Workday (WDAY) — Company Research

Last Updated: 07 Oct 2026

Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ: WDAY) sells cloud software that large and mid-sized organisations use to run their people and their money: human capital management (HR, payroll, recruiting, learning), financial management, spend management and planning. Customers pay subscriptions, mostly priced on the number of employees covered, and Workday reports a single operating segment. More than 11,500 organisations use it, including more than 65% of the Fortune 500.

FY2026 (the year to 31 Jan 2026) revenue was $9,552m, up 13.1%, with subscription revenue of $8,833m. GAAP diluted EPS was $2.59 and non-GAAP diluted EPS $9.23. In Q2 FY2027 (to 31 Jul 2026) revenue rose 12.8% to $2,649m and management raised its FY2027 subscription revenue guidance to $9.940–9.950bn (+13%). Co-founder Aneel Bhusri returned as CEO on 09 Feb 2026. On 13 Aug 2026 Reuters reported that Silver Lake was in talks to take the company private; no deal has been announced. The shares closed at $186.55 on 06 Oct 2026, a market value of about $45.0bn.

This refresh draws on Workday's quarterly press releases (SEC 8-K exhibits), the FY2026 Form 10-K, the Q2 FY2027 Form 10-Q, SEC XBRL company facts and Form 4 filings, retrieved on 07 Oct 2026. It replaces the version published on 23 May 2026. Follow the price on ChartsView Live Charts.

1. Company Snapshot

Field	Value
Full name	Workday, Inc.
Ticker	WDAY (NASDAQ)
Sector	Technology: enterprise application software (human capital management, financials, spend, planning and AI agents)
CEO / Leadership	Aneel Bhusri (Co-founder, CEO and Chair, CEO again since 09 Feb 2026); Zane Rowe (CFO); Gerrit Kazmaier (President, Product and Technology); Robert Enslin (President and Chief Commercial Officer)
Market cap	~$45.0bn (241.0m shares × $186.55 at the 06 Oct 2026 close, StockAnalysis)
Revenue (FY2026, to 31 Jan 2026)	$9,552m (+13.1% YoY); subscription revenue $8,833m (+14.4%)
Net income (FY2026)	$693m GAAP; GAAP diluted EPS $2.59; non-GAAP diluted EPS $9.23
Employees	Over 21,000 in 36 countries, about 58% in the US (FY2026 Form 10-K), before the ~2.5% reduction announced on 29 Sep 2026
Scale	More than 11,500 customer organisations and more than 75m users under contract; 12-month subscription backlog $9,034m (+14.2%) and total subscription backlog $27,403m (+8.0%) at 31 Jul 2026
Fiscal year	Ends 31 January (FY2027 runs to 31 Jan 2027)
Dividend	None

2. Bull Case vs Bear Case

Distilled from the full report below. Factual only, no ratings.

Bull Case

• Steady double-digit growth: Revenue grew 13.1% to $9,552m in FY2026 and 12.8% in Q2 FY2027. Management raised FY2027 subscription revenue guidance to $9.940–9.950bn (+13%) on 27 Aug 2026.
• Margins and cash flow rising: FY2027 non-GAAP operating margin guidance was raised to 31.0% from 30.0%. FY2026 free cash flow was $2,777m, up from $2,192m, against a market value of about $45bn.
• Heavy buybacks: Workday spent $2.9bn on buybacks in FY2026 and $2,924m in the first half of FY2027 alone, and the board added a new $4.0bn authorisation with no expiry in Aug 2026.
• AI adoption showing up in sales: AI drove more than 25% of new annual contract value in Q2 FY2027, and more than 5,500 customers use at least one Workday agent, up more than 35% on the quarter.
• Possible take-private: Reuters reported on 13 Aug 2026 that Silver Lake is in talks to buy the company, and CNBC reported on 17 Sep 2026 that work on financing continues. No offer has been announced.

Bear Case

• Growth is slowing: Q3 FY2027 subscription revenue is guided to grow 12%, down from 15.7% in Q4 FY2026, and total subscription backlog growth has slowed to 8.0% from 12.2% at year-end.
• AI threat to seat-based pricing: Workday's HCM pricing is tied to customer headcount, so AI-driven job cuts at customers shrink its pricing base. The shares hit a 52-week low of $110.36 on these fears.
• Repeated restructuring: FY2026 included $303m of restructuring charges, and a second round of about 2.5% of jobs was announced on 29 Sep 2026 with $65–80m of further charges.
• Deal speculation in the price: The shares jumped about 18% on the Silver Lake report. If talks collapse, that premium could disappear.
• Founder selling: Co-founder David Duffield's trust has been selling roughly $18–19m of shares every few days under a 10b5-1 plan.

