The end of the earnings season is always a good time to take a step back and see who shined (and who didn’t). Let’s take a look at how software development stocks fared in Q1, starting with JFrog (NASDAQ: FROG).

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 strong Q1. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 2.9% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was in line.

Luckily, software development stocks have performed well with share prices up 22.9% on average since the latest earnings results.

JFrog (NASDAQ: FROG)

Named after the amphibian that continuously evolves from egg to tadpole to adult, JFrog (NASDAQ: FROG) provides a platform that helps organizations securely create, store, manage, and distribute software packages across any system.

JFrog reported revenues of $154 million, up 25.8% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 4.4%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ billings estimates and EPS guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations.

Interestingly, the stock is up 41.2% since reporting and currently trades at $80.52.

We think JFrog is a good business, but is it a buy today? Read our full report here, it’s free.

Best Q1: Datadog (NASDAQ: DDOG)

Named after a database the founders had to painstakingly look after at their previous company, Datadog (NASDAQ: DDOG) provides a software platform that helps organizations monitor and secure their cloud applications, infrastructure, and services.

Datadog reported revenues of $1.01 billion, up 32.2% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 4.9%. The business had an exceptional quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ annual recurring revenue estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ billings estimates.

Datadog scored the biggest analyst estimate beat among its peers. The company added 240 enterprise customers paying more than $100,000 annually to reach a total of 4,550. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 62.1% since reporting. It currently trades at $232.89.

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

Slowest Q1: 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 $1.07 billion, up 5.8% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. It was a softer quarter as it posted revenue guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations.

Akamai delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. Interestingly, the stock is up 14.6% since the results and currently trades at $133.71.

Read our full analysis of Akamai’s results here.

GitLab (NASDAQ: GTLB)

With its all-remote workforce pioneering a new approach to software development, GitLab (NASDAQ: GTLB) provides a single-application DevSecOps platform that helps development, operations, and security teams collaborate to build, secure, and deploy software faster.

GitLab reported revenues of $264.2 million, up 23.1% year on year. This result beat analysts’ expectations by 3.9%. Zooming out, it was a mixed quarter as it also recorded an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates but EPS guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations significantly.

The stock is down 11.4% since reporting and currently trades at $28.19.

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

F5 (NASDAQ: FFIV)

Originally named after the F5 tornado, the most powerful on the meteorological scale, F5 (NASDAQ: FFIV) provides security and delivery solutions that protect applications across cloud, data center, and edge environments for large organizations.

F5 reported revenues of $811.7 million, up 11% year on year. This number topped analysts’ expectations by 3.7%. It was an exceptional quarter as it also logged a solid beat of analysts’ billings estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ EBITDA estimates.

The stock is up 30.6% since reporting and currently trades at $396.85.

Read our full, actionable report on F5 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 Top 5 Growth Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate.