WDAY Nasdaq Application Software Financials FY2017βFY2026
Workday sells cloud software that companies use to manage their people and their money: human resources, payroll, finance, spending, suppliers and planning. It says more than 11,500 organizations use it, with more than 75 million users under contract, including more than 65% of the Fortune 500. Workday has been adding artificial intelligence features, including AI agents that carry out tasks such as hiring and financial processes.
Hi! I read Workdayβs latest annual report (fiscal 2026). Here is what stands out:
Good So-so Weak
Are sales growing?
+13.1%
Yes. Sales grew 13.1% last year.
Does it make a profit?
7.3%
A little. It keeps 7.3% of every sale as profit.
Does profit turn into cash?
29.1%
Yes. 29.1% of sales ends up as free cash.
Is debt under control?
Net cash
Yes. It has more cash than debt.
How healthy are the accounts?
7 / 8
Solid. It passes 7 of 8 health tests.
How is the share priced?
42.5x
One share costs 42.5 times its yearly profit per share. Typical for its sector: 33.0x.
Rules of thumb on reported numbers. A starting point, not a recommendation.
Is it selling more, and how much does it keep?
In plain words: Every quarter, companies publish how much they sold and earned. These are the days Workday did it, and the next one. Share prices often move a lot on those days.
Next results
November 24, 2026
Tuesday Β· in 29 days
| Date | Results for | Time | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 27, 2026 | Q2 '27 | After the market closes | 8-K β |
| May 21, 2026 | Q1 '27 | After the market closes | 8-K β |
| Feb 24, 2026 | Q4 '26 | After the market closes | 8-K β |
| Nov 25, 2025 | Q3 '26 | After the market closes | 8-K β |
| Aug 21, 2025 | Q2 '26 | After the market closes | 8-K β |
| May 22, 2025 | Q1 '26 | After the market closes | 8-K β |
| Feb 5, 2025 | Q4 '25 | Before the market opens | 8-K β |
| Nov 26, 2024 | Q3 '25 | After the market closes | 8-K β |
From SEC filings: the results press release (8-K) or, without one, the quarterly or annual report.
KIRA Β· Workday had $9.6B of revenue in fiscal 2026, up 13.1% on the year before. Over five years, revenue changed +17.2% a year on average. Its operating margin was 7.6%, up 2.6Β pts: of every 100 in sales, about 8 is left after running the business.
In plain words: Revenue is all the money customers paid. The margins show how many cents of each dollar of sales are left over at each step: after making the product (gross), after running the business (operating) and after everything, tax included (net).
Revenue
Revenue
Margins, % of revenue
Margins, % of revenue
KIRA Β· Workday made $693M of net profit in fiscal 2026.
Loss periods are shown in red.
In plain words: Net income is the profit left after every cost and tax. Earnings per share (EPS) splits that profit across every share, so it shows what one share earned.
Net income
Net income
Diluted EPS
Diluted EPS
How much cash comes in, and where does it go?
KIRA Β· Free cash flow was $2.8B in fiscal 2026, 29.1% of revenue.
Cash from operations minus capital spending.
In plain words: Profit on paper is not the same as cash in the bank. Free cash flow is the cash left after paying to run and maintain the business: the money it can hand back to shareholders, save or invest.
Free cash flow
Free cash flow
Cash from operations vs capital spending
Cash from operations vs capital spending
KIRA Β· Workday returned $2.9B to shareholders in fiscal 2026, 104% of free cash flow. The diluted share count fell 0.4%.
In plain words: Companies hand cash back in two ways: dividends (cash paid to shareholders) and buybacks (buying back their own shares, so each remaining share owns a bigger slice).
Dividends and buybacks
Dividends and buybacks
Diluted shares outstanding (annual)
KIRA Β· In the last 12 months, insiders sold $152M of shares on the open market and bought none.
Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from Form 4 filings. βPlanβ marks trades under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
In plain words: Insiders are the people who run or own a big part of the company. Buying with their own money can signal confidence; selling often has personal reasons, like taxes or diversifying.