3. What Does This Company Actually Do?

Workday provides a single cloud platform for HR and finance. Its main products are Human Capital Management (core HR, payroll, talent, recruiting through Paradox and HiredScore, learning, and workforce management), Financial Management, Spend Management, and Adaptive Planning. Industry versions serve government, healthcare, higher education and financial services, and Workday GO packages the software for medium-sized companies. Since 2025 the company has added an AI layer, Workday Sana, and a set of AI agents that carry out tasks inside the system.

Workday reports one operating segment and does not split revenue by product. The disclosed revenue categories are:

Segment / category	% of revenue	What it is
Subscription services	92.5% ($8,833m, FY2026)	Fees for access to the cloud applications and AI products, usually on three-year or longer contracts, recognised evenly over the term
Professional services	7.5% ($719m, FY2026)	Deployment, configuration, training and consulting, often low or negative margin and increasingly handed to partners

Source: FY2026 Form 10-K and Q4 FY2026 press release. By geography, the 10-Q states only that the United States accounts for more than 10% of revenue; secondary data put the US at about 75% of FY2026 revenue. Sales are made directly and through partners.

4. The Business Model

How it makes money. Customers sign multi-year subscriptions, usually priced per employee covered (for HCM) or by company size and modules (for finance). Revenue is recognised evenly over the contract, so backlog is a good guide to the next year: the 12-month subscription backlog was $9,034m at 31 Jul 2026, up 14.2%. Professional services revenue helps customers go live but contributes little profit. Workday is now selling AI agents and Sana products on top of the core subscription.

Where the moat sits. Workday's advantages are:

• switching costs: replacing the system that runs payroll, HR records and the general ledger is costly and risky, so retention is high;
• a single data model shared by HR and finance, which competitors that grew through acquisitions find harder to match;
• a large enterprise base, including more than 65% of the Fortune 500 and more than 7,000 core HCM and financials customers;
• data scale for AI: Workday says its system handled 1.7bn AI actions in FY2026.

What changed in 2025–2026. Workday spent $2,079m on acquisitions in FY2026, buying Flowise (agent builder), Paradox (conversational recruiting), Sana Labs (enterprise knowledge AI) and Pipedream (integrations for AI agents). Carl Eschenbach stepped down as CEO on 09 Feb 2026 and Aneel Bhusri returned. The company has cut staff twice in 2026, shifted capital heavily towards buybacks, and in Aug 2026 became the subject of reported take-private talks.

5. Financial Health

Sources: Workday quarterly and annual press releases (SEC 8-K exhibits), the FY2026 Form 10-K, the Q2 FY2027 Form 10-Q, and SEC XBRL company facts (data.sec.gov) for revenue, GAAP EPS, debt, cash flow, D&A and operating income. The fiscal year ends 31 January.

Fiscal Year	Revenue ($m)	YoY %	GAAP EPS	Adjusted EPS	Dividend/share	Long-term debt (YE)
FY2022 (to 31 Jan 2022)	$5,139m	+19.0%	$0.12	$3.99	$0.00	$1,840m†
FY2023 (to 31 Jan 2023)	$6,216m	+21.0%	-$1.44	$3.64	$0.00	$2,976m
FY2024 (to 31 Jan 2024)	$7,259m	+16.8%	$5.21‡	$5.84	$0.00	$2,980m
FY2025 (to 31 Jan 2025)	$8,446m	+16.4%	$1.95	$7.30	$0.00	$2,984m
FY2026 (to 31 Jan 2026)	$9,552m	+13.1%	$2.59	$9.23	$0.00	$2,987m

Notes on the annual table:

• Adjusted EPS is Workday's non-GAAP diluted EPS as reported. It excludes share-based compensation, employer payroll tax on employee stock transactions, amortisation of acquired intangibles, restructuring and other items.
• Long-term debt is the total carrying value of borrowings (XBRL LongTermDebt). From FY2023 this is mainly the $3.0bn of senior notes issued in Apr 2022.
• † At 31 Jan 2022, $1,222m of this was current, mainly convertible notes due in 2022.
• ‡ FY2024 GAAP EPS was boosted by a $1.1bn release of the tax valuation allowance in Q4.
• FY2022 YoY growth is measured against FY2021 revenue of $4,318m.

