Looking back on software development stocks’ Q2 earnings, we examine this quarter’s best and worst performers, including Bandwidth (NASDAQ:BAND) and its peers.
As legendary VC investor Marc Andreessen says, "Software is eating the world", and it touches virtually every industry. That drives increasing demand for tools helping software developers do their jobs, whether it be monitoring critical cloud infrastructure, integrating audio and video functionality, or ensuring smooth content streaming.
The 12 software development stocks we track reported a very strong Q2. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 3.2% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 1.8% above.
Luckily, software development stocks have performed well with share prices up 11% on average since the latest earnings results.
Bandwidth (NASDAQ:BAND)
Powering communications for tech giants like Microsoft, Google, and Zoom, Bandwidth (NASDAQ:BAND) provides cloud-based communications software and APIs that enable businesses to embed voice, messaging, and emergency services into their applications and platforms.
Bandwidth reported revenues of $219.9 million, up 22.2% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 1.4%. Overall, it was a strong quarter for the company with revenue and EBITDA guidance for next quarter beating analysts’ expectations.
Bandwidth pulled off the highest guidance raise in the group. Unsurprisingly, the stock is up 3.8% since reporting and currently trades at $54.24.
Is now the time to buy Bandwidth? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Best Q2: Fastly (NASDAQ:FSLY)
Taking its name from the core advantage it delivers to customers, Fastly (NASDAQ:FSLY) operates an edge cloud platform that processes, secures, and delivers web content as close to end users as possible, enabling faster digital experiences.
Fastly reported revenues of $183.3 million, up 23.3% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 5.3%. The business had an exceptional quarter with EPS guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations and a solid beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.
Fastly pulled off the biggest analyst estimate beat and highest full-year guidance raise of the whole group. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 5.1% since reporting. It currently trades at $27.37.
Is now the time to buy Fastly? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.
Weakest Q2: Akamai (NASDAQ:AKAM)
With a massive distributed network spanning 4,100+ points of presence in nearly 130 countries, Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) provides a global distributed cloud platform that helps businesses deliver, secure, and optimize their digital experiences online.
Akamai reported revenues of $1.1 billion, up 5.4% year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 0.6%. Still, it was a slower quarter as it posted a miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates and full-year revenue guidance meeting analysts’ expectations.
Akamai delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates and weakest guidance update among its peers. As expected, the stock is down 1.1% since the results and currently trades at $117.25.
Read our full analysis of Akamai’s results here.
Twilio (NYSE:TWLO)
Known for the clever "Twilio Magic" demo that had developers creating functioning communications apps in minutes, Twilio (NYSE:TWLO) provides a platform that enables businesses to communicate with their customers through voice, messaging, email, and other digital channels.
Twilio reported revenues of $1.50 billion, up 22% year on year. This number surpassed analysts’ expectations by 5%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter as it also recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates and a solid beat of analysts’ billings estimates.
The stock is up 37.7% since reporting and currently trades at $266.07.
Read our full, actionable report on Twilio here, it’s free.
PagerDuty (NYSE:PD)
Born from the frustration of developers being woken up by unprioritized alerts, PagerDuty (NYSE:PD) is a digital operations management platform that helps organizations detect and respond to IT incidents, outages, and other critical issues in real-time.
PagerDuty reported revenues of $124.4 million, flat year on year. This result beat analysts’ expectations by 0.9%. It was a strong quarter as it also logged accelerating customer growth and an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.
PagerDuty had the slowest revenue growth in the group. The company added 126 customers to reach a total of 15,506. The stock is up 12.9% since reporting and currently trades at $14.26.
Read our full, actionable report on PagerDuty here, it’s free.
Market Update
Over the past year, investors have been forced to repeatedly answer the same question: what is the market’s biggest risk? The answer has changed several times, and each shift has reshaped market leadership.
Late in 2025 and early 2026, artificial intelligence became the market’s primary uncertainty. Investors questioned whether AI would erode software pricing power and weaken competitive moats as AI made it easier to replicate once-differentiated products.
By the spring, technology took a back seat to geopolitics. The U.S. conflict with Iran briefly became the market’s dominant narrative, raising concerns about oil prices, inflation, and global growth. But as energy markets remained orderly and fears of a prolonged supply disruption faded, investors quickly turned their focus back to fundamentals.
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.