Bought, 12 months
$0.0M
0 insiders
Sold, 12 months
$152M
5 insiders
Of sales under plans
100%
$152M
| Date | Insider | Trade | Shares | Price | Value | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 12, 2026 | Mark S. GarfieldChief Accounting Officer | Sold plan | 918 | $189.45 | $0.2M | Form 4 |
| Oct 9, 2026 | David A Duffield10% owner | Sold plan | 99,835 | $187.55 | $18.7M | Form 4 |
| Oct 6, 2026 | David A Duffield10% owner | Sold plan | 99,228 | $187.32 | $18.6M | Form 4 |
| Oct 6, 2026 | Gerrit S KazmaierPresident, Prod. and Tech. | Sold plan | 2,729 | $187.28 | $0.5M | Form 4 |
| Oct 6, 2026 | Zane RoweChief Financial Officer | Sold plan | 6,000 | $187.23 | $1.1M | Form 4 |
| Oct 5, 2026 | Robert EnslinPresident, CCO | Sold plan | 5,374 | $187.00 | $1.0M | Form 4 |
| Oct 1, 2026 | David A Duffield10% owner | Sold plan | 98,446 | $187.07 | $18.4M | Form 4 |
| Sep 28, 2026 | David A Duffield10% owner | Sold plan | 98,971 | $188.56 | $18.7M | Form 4 |
| Sep 23, 2026 | David A Duffield10% owner | Sold plan | 99,613 | $192.14 | $19.1M | Form 4 |
| Sep 18, 2026 | David A Duffield10% owner | Sold plan | 94,089 | $194.69 | $18.3M | Form 4 |
| Sep 15, 2026 | David A Duffield10% owner | Sold plan | 96,545 | $192.28 | $18.6M | Form 4 |
| Sep 10, 2026 | David A Duffield10% owner | Sold plan | 100,780 | $185.64 | $18.7M | Form 4 |
Can it carry its debts, and how well does it use its money?
KIRA Β· Workday has $2.5B more cash than debt.
Cash, debt and the ratios that show how comfortably Workday can carry it.
In plain words: What the company owns and what it owes. More cash than debt is a cushion for bad times; a lot of debt leaves less room when business slows down.
Cash vs debt (incl. leases)
| Fiscal year end | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and short-term investments | $3.6B | $6.1B | $7.8B | $8.0B | $5.4B |
| Debt incl. finance leases | $1.8B | $3.0B | $3.0B | $3.0B | $3.0B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | β12.3x | β59.3x | β12.5x | β7.7x | β2.6x |
| Debt / equity | 0.4x | 0.5x | 0.4x | 0.3x | 0.4x |
| Interest coverage | β6.8x | β2.2x | 1.6x | 3.6x | 6.3x |
| Current ratio | 1.0x | 1.8x | 2.0x | 1.9x | 1.3x |
| Quick ratio | 1.0x | 1.8x | 2.0x | 1.9x | 1.3x |
| Total assets | $10.5B | $13.5B | $16.5B | $18.0B | $18.1B |
| Total liabilities | $6.0B | $7.9B | $8.4B | $8.9B | $10.3B |
| Shareholders' equity | $4.5B | $5.6B | $8.1B | $9.0B | $7.8B |
| Net debt (β = net cash) | β$1.8B | β$3.1B | β$4.8B | β$5.0B | β$2.5B |
KIRA Β· Its return on capital was 10.6%: every 100 invested in the business earned about 11 in a year.
After-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash.
In plain words: How much profit the business makes on the money put into it. A higher percentage means each dollar invested works harder.
Return on capital, equity and assets (annual)
KIRA Β· Workday passes 7 of 8 financial health tests (Piotroski F-score).
Nine pass/fail tests of profitability, funding and efficiency. 8β9 is strong, 0β2 weak.
In plain words: Nine yes/no tests of financial health, one point each. A green tick is a pass: 7 to 9 points is solid, 0 to 3 is weak.
| Test | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net income is positive | β | β | β |
| Cash from operations is positive | β | β | β |
| Return on assets rose | β | β | β |
| Cash from operations exceeds net income | β | β | β |
| Debt fell relative to assets | β | β | β |
| Current ratio rose | β | β | β |
| Share count didn't rise | β | β | β |
| Gross margin rose | β | β | β |
| Revenue rose relative to assets | β | β | β |
| F-score | 6 / 8 | 4 / 8 | 7 / 8 |
| Accruals ratio | β5.1% | β11.2% | β12.5% |
| Altman Z'' | 2.69 | 2.82 | 1.72 |
What does the share cost, and how does it compare?
KIRA Β· At $209.99 a share, the company is worth $51.7B: 42.5 times its earnings of the last four quarters.
Change the assumptions and see what they imply per share. These are models, not forecasts or price targets β the answer depends entirely on what you put in.
In plain words: Move the sliders to try your own guesses about growth. The result is what one share would be worth if those guesses came true. Different guesses give very different answers.
Value per share
β
Adds net cash of $2.5B and divides by 268.1M diluted shares. Ten years of cash flows plus a terminal value, discounted to today.
Value per share
β
Reference multiples: today 42.5x Β· peers 73.8x Β· sector 33.0x.
KIRA Β· Workday grew sales faster than 0 of its 4 similar companies. Its P/E is higher than 1 of 3.
