Quarterly earnings results are a good time to check in on a company’s progress, especially compared to its peers in the same sector. Today we are looking at Dropbox (NASDAQ: DBX) and the best and worst performers in the productivity software industry.

Rising employee costs and the shift to more remote work has increased the ever-present pressure to improve corporate productivity, which in turn has driven rising demand for productivity software that enables remote work, streamline project management and automate business tasks.

The 16 productivity software stocks we track reported a strong Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.9% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 8.9% since the latest earnings results.

Dropbox (NASDAQ: DBX)

Originally named after the founders' tendency to "drop" files into a shared folder, Dropbox (NASDAQ: DBX) provides a content collaboration platform that helps individuals and teams store, organize, share, and work on files from anywhere.

Dropbox reported revenues of $636.2 million, down 1.1% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 1.1%. Overall, it was a strong quarter for the company with accelerating customer growth and a solid beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

“We closed out 2025 on a strong note, exceeding the high end of our revenue and operating margin guidance and demonstrating our continued operating discipline,” said Drew Houston, Dropbox Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer.

Dropbox delivered the slowest revenue growth of the whole group. The company added 10,000 customers to reach a total of 18.08 million. Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 4.8% since reporting and currently trades at $23.54.

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

Best Q4: Appian (NASDAQ: APPN)

Powering billions of transactions daily since its founding in 1999, Appian (NASDAQ: APPN) provides a low-code platform that helps businesses automate complex processes and operationalize artificial intelligence without extensive programming knowledge.

Appian reported revenues of $202.9 million, up 21.7% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 7.2%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ billings estimates and EBITDA guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations.

Appian delivered the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. However, the results were likely priced into the stock as it’s traded sideways since reporting. Shares currently sit at $23.88.

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

Weakest Q4: monday.com (NASDAQ: MNDY)

With its colorful interface of boards, columns, and automation that replaced the chaos of spreadsheets, monday.com (NASDAQ: MNDY) is a cloud-based work operating system that helps teams manage projects, track tasks, and streamline workflows through customizable interfaces.

monday.com reported revenues of $333.9 million, up 24.6% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 1.3%. Still, it was a slower quarter as it posted full-year revenue guidance slightly missing analysts’ expectations and revenue guidance for next quarter slightly missing analysts’ expectations.

As expected, the stock is down 30.6% since the results and currently trades at $68.02.

Read our full analysis of monday.com’s results here.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ: PEGA)

With a "Center-out Business Architecture" approach that transcends organizational silos, Pegasystems (NASDAQ: PEGA) develops software that helps organizations automate workflows and use artificial intelligence to improve customer experiences and business processes.

Pegasystems reported revenues of $504.3 million, up 2.7% year on year. This print surpassed analysts’ expectations by 2.6%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter as it also produced an impressive beat of analysts’ billings estimates and full-year EPS guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations.

Pegasystems scored the highest full-year guidance raise among its peers. The stock is flat since reporting and currently trades at $42.68.

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

Box (NYSE: BOX)

Known as the "Content Cloud" for managing the 90% of business data that exists as unstructured files and documents, Box (NYSE: BOX) provides a cloud-based platform that enables organizations to securely manage, share, and collaborate on their content from anywhere on any device.

Box reported revenues of $305.9 million, up 9.4% year on year. This number topped analysts’ expectations by 0.5%. It was a very strong quarter as it also logged EPS guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations and full-year EPS guidance exceeding analysts’ expectations.

The stock is down 1% since reporting and currently trades at $23.68.

Read our full, actionable report on Box 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 Hidden Gem Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.