Quarterly results (most recent first)

Quarter / Half	Revenue	Adjusted EPS	GAAP EPS
Q2 FY2027 (to 31 Jul 2026)	$2,649m	$2.75	$2.57†
Q1 FY2027 (to 30 Apr 2026)	$2,542m	$2.66	$0.87
Q4 FY2026 (to 31 Jan 2026)	$2,532m	$2.47	$0.55
Q3 FY2026 (to 31 Oct 2025)	$2,432m	$2.32	$0.94
Q2 FY2026 (to 31 Jul 2025)	$2,348m	$2.21	$0.84
Q1 FY2026 (to 30 Apr 2025)	$2,240m	$2.23	$0.25
FY2026 total	$9,552m	$9.23	$2.59

Notes on the quarterly table:

• † Q2 FY2027 GAAP EPS includes a one-off tax benefit of $1.52 a share ($374m deferred tax asset) from an intra-entity transfer of intellectual property rights.
• Q2 FY2027 in more detail: subscription revenue $2,471m (+13.9%); GAAP operating income $313m (11.8% margin); non-GAAP operating income $824m (31.1% margin). Results were released on 27 Aug 2026.

Cash flow and balance sheet.

• Cash flow (FY2026).
  • Operating cash flow was $2,939m and capex $162m, giving free cash flow of $2,777m (29% of revenue).
  • D&A in the cash flow statement was $347m (XBRL OtherDepreciationAndAmortization: depreciation $237m plus amortisation of acquired intangibles). GAAP operating income was $721m after $303m of restructuring charges, and share-based compensation was $1,626m.
  • First half of FY2027: operating cash flow $1,215m, capex $139m.
• Balance sheet at 31 Jul 2026.
  • Cash and equivalents $661m plus marketable securities $2,742m, a total of $3,403m, down from $5,443m at 31 Jan 2026 after buybacks.
  • Debt $2,989m: $999m of senior notes due within a year (current) and $1,990m non-current.
• Guidance (27 Aug 2026, reaffirmed on 29 Sep 2026):
  • Q3 FY2027 subscription revenue $2,515m (+12%) and non-GAAP operating margin 30.0%;
  • FY2027 subscription revenue $9,940–9,950m (+13%) and non-GAAP operating margin 31.0%;
  • after the Sep 2026 restructuring, FY2027 GAAP operating margin is expected to be about 19 points below non-GAAP.

6. Valuation & Market Data

Raw metrics, October 2026. Not opinions on whether the stock is cheap or expensive.

Metric	Value
Market cap	~$45.0bn (241.0m shares × $186.55 at the 06 Oct 2026 close, StockAnalysis)
Enterprise value	~$44.5bn = market cap ~$44.96bn + total debt ~$2.99bn ($999m current + $1,990m non-current) − cash and marketable securities ~$3.40bn ($661m + $2,742m), per the 31 Jul 2026 balance sheet
Trailing P/E (GAAP)	~38.0x ($186.55 / trailing twelve-month GAAP diluted EPS of $4.91 to 31 Jul 2026). Excluding the $1.52 one-off tax benefit in Q2 FY2027 the multiple is ~55x; on trailing non-GAAP EPS of $10.20 it is ~18.3x.
P/E (forward)	~15.7x (StockAnalysis, based on consensus estimates for the next twelve months; Workday does not give EPS guidance)
P/S (TTM)	~4.4x (market cap / trailing twelve-month revenue of $10,155m to 31 Jul 2026)
EV/EBITDA (TTM)	~30.7x (EV ~$44.5bn / EBITDA ~$1,450m). EBITDA = trailing GAAP operating income $1,085m + D&A $365m (depreciation plus amortisation of acquired intangibles). GAAP operating income is reduced by restructuring charges and $1.6bn a year of share-based compensation.
P/FCF	~15.8x (market cap ~$44.96bn / trailing twelve-month FCF ~$2,844m). FCF = operating cash flow $3,081m − capex $237m. On FY2026 alone, FCF was $2,777m ($2,939m − $162m).
52-week high	$247.40 (StockAnalysis)
52-week low	$110.36 (StockAnalysis)
Short interest (% of float)	8.69% (17.04m shares, settlement date 31 Aug 2026, MarketBeat), down from 12.6% at 31 Jul 2026
Days to cover	3.7 (MarketBeat, 31 Aug 2026)
Dividend yield	Nil (no dividend)

Price-based metrics use the 06 Oct 2026 close. Trailing twelve-month figures are FY2026 minus the first half of FY2026 plus the first half of FY2027, from SEC XBRL data. For live prices see ChartsView Live Charts.

