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While most companies reported solid financial performance, the market’s response was anything but uniform. As transparent as public market valuations are, they don’t always track with fundamentals.
Twilio, Klaviyo, and Braze still sit at the top of the valuation leaderboard—at 3.5x, 8.9x, and 5.4x trailing twelve-month revenue, respectively. Twilio’s multiple dropped 13%, Klaviyo’s 4%. Braze ticked up slightly, but it’s still trading below where it was last year.
Twilio and Klaviyo are also members of the Bessemer Emerging Cloud Index, and got hit by the broader “software penalty” of that cohort.
LINK Mobility was the clear comeback kid, winning the “most improved” award with a 35% market cap jump and a clean multiple expansion. The narrative is a compelling European consolidation story. LINK’s M&A strategy is demonstrating sustainable value creation. The market is rewarding them for successfully integrating acquisitions, achieving cost synergies, and building a more resilient, geographically diverse business. This demonstrates a shift in investor focus from pure organic growth to profitable, strategic execution.
Sinch continued its steady recovery, up 12% with a modest multiple lift to 0.9x. Bandwidth gained 6%, a quiet endorsement for consistent execution, even if the multiple stayed flat. Why both continue to trade at a discount to revenue is a head-shake moment. Yes, both companies have significant debt on their balance sheet, but the penalty feels outsized.
How to Read the Comparison
The June 7 snapshot reflected Q1 results; this September 7 snapshot reflects Q2. By taking a consistent measurement of the post-earnings stock price, we can see how the market, after digesting results and factoring in broader macroeconomic trends, is reevaluating each company. The valuations are a collective expression of confidence in both a company’s strategy and business model as well as messaging as an asset class.
Finally
Two cross-currents mattered this quarter. First, the market rewarded credible recovery and steady execution. LINK’s step up in scale and Sinch’s measured rebuild both showed up in price and in multiples.
Second, Twilio and Klaviyo—dual citizens of the software and messaging cohorts—took the software penalty. Investors pressed on margin compression and started asking harder questions about growth quality relative to cloud peers. That translated into a lower multiple for both.
At the low end, CM.com sits at 0.6x and Route Mobile at 1.1x—a reminder of how quickly confidence can evaporate for smaller caps.