Why Monday.com Stock Popped in August

Monday.com (NASDAQ: MNDY), a workplace production software developer that has pushed into the customer relationship management (CRM) space, saw its stock rise an impressive 16% last month. Investors didn't react well to the company's second-quarter results, but the solid performance of a notable peer known for its CRM offerings ultimately helped turn the tide.

A tough crowd of investors

Monday.com's quarterly results hit the headlines just before market open on Aug. 10. These revealed that the company's revenue for the period was 22% higher year over year at nearly $365 million. Net income not under generally accepted accounting principles (non-GAAP, or adjusted) also headed north, rising nearly 13% to $65.6 million, or $1.48 per diluted share.

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That meant a double beat for Monday.com, as the consensus analyst estimate for revenue was just under $356 million, and that for adjusted profitability stood at $1.11 per share.

Monday.com's growth numbers were enviable, and the company fully expects more. It proffered guidance for both its current (third) quarter and the entirety of 2026 that anticipates notable improvements.

For the latter period, it's modeling revenue ranging from almost $1.47 billion to slightly over that number, which would shake out into year-over-year growth of at least 19%. It also forecast adjusted operating income of $230 million to $234 million.

Yet the top end of that revenue range basically meets, and doesn't exceed, the average analyst estimate. Investors also pored over mildly concerning developments in the earnings report, such as the net revenue retention growth rate. These factors, plus lingering negative sentiment toward legacy software companies in our age of artificial intelligence (AI), led to a sell-off in Monday.com's stock.

The end of the software slump?

The major development that reversed this was another second-quarter earnings report -- this one for fiscal 2027 -- published late in the month. It was from CRM king Salesforce, which delivered an earnings report that featured a more than doubling of adjusted net income.

That figure crushed the average analyst projection, and the company also notched a convincing beat on full-year, bottom-line guidance.

At a stroke, Salesforce's powerful performance made the investing community notably more bullish on legacy software stocks generally, and CRM companies specifically. Monday.com got a late-in-the-month lift on both dynamics.

The question now is whether it has the momentum to continue. Its stock still looks cheap to me, both on a per-share basis and relative to its valuations. The current forward P/E (on adjusted earnings) of under 14 feels quite low given the company's recent improvements in fundamentals, and the fact that it runs a reliably high-margin business. I would consider loading up on its stock at its still-bargain level.

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Monday.com and Salesforce. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.