Each companyβs latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so periods donβt line up exactly.
In plain words: The same numbers for similar companies, so you can tell whether a figure is high or low for this kind of business.
| Company | Market cap | Growth | Op. margin | FCF margin | ROIC | P/E | F-score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workday WDAY | $51.7B | 13.1% | 7.6% | 29.1% | 10.6% | 42.5x | 7 | |
| Autodesk ADSK | $53.2B | 17.5% | 21.9% | 33.4% | 37.0% | 32.7x | 8 | Compare β |
| Synopsys SNPS | $82.7B | 15.1% | 13.0% | 19.1% | 4.0% | 75.2x | 3 | Compare β |
| Atlassian TEAM | $59.2B | 26.0% | 0.2% | 20.1% | β | β | 7 | Compare β |
| Cadence Design Systems CDNS | $86.6B | 14.1% | 28.2% | 30.0% | 23.7% | 73.8x | 5 | Compare β |
Every number, year by year.
Amounts in USD. Hover a ratioβs name for its definition.
In plain words: Every number we have, year by year. Download it as a spreadsheet if you want to dig deeper.
| Fiscal year | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Income statement | ||||||||||
| Revenue | $1.6B | $2.1B | $2.8B | $3.6B | $4.3B | $5.1B | $6.2B | $7.3B | $8.4B | $9.6B |
| Research and development | $681M | $911M | $1.2B | $1.5B | $1.7B | $1.9B | $2.2B | $2.5B | $2.6B | $2.7B |
| Operating income | β$353M | β$303M | β$463M | β$502M | β$249M | β$116M | β$222M | $183M | $415M | $721M |
| Interest expense | $30.1M | $44.5M | $60.2M | $58.7M | $68.8M | $17.0M | $102M | $114M | $114M | $114M |
| Pretax income | β$386M | β$315M | β$424M | β$482M | β$275M | $16.0M | β$260M | $356M | $638M | $1.0B |
| Income tax | β$0.8M | $6.4M | β$5.5M | β$1.8M | $7.3M | β$13.0M | $107M | β$1.0B | $112M | $316M |
| Net income | β$385M | β$321M | β$418M | β$481M | β$282M | $29.0M | β$367M | $1.4B | $526M | $693M |
| Diluted EPS | β$1.94 | β$1.55 | β$1.93 | β$2.12 | β$1.19 | $0.12 | β$1.44 | $5.21 | $1.95 | $2.59 |
| Diluted shares | 0.20B | 0.21B | 0.22B | 0.23B | 0.24B | 0.25B | 0.25B | 0.27B | 0.27B | 0.27B |
| Cash flow | ||||||||||
| Cash from operations | $351M | $466M | $607M | $865M | $1.3B | $1.7B | $1.7B | $2.1B | $2.5B | $2.9B |
| Capital expenditure | $121M | $142M | $203M | $244M | $253M | $264M | $364M | $232M | $269M | $162M |
| Free cash flow | $230M | $324M | $404M | $621M | $1.0B | $1.4B | $1.3B | $1.9B | $2.2B | $2.8B |
| Depreciation and amortization | $106M | $136M | $198M | $201M | $231M | $263M | $275M | $203M | $243M | $237M |
| Stock-based compensation | $372M | $478M | $653M | $860M | $1.0B | $1.1B | $1.3B | $1.4B | $1.5B | $1.6B |
| Acquisitions | $148M | $5.7M | $1.5B | $474M | $0.0M | $1.2B | $0.0M | $8.0M | $825M | $2.1B |
| Share buybacks | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $75.0M | $423M | $700M | $2.9B |
| Dividends paid | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M |
| Dividends and buybacks | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $75.0M | $423M | $700M | $2.9B |
| Balance sheet | ||||||||||
| Cash and short-term investments | $540M | $1.1B | $639M | $1.9B | $3.5B | $3.6B | $6.1B | $7.8B | $8.0B | $5.4B |
| Total debt | β | $1.5B | $1.2B | $1.3B | $1.8B | $1.8B | $3.0B | $3.0B | $3.0B | $3.0B |
| Finance lease liabilities | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M |
| Current assets | $2.5B | $4.0B | $2.7B | $3.1B | $4.8B | $5.2B | $8.1B | $9.9B | $10.5B | $8.4B |
