Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Workday (NASDAQ:WDAY) announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The software maker reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.15, FiscalAI reports. Workday had a net margin of 7.26% and a return on equity of 12.93%. The business had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.52 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Here are the key takeaways from Workday’s conference call:

• Workday is pivoting to an AI-first “chapter four,” planning to marry its deterministic HR/finance core with domain-specific LLMs and agentic workflows to drive new product-led growth.
• Fiscal 2026 showed solid fundamentals — Q4 subscription revenue of $2.36B, full-year subscription revenue of $8.833B, CRPO up ~15.8% to $8.83B, ~30% non-GAAP operating margin, strong operating cash flow, and $2.9B of share buybacks in FY26.
• FY27 guidance is conservative as Workday prioritizes accelerated AI investment — subscription revenue guide of $9.925B–$9.95B (12%–13% growth) and ~30% non-GAAP margin, signaling near-term tradeoffs between growth re-acceleration and margin expansion.
• Early AI commercialization shows traction — Workday recorded 1.7 billion AI actions in FY26, >$100M of new ACV from emerging AI products in Q4 (100% YoY), >$400M ARR from these solutions, Sana Core/Enterprise moved to GA, and customers report meaningful ROI (e.g., ~25% HR case reduction).
• Execution and timing risks remain — a one‑time DIA contract boosted Q4, some large net‑new deals (Fed, SLED, Healthcare and parts of commercial) elongated into FY27, and average contract duration fell, which contributed to cautious near‑term visibility.

Workday Price Performance

NASDAQ:WDAY opened at $133.15 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $35.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $182.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $212.95. Workday has a 52-week low of $117.76 and a 52-week high of $281.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 1.83.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WDAY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Workday in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $175.00 price target on shares of Workday in a report on Monday, February 9th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Workday from $261.00 to $247.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Loop Capital set a $280.00 price target on shares of Workday in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Macquarie Infrastructure reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Workday in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and fifteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.28.

More Workday News

Here are the key news stories impacting Workday this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — revenue and subscription growth outpaced estimates, and adjusted margins improved, supporting the company’s underlying demand and profitability case. Workday Q4 Earnings Beat (Zacks)
• Positive Sentiment: Longer‑term bull case remains: some sell‑side firms and bullish writeups (Needham maintained a Buy; MarketBeat/others highlight buy‑the‑dip arguments) pointing to durable enterprise “moat” and AI as a multi‑year growth catalyst. Needham Buy Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional support and buybacks noted by market commentators — heavyweight institutional ownership and modest repurchases were cited as potential stabilizers if guidance proves conservative. MarketBeat WDAY Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate leadership shift: co‑founder/Executive Chairman Aneel Bhusri’s return to the CEO role (and management emphasis on agentic AI) is being framed both as a stabilizing, experienced hand and as a source of near‑term execution risk while strategy resets. Earnings Call Transcript (Seeking Alpha)
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst reactions — several firms reiterated Buy/outperform ratings while many trimmed price targets, producing a wide range of views that increases near‑term volatility but leaves upside for conviction investors. Analyst Reactions Summary (Benzinga)
• Negative Sentiment: Fiscal‑2027 subscription revenue guide came in below Street expectations — management warned of slower new client wins and longer deal closings in certain verticals; this guidance shortfall is the main driver of selling pressure. Guidance Miss (Reuters)
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts slashed several price targets — notable cuts include UBS to $130 and Piper Sandler to $135 (alongside multiple other downgrades/trimmed targets), increasing near‑term downside risk and pressuring sentiment. UBS PT Cut to $130 (AmericanBankingNews) Piper Sandler PT Cut to $135 (AmericanBankingNews)
• Negative Sentiment: AI disruption fears and elevated short interest — market debate over whether generative AI vendors could displace parts of Workday’s stack has amplified selling; short interest rose ~34% in February to over 12.9M shares (~6.2% of float), increasing pressure.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Zane Rowe sold 6,000 shares of Workday stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.75, for a total transaction of $1,252,500.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 159,158 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,224,232.50. The trade was a 3.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Carl M. Eschenbach sold 3,125 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total value of $656,250.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 17,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,590,370. This trade represents a 15.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 370,321 shares of company stock valued at $78,866,401 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 19.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Workday

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDAY. State Street Corp grew its position in Workday by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,770,707 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,098,552,000 after purchasing an additional 96,139 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Workday by 47.5% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 5,842,491 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,406,463,000 after buying an additional 1,882,391 shares during the last quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP boosted its position in shares of Workday by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 4,118,011 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $884,466,000 after acquiring an additional 1,030,616 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Workday by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,761,599 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $905,530,000 after buying an additional 1,103,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Workday by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,772,669 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $595,514,000 after purchasing an additional 116,125 shares during the period. 89.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Workday

Workday, Inc (NASDAQ: WDAY) is a provider of cloud-based enterprise applications focused on human capital management (HCM) and financial management. Founded in 2005 by Dave Duffield and Aneel Bhusri following their tenure at PeopleSoft, the company develops software-as-a-service solutions that help organizations manage workforce and financial processes in a unified, cloud-native environment. Workday’s platform emphasizes continuous updates, data security, and a configurable architecture aimed at large and mid-sized enterprises.

The company’s product portfolio centers on Workday Human Capital Management and Workday Financial Management, with additional offerings for payroll, talent management, workforce planning and analytics.