7. What Are They Building

Workday Sana and AI agents.

• Workday Sana: The AI layer for search, knowledge and automation across Workday, built on the Sana Labs acquisition. Sana Core and Sana Enterprise are generally available, and Workday Learning powered by Sana became generally available in Q2 FY2027.
• New agents: Q2 FY2027 launches included a Developer Agent, Agent Passport (testing and monitoring of agents), Adaptive Decision Intelligence and a generally available Financial Audit Agent.
• Recruiting: Paradox's conversational recruiting and applicant tracking, together with HiredScore, form the AI recruiting offer.

Platform and data. Workday Build, including the Flowise Agent Builder, lets customers and partners build their own agents. Workday Data Cloud shares data without copying it through Apache Iceberg, with AWS and Google BigQuery integrations. Pipedream adds connectors to outside applications. Workday also offers an EU Sovereign Cloud and an integration with Google Gemini Enterprise.

New products in 2026. Total Benefits, launched on 24 Sep 2026, alongside Cash App and Experian integrations. On 19 Aug 2026 Workday set up an AI research team. On 17 Sep 2026 Gartner named it a Leader in its first Magic Quadrant for Workforce Management.

Investment level. Product development spending was $2,679m in FY2026, 28% of revenue, and $747m in Q2 FY2027. Workday Rising, the company's main customer event, runs from 12 to 15 Oct 2026, with a Financial Analyst Day on 13 Oct.

8. Competitive Landscape

Peer	Market cap (Oct 2026)	Key 2025 metric
Oracle (ORCL)	~$438.9bn	FY2026 (to May 2026) revenue $67.36bn (+17.4%); Fusion and NetSuite compete with Workday in HCM and financials (StockAnalysis)
SAP (SAP)	~$245.2bn	2025 revenue €36.80bn (+7.7%); SuccessFactors is the main rival HCM suite, and SAP agreed to buy TechWolf on 06 Oct 2026 (StockAnalysis)
Automatic Data Processing (ADP)	~$104.0bn	FY2026 (to Jun 2026) revenue $21.95bn (+6.7%) (StockAnalysis)
Paycom Software (PAYC)	~$9.9bn	2025 revenue $2.05bn (+9.0%) (StockAnalysis)
Paylocity (PCTY)	~$7.8bn	FY2026 (to Jun 2026) revenue $1.77bn (+11.0%) (StockAnalysis)

Market caps are at the 06 Oct 2026 close from StockAnalysis quote pages. Dayforce, a former listed rival, was taken private by Thoma Bravo for about $12.3bn, completed on 04 Feb 2026. UKG is privately owned.

9. Leadership and Ownership

Aneel Bhusri, Workday's co-founder and Chair, returned as CEO on 09 Feb 2026, when Carl Eschenbach stepped down and left the board; Eschenbach remains a strategic adviser. Zane Rowe is CFO, and Sarah Kennedy Ellis, formerly of Google Cloud, became Chief Marketing Officer on 05 Oct 2026. Workday has two share classes that will convert into one by 11 Oct 2032 at the latest. Co-founder David Duffield's trust held about 35.7m Class B shares after his 01 Oct 2026 sale. All insider transactions found for 2026 were sales; there were no open-market purchases.

Name	Date	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Plan Type
David Duffield (co-founder, 10% owner, via trust)	01 Oct 2026	Sale	98,446	~$187.07 (avg)	~$18.4m	10b5-1 (adopted 02 Dec 2025)
David Duffield (via trust)	28 Sep 2026	Sale	98,971	~$188.55	~$18.7m	10b5-1 (adopted 02 Dec 2025)
David Duffield (via trust)	23 Sep 2026	Sale	99,613	~$192.14	~$19.1m	10b5-1 (adopted 02 Dec 2025)
David Duffield (via trust)	18 Sep 2026	Sale	94,089	~$194.69	~$18.3m	10b5-1 (adopted 02 Dec 2025)
Zane Rowe (CFO)	07 Jul 2026	Sale	6,000	$143.70	~$0.86m	Not verified
Gerrit Kazmaier (President, Product and Technology)	07 Jul 2026	Sale	2,728	$143.62	~$0.39m	Not verified
Robert Enslin (President and CCO)	05 Jul 2026	Sale	5,374	$134.90	~$0.72m	Not verified
Carl Eschenbach (then CEO)	05 Jan 2026	Sale	3,125	$210.00	~$0.66m	Not verified

Sources: SEC Form 4 filings on EDGAR, listed via OpenInsider. Duffield's trust also sold on 04, 10 and 15 Sep 2026 (90,615 to 100,780 shares each, about $18–19m per sale), and between March and July 2026 sold 107,500 shares about twice a week at roughly $114–157.

