Workday, Inc. (WDAY)

Price$190.99Cached quoteAs of 2026-09-25 03:23 UTC

AI: Fair-priced

Price checkThe shares look fairly priced because solid cash growth is offset by dilution and takeover uncertainty.

Workday traded at $197.32 on August 20, 2026, the latest completed session before the requested timestamp. Using roughly 254.3 million diluted shares from the latest quarter gives an equity value near $50.2 billion. Trailing free cash flow—cash left after running and investing in the business—is about $2.97 billion, implying a 5.9% cash yield, or about 17 times that cash flow. That is reasonable for low-teens subscription growth, but not obviously cheap because share-based pay remains large and the price includes some takeover hope.

Big pictureRevenue and cash flow keep rising, while recurring subscriptions make the business less fragile than many software companies.

Revenue rose from $4.32 billion in fiscal 2021 to $9.55 billion in fiscal 2026, while operating cash flow increased from $1.27 billion to $2.94 billion. Fiscal 2026 free cash flow reached $2.78 billion, up 26.7%, and the latest quarter added $616 million versus $421 million a year earlier. Subscription revenue grew 14.3%, and twelve-month subscription backlog rose 15.5%, supporting durability. Workday is still exposed to corporate hiring and technology-budget cycles, but long contracts and recurring subscriptions soften that cyclicality compared with transaction-driven businesses.

Business strengthCustomer retention and improving profits are strong, but employee stock awards absorb a large share of owner value.

First-quarter fiscal 2027 operating income improved to $338 million from $39_million, and diluted earnings rose to $0.87 from $0.25. Workday also reported 97% gross subscription retention, showing that customers rarely leave. The balance sheet is stronger than cash alone suggests: April liquidity included $4.35 billion of cash and marketable securities against $2.99 billion of debt. Capital allocation is more mixed. Trailing buybacks are about $4.19 billion and diluted share count fell roughly 5.9% year over year, but trailing stock compensation is about $1.58 billion, more than half of free cash flow.

What could change the storyA real takeover premium or sustained faster growth would add value, while failed talks or weaker renewals would remove support.

The strongest bull case is that low-teens subscription growth, rising margins, and artificial-intelligence products lift free cash flow toward $3.5 billion or more; at today’s price that would move the cash yield toward 7%. Silver Lake’s reported interest also creates possible takeover upside. The bear case is concrete: shares closed at $175.29 immediately before the August 13 buyout report, about 11% below today’s price, so failed talks could remove part of the premium. The thesis also weakens if backlog growth drops below roughly 10% or heavy stock awards stop buybacks from shrinking shares.

AI: News

Silver Lake buyout talksReported takeover talks pushed Workday sharply higher and added a deal premium that now matters to valuation.

On August 13, 2026, Reuters reported that Silver Lake was in talks to acquire Workday in what could become one of the largest software buyouts. Workday shares jumped nearly 18% that day and closed at $206.45, versus $175.29 the prior session. No offer price or signed agreement was reported, so the premium is uncertain. The event matters because a credible buyer validates Workday’s recurring cash flows, while a failed process could cause investors to remove some of the takeover value now embedded in the shares.

First-quarter results beatWorkday’s latest reported quarter showed stronger growth and cash generation, easing fears that new artificial intelligence tools would weaken demand.

On May 21, 2026, Workday reported first-quarter revenue of $2.542 billion, up 13.5%, subscription revenue of $2.354 billion, up 14.3%, and free cash flow of $616 million, up from $421 million. It reiterated full-year subscription revenue guidance of $9.925 billion to $9.950 billion and raised its adjusted operating-margin outlook to 30.5%. Reuters reported the shares rose as much as 8.5% on May 22. The reaction cannot be assigned to one metric alone, but the results reduced immediate concerns about rapid competitive displacement.

