HubSpot Stock Surges After Strong Q4 Results: A Sign of Life for SaaS?
HubSpot stock rallied today with an 11% boost after posting Q4 results which beat expectations as the company issued a better-than-anticipated outlook for fiscal 2026 – in a positive sign for a SaaS market which has taken a pummelling in recent weeks and months.
The likes of Salesforce and ServiceNow have been suffering lately in the stock market, enduring share price losses between 40% and 50% over a year while fighting an ongoing narrative that the SaaS industry is in its death throes, while AI takes center stage – and supposedly makes their services redundant (or at least not as critical for enterprises).
But HubSpot’s latest results seem to squash that narrative somewhat, not only beating many of its metrics for previous quarters and years, but also Wall Street estimates. Let’s take a look at what’s going on with HubSpot – and the wider SaaS market.
HubSpot Q4 ‘25 Results in Full
In Q4 ’25, HubSpot’s total revenue was $846.7M, representing an increase of 20% on an as-reported basis and 18% in constant currency (CC) when compared to Q4′ 24. This figure also beat the consensus estimate for revenue, $830.61M. Analysts had forecasted earnings per share of $2.99 for the CRM platform, MSN reports, but HubSpot reported adjusted earnings per share of $3.10 for the fourth quarter.
Subscription revenue was $829M, up 21% on an as-reported basis compared to Q4′ 24, while professional services and other revenue was $17.8M, up 12% on an as-reported basis compared to Q4’24.
For the full year 2025, total revenue was $3.13B, up 19% on an as-reported basis and 18% in CC when compared to 2024. Subscription revenue was $3.06B, up 19% on an as-reported basis compared to 2024, while professional services and other revenue was $67.3M, up 16% on an as-reported basis compared to 2024.
HubSpot also projected earnings per share between $12.38 and $12.46 for fiscal 2026, beating the consensus estimate of $11.46, while revenue is expected to be between $3.69B and $3.7B – also beating Wall Street’s $3.61B forecast.
Alex Zukin, analyst at Wolfe Research, said: “HUBS delivered solid 4Q with strong upmarket momentum and FY NNARR growth of 24% (2x Y/Y). FY26 guide appears conservative given NNARR growth outpacing revenue growth and supporting acceleration.”
HubSpot predicts Q1 ‘26 revenue of $862M to $863M – growth of 21% year-over-year – along with adjusted operating income of $144M to $145M.
Customer count rose 16% year-over-year to 288,706 and average subscription revenue per customer rose by 3% to $11,683. Q4 calculated billings rose by 27% (to $971.4M) when compared with the 2024 period.
CEO Yamini Rangan said: “2025 was a transformative year for HubSpot, defined by the momentum of our agentic customer platform and clear acceleration upmarket. AI adoption gathered pace, as Breeze Customer Agent and Breeze Prospecting Agent delivered real outcomes for customers.
“AI adoption gathered pace, as Breeze Customer Agent and Breeze Prospecting Agent delivered real outcomes for customers. At the same time, our upmarket business saw strong momentum, as large companies turned to HubSpot to drive AI innovation, consolidate tech stacks, and reduce their total cost of ownership.
“Heading into 2026, we’re cementing our position as the leading agentic customer platform for scaling companies, building on our strength upmarket, and leading the new era of marketing with products and a playbook that drive growth. We’re entering the year with focus and urgency, and I’m confident we’re positioned to drive durable growth in the years ahead.”
So… SaaS Isn’t Dying?
The business world, and particularly the tech sector, can sometimes get caught up in dramatic narratives. Opinions on the extreme ends of any debate can often find their voices elevated, for a number of reasons, and this can have an effect on the ecosystem as a whole.
Let’s look at the two traditional poles of the AI argument, for instance:
- AI is revolutionary, and is going to change everything. No aspect of work will remain unchanged, and huge disruption is coming for every industry.
- AI is a bubble, and it’s going to pop, the same way the dotcom bubble popped. It is overhyped by its creators and sellers.
These are both catchy and controversial claims, and intelligent people can be found on either side. At the risk of sounding terribly milquetoast, it seems quite likely that the truth lies somewhere (though not necessarily precisely) in the middle of these two extremes.
If we now look at the ‘Death of SaaS’ argument going on currently, we see something similar. Those who hear the bell tolling for SaaS say that AI tools make a lot of software products redundant through automation, with little need for a system of record when intelligent AI Agents, steeped in the context of everything in your email, Google Drive, and Slack channels, can produce any information needed in an instant.
On the other hand, advocates for SaaS say that people still need a CRM, and a simple database that makes sure all their data is safe, and every relevant party can access it, isn’t going to be replaced by some AI bot that can supposedly handle everything.
So, what does this mean for HubSpot, Salesforce, and the SaaS economy as a whole?
Final Thoughts
The long-term picture over the last year seems to imply that SaaS is on its way out, but that case is far from being definitive at this point in time. Narratives get picked up, and, just as ‘hype’ around certain products can create a bubble, which is disconnected from reality, so too can a kind of ‘antihype’ snowball around a product, company, or type of product, which is, in reality, much more valuable than it is given credit for.
Whether SaaS is dying remains to be seen, but, for now, it seems like that day is not nearly as close as the doomsayers claim. HubSpot is showing signs of life. We might see a positive correction in the market for its SaaS siblings soon.
