As the craze of earnings season draws to a close, here’s a look back at some of the most exciting (and some less so) results from Q3. Today, we are looking at video conferencing stocks, starting with Zoom (NASDAQ: ZM).

Work is becoming more distributed, both across geographies and devices. In order for businesses to keep functioning efficiently, they need to be able to communicate as well as they did when the teams were co-located, which drives the demand for integrated communication platforms.

The 4 video conferencing stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.3% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 0.9% below.

In light of this news, share prices of the companies have held steady as they are up 3.2% on average since the latest earnings results.

Zoom (NASDAQ: ZM)

Once the verb that defined remote work during the pandemic ("let's Zoom later"), Zoom (NASDAQ: ZM) provides a cloud-based platform for video meetings, phone calls, team chat, and collaboration tools that helps businesses and individuals connect virtually.

Zoom reported revenues of $1.23 billion, up 4.4% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 1.3%. Overall, it was a strong quarter for the company with a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates and EPS guidance for next quarter beating analysts’ expectations.

Zoom pulled off the highest full-year guidance raise of the whole group. The company added 89 enterprise customers paying more than $100,000 annually to reach a total of 4,363. Unsurprisingly, the stock is up 11.3% since reporting and currently trades at $87.46.

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

Best Q3: 8x8 (NASDAQ: EGHT)

Named after its founding year (1987) with "8x8" representing binary code for communications, 8x8 (NASDAQ: EGHT) provides cloud-based contact center and unified communications solutions that enable businesses to manage customer interactions and internal communications through a single platform.

8x8 reported revenues of $184.1 million, up 1.7% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 3.1%. The business had a very strong quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ billings estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

8x8 scored the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 12.9% since reporting. It currently trades at $2.01.

Is now the time to buy 8x8? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Weakest Q3: RingCentral (NYSE: RNG)

Built on its proprietary Message Video Phone (MVP) platform that unifies multiple communication methods, RingCentral (NYSE: RNG) provides AI-driven cloud communications and collaboration solutions that enable businesses to connect through voice, video, messaging, and contact center services.

RingCentral reported revenues of $638.7 million, up 4.9% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. It was a slower quarter as it posted revenue guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations significantly and billings in line with analysts’ estimates.

As expected, the stock is down 2.3% since the results and currently trades at $29.26.

Read our full analysis of RingCentral’s results here.

Five9 (NASDAQ: FIVN)

Taking its name from the "five nines" (99.999%) standard for optimal service reliability in telecommunications, Five9 (NASDAQ: FIVN) provides cloud-based software that enables businesses to run their contact centers with tools for customer service, sales, and marketing across multiple communication channels.

Five9 reported revenues of $285.8 million, up 8.2% year on year. This result was in line with analysts’ expectations. Aside from that, it was a mixed quarter as it also logged a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but revenue guidance for next quarter slightly missing analysts’ expectations.

Five9 pulled off the fastest revenue growth but had the weakest performance against analyst estimates among its peers. The stock is down 9.2% since reporting and currently trades at $19.70.

Read our full, actionable report on Five9 here, it’s free for active Edge members.

Market Update

The Fed’s interest rate hikes throughout 2022 and 2023 have successfully cooled post-pandemic inflation, bringing it closer to the 2% target. Inflationary pressures have eased without tipping the economy into a recession, suggesting a soft landing. This stability, paired with recent rate cuts (0.5% in September 2024 and 0.25% in November 2024), fueled a strong year for the stock market in 2024. The markets surged further after Donald Trump’s presidential victory in November, with major indices reaching record highs in the days following the election. Still, questions remain about the direction of economic policy, as potential tariffs and corporate tax changes add uncertainty for 2025.

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