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Financial statements

	2026	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011
Revenue	$9.55B	$8.45B	$7.26B	$6.22B	$5.14B	$4.32B	$3.63B	$2.82B	$2.14B	$1.57B	$1.16B	$787.9M	$468.9M	$273.7M	$134.4M	$68.1M
Gross profit	$7.23B	$6.38B	$5.49B	$4.51B	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	$157.1M	$69.1M	$28.2M
Gross margin	75.70%	75.50%	75.60%	72.49%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	57.42%	51.37%	41.42%
Research & development	$2.68B	$2.63B	$2.46B	$2.25B	$1.88B	$1.72B	$1.55B	$1.21B	$910.6M	$680.5M	$469.9M	$316.9M	$182.1M	$102.7M	$62.0M	$39.2M
Operating expenses	$8.83B	$8.03B	$7.08B	$6.44B	$5.25B	$4.57B	$4.13B	$3.29B	$2.45B	$1.93B	$1.41B	$1.00B	$622.2M	$391.5M	$212.9M	$124.1M
Operating income	$721.0M	$415.0M	$183.0M	−$222.0M	−$116.0M	−$248.6M	−$502.2M	−$463.3M	−$303.2M	−$353.1M	−$249.8M	−$215.7M	−$153.3M	−$117.9M	−$78.4M	−$56.1M
Operating margin	7.55%	4.91%	2.52%	−3.57%	−2.26%	−5.76%	−13.85%	−16.42%	−14.15%	−22.43%	−21.60%	−27.38%	−32.69%	−43.07%	−58.35%	−82.38%
EBITDA	$958.0M	$658.0M	$386.0M	$53.0M	$147.0M	−$17.6M	−$301.2M	−$265.2M	−$167.5M	−$247.3M	−$163.8M	−$156.5M	−$118.6M	−$100.1M	−$69.1M	−$50.7M
EBITDA margin	10.03%	7.79%	5.32%	0.85%	2.86%	−0.41%	−8.30%	−9.40%	−7.82%	−15.70%	−14.17%	−19.86%	−25.29%	−36.59%	−51.42%	−74.57%
Net income	$693.0M	$526.0M	$1.38B	−$367.0M	$29.0M	−$282.4M	−$480.7M	−$418.3M	−$321.2M	−$384.7M	−$275.0M	−$248.0M	−$172.5M	−$119.8M	−$80.0M	−$56.2M
Net profit margin	7.26%	6.23%	19.02%	−5.90%	0.56%	−6.54%	−13.25%	−14.82%	−14.99%	−24.43%	−23.78%	−31.48%	−36.79%	−43.76%	−59.49%	−82.60%
Basic EPSper basic share	$2.61	$1.98	$5.28	-$1.44	$0.12	-$1.19	-$2.12	-$1.93	-$1.55	-$1.94	-$1.45	-$1.35	-$1.01	-$1.62	-$2.71	-$2.22
Diluted EPSper diluted share	$2.59	$1.95	$5.21	-$1.44	$0.12	-$1.19	-$2.12	-$1.93	-$1.55	-$1.94	-$1.45	-$1.35	-$1.01	-$1.62	-$2.71	-$2.22

Review official source filings ↗

Owners

Reported shareholders

Reference date Jun 30, 2026

≈10.51%of listed shares

BlackRock, Inc.21.13M shares · Jun 30, 2026

View holders

Top 20 reported holders of WDAY
Holder	% owned
BlackRock, Inc.	≈10.51%21.13M shares
First Eagle Investment Management, LLC	≈8.78%17.65M shares
VANGUARD CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC	≈6.58%13.22M shares
HOTCHKIS & WILEY CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC	≈6.31%12.68M shares
EAGLE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC	≈5.63%11.32M shares
VANGUARD PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT LLC	≈5.56%11.18M shares
STATE STREET CORP	≈4.76%9.57M shares
Invesco Ltd.	≈4.05%8.14M shares
GEODE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC	≈2.94%5.9M shares
GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC	≈2.30%4.62M shares
MORGAN STANLEY	≈1.80%3.61M shares
FIL Ltd	≈1.61%3.25M shares
CITIGROUP INC	≈1.52%3.06M shares
Pictet Asset Management Holding SA	≈1.40%2.82M shares
BANK OF AMERICA CORP /DE/	≈1.24%2.5M shares
UBS Group AG	≈1.20%2.42M shares
UBS AM, a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC	≈1.17%2.36M shares
GENERATION INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LLP	≈1.15%2.31M shares
LOOMIS SAYLES & CO L P	≈1.14%2.3M shares
NORGES BANK	≈1.09%2.2M shares

Percentages use 201M shares of this listed class outstanding on May 20, 2026. ≈ compares the latest reported holding with a share total from a different date; it is not a confirmed current stake.

Gray completes the 100% scale. Reported positions may overlap; holders have different reporting dates.

Source: SEC Form 13F ↗Updated Sep 29, 2026 · Quarterly data

Insider buys & sells

Jul 1, 2024–Jun 30, 2026

Buys0$0.00 disclosed value

Sells (SEC code S)514$997.72M disclosed value

Transaction	Insider	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Owned after
Jun 25, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	DUFFIELD DAVID ATenPercentOwner	SellClass A Common Stock	1.8K	$118.76	$213.8K	105.0K
Jun 25, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	DUFFIELD DAVID ATenPercentOwner	SellClass A Common Stock	9.7K	$118.03	$1.15M	106.8K
Jun 25, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	DUFFIELD DAVID ATenPercentOwner	SellClass A Common Stock	17.1K	$116.95	$2.00M	116.6K
Jun 25, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	DUFFIELD DAVID ATenPercentOwner	SellClass A Common Stock	19.8K	$116.06	$2.30M	133.7K
Jun 25, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	DUFFIELD DAVID ATenPercentOwner	SellClass A Common Stock	29.0K	$114.98	$3.33M	153.5K

Review ownership filings at SEC.gov ↗

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Workday, Inc. (WDAY)

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