10. Risks and Challenges

• AI disruption of seat-based software (Competitive): HCM subscriptions are priced on employee headcount. If customers use AI to cut jobs, or AI agents do work outside Workday's applications, the pricing base could shrink. The Information reported on 06 Oct 2026 that AI agents are constraining Workday's growth.
• Growth slowdown (Operational): Subscription revenue growth is guided to 12% in Q3 FY2027 against 15.7% in Q4 FY2026, and total subscription backlog growth has slowed to 8.0%.
• Take-private uncertainty (Market): The share price has been supported by reports of Silver Lake talks since 13 Aug 2026. Nothing has been agreed, and failed talks could reverse the move; a deal at a fixed price would cap upside for remaining holders.
• Litigation (Legal): In Mobley v. Workday (N.D. Cal.) a nationwide age-discrimination collective was preliminarily certified in May 2025, and California state-law claims were allowed to proceed on 22 Jun 2026. The case alleges Workday's AI screening tools discriminate against applicants.
• Restructuring and execution (Operational): Two rounds of job cuts in 2026, a change of CEO in Feb 2026 and the integration of four AI acquisitions bought in FY2026 all add execution risk.
• Dilution and cash returns (Financial): Share-based compensation was $1,626m in FY2026, and cash and investments fell to $3,403m at 31 Jul 2026 from $5,443m at year-end as buybacks ran ahead of free cash flow. $999m of notes fall due within a year.
• Competition (Competitive): SAP, Oracle, ADP and AI-native start-ups compete for HR and finance budgets, and SAP is adding skills AI through its TechWolf deal.

11. Recent Developments

• 06 Oct 2026 — AI pressure report. The Information reported that AI agents working inside customers' applications are constraining Workday's growth.
• 01 Oct 2026 — UAE expansion. Workday began operations in the United Arab Emirates with a Dubai office.
• 29 Sep 2026 — Second workforce reduction. An 8-K announced a reorganisation affecting about 2.5% of staff, mainly in Product and Technology, with charges of $65–80m, most of them in Q3 FY2027. Guidance was reaffirmed apart from GAAP operating margin.
• 24 Sep 2026 — Total Benefits launched. Workday launched a benefits product and announced integrations with Cash App and Experian.
• 17 Sep 2026 — Financing report. CNBC reported that work on financing a Silver Lake bid was continuing with more optimism, and the shares rose about 6% to around $199.
• 10 Sep 2026 — New CMO. Sarah Kennedy Ellis, formerly of Google Cloud, was named Chief Marketing Officer, effective 05 Oct 2026.
• 27 Aug 2026 — Q2 FY2027 results. Revenue rose 12.8% to $2,649m and non-GAAP EPS was $2.75. FY2027 subscription revenue and margin guidance were raised, and the board authorised a new $4.0bn buyback.
• 13 Aug 2026 — Take-private report. Reuters reported Silver Lake was in talks to take Workday private. The shares closed up about 18% at $206.45.

12. Key Dates Coming Up

• 12 Oct 2026 — Workday Rising opens in Las Vegas (runs to 15 Oct), focused on agentic HR and agentic finance.
• 13 Oct 2026 — Financial Analyst Day at Workday Rising, where management may update medium-term targets.
• Expected 24 Nov 2026 — Q3 FY2027 results after the US close. The date is a market-calendar estimate and Workday has not confirmed it. Guidance is subscription revenue of $2,515m and non-GAAP operating margin of 30.0%.
• 31 Jan 2027 — FY2027 year-end. Guidance is subscription revenue of $9,940–9,950m and non-GAAP operating margin of 31.0%.
• TBC — Any announcement on the reported Silver Lake talks.

Macro events are on the ChartsView Economic Calendar, and you can discuss Workday on the ChartsView Forum.

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