The past year was rough yet again for cloud software stocks. Facing down the second year of a bear market in which customers got picky with their spending, all the while dealing with new investor demands to refocus on profitability, many apps and software vendors didn't make the cut.

But then there are businesses like HubSpot (NYSE: HUBS). While it's still down significantly from all-time highs, the stock rallied in grand fashion in 2023, and continues to outperform its giant peer Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) over the last three-year stretch (even as Salesforce stock also nearly doubled in value in 2023).

Nevertheless, HubSpot's growth isn't nearly as fast as it used to be, and the business is still a ways off from robust profitability. Can it be the next Salesforce in the making and become a top cloud software provider?

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Source Fool.com