HubSpot, Inc. (HUBS): A Bull Case Theory
A person using a laptop with a blue background showing the software platform's user inteface.
HubSpot reported strong financial results for Q1 2025, with revenue reaching $714.1 million, a 15.7% increase year-over-year and 20.8% quarter-over-quarter growth, surpassing estimates by 2.3%.
Subscription revenue, which makes up nearly 98% of total revenue, grew by the same rate, highlighting continued customer demand for its core offerings. While gross margin declined slightly by 0.7 percentage points to 83.9%, and operating margin dropped by 0.9 points to 14%, free cash flow margin improved modestly to 17.1%.
Net margin was negative 3.1%, reflecting a 4-point decrease from the prior year, largely influenced by non-GAAP adjustments and timing of certain expenses. Earnings per share of $1.78 exceeded expectations by 1.7%. Key metrics such as deferred revenue and remaining performance obligations showed significant growth, up nearly 20% and 37% respectively, underscoring strong future revenue visibility.
Billings rose by 19.6%, though average revenue per customer declined slightly by 3.6%, signaling some pressure on pricing or customer mix. Customer count increased by 19.1% to over 258,000. On the operational side, sales and marketing efficiency improved with S&M expense as a percentage of revenue falling by 1.6 points, while R&D and G&A expenses rose modestly as a share of revenue.
The company highlighted its rapid product innovation with over 200 new features released, particularly embedding AI across its platform and expanding enterprise capabilities. AI-powered tools like Customer Agent have driven measurable improvements in sales and support efficiency.
HubSpot raised its full-year revenue guidance to approximately $3.04 billion, projecting continued growth fueled by a combination of seat expansion and consumption-based AI monetization, while maintaining a cautious view on macroeconomic uncertainty.
For a comprehensive analysis of another standout stock covered by the same author, we recommend reading our summary of this bullish thesis on Shopify Inc. (SHOP).
HubSpot, Inc. (HUBS) is not on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 61 hedge fund portfolios held HUBS at the end of the first quarter which was 73 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of HUBS as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.
READ NEXT: 8 Best Wide Moat Stocks to Buy Now and 30 Most Important AI Stocks According to BlackRock.
Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.
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