative to "walled garden" advertising ecosystems, The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) provides a cloud-based platform that helps advertisers and agencies plan, manage, and optimize digital advertising campaigns across multiple channels and devices.

The Trade Desk reported revenues of $688.9 million, up 11.8% year on year. This result topped analysts’ expectations by 1.4%. Taking a step back, it was a slower quarter as it logged revenue guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations significantly and EBITDA guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations significantly.

The Trade Desk had the weakest guidance update among its peers. The stock is down 21.1% since reporting and currently trades at $18.53.

Read our full, actionable report on The Trade Desk here, it’s free.

Market Update

Late in 2025 into early 2026, there was hand-wringing around artificial intelligence. For software companies, the fear was that AI would erode pricing power and compress margins as new tools made it easier to replicate what once required expensive enterprise platforms. Crypto investors had their own version of the same anxiety: if AI agents could trade, allocate capital, and manage wallets autonomously, what exactly was the long-term value of today’s crypto infrastructure?

These concerns triggered a noticeable rotation away from these sectors and into safer havens. But markets rarely dwell on one narrative for long. Spring 2026 came, and the focus shifted abruptly from technological disruption to geopolitical risk. The US’ conflict with Iran became the dominant driver of market psychology, and when geopolitics takes center stage, the script changes quickly. Investors stop debating growth rates and start worrying about oil supply, inflation, and global stability.

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.