The S&P 500 is in a raging bull market. It's up 26% in 2024, which followed a 26% gain in 2023. It hasn't delivered back-to-back annual gains that strong since 1997 and 1998 during the dot-com internet bubble.
Large technology stocks like Nvidia and Apple are driving those gains. However, many tech stocks at the smaller end of the spectrum (which sit outside the S&P 500) haven't performed quite as well. Some still haven't reclaimed their all-time highs from a few years ago.
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Workiva (NYSE: WK) and Bill.com (NYSE: BILL) are two examples. Their respective stock prices are sitting 28% and 73% below their best-ever levels from 2021, but they have posted gains in 2024 and could carry that momentum into the new year.
The majority of the analysts tracked by The Wall Street Journal have assigned the highest-possible buy rating to both Workiva and Bill.com. Here's why investors might wish they'd bought both stocks when they look back on this moment in the future.
Image source: Getty Images.
Workiva: Down 28% from its all-time high
Cloud computing empowers businesses to operate online so they can access a global customer base and tap into remote workforces. However, it also means they require dozens or even hundreds of digital applications to run their day-to-day operations, which leads to fragmented workflow. That creates a challenge for managers who have to monitor their teams, gather data, and submit reports to executives or regulators.
Workiva helps them navigate that challenge. Its cloud-based platform plugs into most leading software applications, from Microsoft Excel to Workday, and aggregates their data onto one dashboard. That creates a single source of truth that saves managers from opening multiple applications to find the information they need.
From that point, Workiva provides hundreds of templates so managers can rapidly convert that data into reports for their executive teams or into filings for regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Workiva generated a record $186 million in revenue during the third quarter of 2024 (ended Sept. 30), which was a 17% increase from the year-ago period. That growth rate marked an acceleration from 15% in the second quarter, and the strong result prompted management to raise its full-year revenue forecast by $6 million to a range of $733 million and $735 million.
Workiva stock might be down 28% from its all-time high, but it was down by as much as 62%, so it has made up a lot of ground already. But Wall Street is still bullish: The Wall Street Journal tracks 11 analysts covering Workiva stock, and eight have assigned it the highest possible buy rating. One more analyst is in the overweight (bullish) camp, while two recommend holding. None recommended selling.
The company values its addressable market at $35 billion across financial reporting, compliance reporting, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting. Based on its current revenue, Workiva has barely scratched the surface of that opportunity. Therefore, I think the company's stock is likely to continue recovering in 2025 (and beyond).
Bill.com: Down 73% from its all-time high
Recovering from a 73% collapse won't be easy, but Bill.com stock was down by as much as 86% from its record level in 2021, so it's moving in the right direction. The company is a leading provider of software to small- and mid-sized businesses and helps them streamline their bookkeeping workflow.
Bill.com's flagship software is a cloud-based digital inbox where businesses can upload and receive invoices, eliminating messy paper trails. It also allows them to pay each invoice with a single click and then automatically logs the transactions in the books, as it's integrated with most leading accounting software platforms.
The company is also the owner of Invoice2go, which handles the accounts receivable side of the equation. Businesses can use it to rapidly create and send invoices to customers and track incoming payments.
As of its fiscal 2025 first quarter (ended Sept. 30), Bill.com was serving a record 476,200 small- and mid-sized businesses. The company acquires them directly but also has partnerships with over 8,500 accounting firms that recommend its software to their clients because it makes their jobs easier.
Bill.com generated a record $358.5 million in revenue during Q1. It was an 18% increase from the year-ago period, which represented an acceleration from 16% growth in the previous quarter three months earlier. As a result, management increased its full-year guidance for fiscal 2025 by $19 million, to $1.451 billion (at the midpoint of the range).
The company's stock was unquestionably overvalued in 2021. Its price-to-sales ratio (P/S) rose to a ludicrous level of around 100, so its steep decline isn't a surprise. Thanks to the company's solid revenue growth since then, its P/S ratio is now at a more reasonable level of 7.1, which offers plenty of room for upside, considering its long-term average is 29.5.
The Wall Street Journal tracks 27 analysts covering Bill.com stock, and 15 have assigned it the highest possible buy rating. One more is in the overweight (bullish) camp, while 10 analysts recommend holding. Just one analyst recommends selling.
Bill.com has a long runway for growth. It has processed $1 trillion worth of transaction volume on behalf of its customers since 2018, which is a drop in the bucket, compared to the $125 trillion processed globally each year from 70 million small- and medium-sized businesses. Therefore, I think its stock will continue to march higher from here.
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Anthony Di Pizio has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Bill Holdings, Microsoft, Nvidia, Workday, and Workiva. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