| Current liabilities | $1.3B | $2.1B | $2.4B | $3.0B | $4.3B | $5.1B | $4.6B | $5.1B | $5.5B | $6.4B |
| Inventory | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M | $0.0M |
| Property and equipment, net | $366M | $547M | $797M | $936M | $972M | $1.1B | $1.2B | $1.2B | $1.2B | $1.1B |
| Total assets | $3.3B | $4.9B | $5.5B | $6.8B | $8.7B | $10.5B | $13.5B | $16.5B | $18.0B | $18.1B |
| Total liabilities | $2.0B | $3.4B | $3.6B | $4.3B | $5.4B | $6.0B | $7.9B | $8.4B | $8.9B | $10.3B |
| Shareholders' equity | $1.3B | $1.6B | $2.0B | $2.5B | $3.3B | $4.5B | $5.6B | $8.1B | $9.0B | $7.8B |
| Margins | ||||||||||
| Operating margin | β22.4% | β14.2% | β16.4% | β13.9% | β5.8% | β2.3% | β3.6% | 2.5% | 4.9% | 7.6% |
| EBITDA margin | β15.7% | β7.8% | β9.4% | β8.3% | β0.4% | 2.9% | 0.9% | 5.3% | 7.8% | 10.0% |
| Net margin | β24.4% | β15.0% | β14.8% | β13.3% | β6.5% | 0.6% | β5.9% | 19.0% | 6.2% | 7.3% |
| FCF margin | 14.6% | 15.1% | 14.3% | 17.1% | 23.5% | 27.0% | 20.8% | 26.4% | 26.0% | 29.1% |
| Returns | ||||||||||
| Return on capital | β | β | β16.4% | β18.3% | β11.8% | β5.4% | β6.8% | 6.4% | 9.4% | 10.6% |
| Return on capital employed | β18.6% | β12.5% | β15.5% | β14.5% | β6.0% | β2.4% | β3.1% | 1.8% | 3.5% | 6.0% |
| Return on equity | β30.7% | β22.5% | β23.6% | β21.6% | β9.8% | 0.7% | β7.3% | 20.2% | 6.2% | 8.2% |
| Return on assets | β12.8% | β7.8% | β8.0% | β7.8% | β3.6% | 0.3% | β3.1% | 9.2% | 3.1% | 3.8% |
| Growth | ||||||||||
| Revenue growth | 36.1% | 36.1% | 31.7% | 28.5% | 19.0% | 19.0% | 21.0% | 16.8% | 16.4% | 13.1% |
| Net income growth | β | β | β | β | β | β | β1,365.5% | β | β61.9% | 31.8% |
| EPS growth | β | β | β | β | β | β | β1,300.0% | β | β62.6% | 32.8% |
| FCF growth | 83.9% | 41.1% | 24.7% | 53.6% | 63.5% | 36.6% | β6.8% | 48.3% | 14.4% | 26.7% |
| Share count change | 4.3% | 4.8% | 4.3% | 4.8% | 4.3% | 7.2% | 0.3% | 4.1% | 1.5% | β0.4% |
| Financial health | ||||||||||
| Net debt / EBITDA | β | β | β | β | β | β12.3x | β59.3x | β12.5x | β7.7x | β2.6x |
| Debt / equity | β | 0.9x | 0.6x | 0.5x | 0.6x | 0.4x | 0.5x | 0.4x | 0.3x | 0.4x |
| Interest coverage | β11.7x | β6.8x | β7.7x | β8.6x | β3.6x | β6.8x | β2.2x | 1.6x | 3.6x | 6.3x |
| Current ratio | 2.0x | 1.9x | 1.1x | 1.0x | 1.1x | 1.0x | 1.8x | 2.0x | 1.9x | 1.3x |
| Quick ratio | 2.0x | 1.9x | 1.1x | 1.0x | 1.1x | 1.0x | 1.8x | 2.0x | 1.9x | 1.3x |
| Capital allocation | ||||||||||
| Capex / revenue | 7.7% | 6.6% | 7.2% | 6.7% | 5.9% | 5.1% | 5.9% | 3.2% | 3.2% | 1.7% |
| Stock comp / revenue | 23.6% | 22.3% | 23.1% | 23.7% | 23.3% | 21.4% | 20.8% | 19.5% | 18.0% | 17.0% |
| Payouts / FCF | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 5.8% | 22.1% | 31.9% | 104.3% |
| Quality scores | ||||||||||
| Piotroski F-score | β | β | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 6.0 | 4.0 | 7.0 |
| Altman Z'' | 1.0 | 1.5 | β0.9 | β1.0 | β0.3 | β0.0 | 1.6 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 1.7 |
| Accruals ratio | β24.5% | β19.2% | β19.6% | β21.8% | β20.0% | β16.9% | β16.9% | β5.1% | β11.2% | β12.5% |
Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL filings (CIK 0001327811). Data updated October 23, 2026. Quarterly fourth quarters are the full year minus the first nine months. For information only β not investment advice. Check the original filings before relying on any figure.
