While the venture market continues to digest a new reality, the TechCrunch+ crew has been paying very close attention to software earnings. Why are we tracking earning results for Q4 2022 in March 2023? Because lots of software companies have fiscal calendars that end on January 31 of each year. That means they report their results a bit later than other companies, leading to some lag when it comes to sorting out how many of the most important public comps for startups are performing.

Hello, friends, Alex here. Anna is out this weekend, but we expect her return in short order. A big thank-you to her for letting me write the Exchange newsletter for you today. It’s great to be back!

As always, we’re looking at public-market data for tea leaves that we can relate back to the comparatively opaque private-market companies that we cover here at TechCrunch.

Salesforce, beleaguered by external criticism concerning its cost structure and investor pressure regarding its growth rate, bested expectations in its trailing results and projected greater profitability. Okta was another standout reporter from the week, beating expectations and putting up guidance that investors liked.