Workday, Inc. is a leading provider of enterprise cloud applications for financial management, spend management, human capital management, planning, and analytics. The company offers a unified platform that helps organizations plan, execute, and analyze their operations while adapting to changing business needs. Workday serves a diverse range of medium-sized and large global organizations across industries such as professional services, healthcare, education, government, and retail.
- Subscription Services - Provides cloud-based software solutions for financial management, human capital management, and analytics, enabling organizations to streamline operations and improve decision-making.
- Professional Services - Offers deployment and integration services to ensure successful implementation and adoption of Workday's applications by customers.
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Name | Position | External Roles | Short Bio | |
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Carl M. Eschenbach ExecutiveBoard | Chief Executive Officer | Director at Palo Alto Networks; Venture Partner at Sequoia Capital Operations | CEO since February 2024; previously Co-CEO (Dec 2022–Feb 2024); extensive operational and sales leadership experience in the tech industry. | View Report → |
Carin Taylor Executive | Chief Diversity Officer | None | Chief Diversity Officer since December 2017; leads diversity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives. | View Report → |
David Somers Executive | Chief Product Officer | None | Joined Workday in 2018; previously led product for the Office of the CHRO; drives AI-powered product innovation. | View Report → |
Emma Chalwin Executive | Chief Marketing Officer | None | CMO since July 2023; previously held marketing leadership roles at Salesforce, Adobe, and McAfee. | |
Patrick Blair Executive | President, Global Sales | None | President, Global Sales; no additional details provided in documents. | View Report → |
Rani Johnson Executive | Chief Information Officer | None | CIO since March 2023; previously CIO at Cloud Software Group, TIBCO, and SolarWinds. | |
Sayan Chakraborty Executive | President, Product and Technology | Member of National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee (NAIAC) | Joined Workday in 2015; recognized for AI and ML expertise; leads product and technology innovation. | |
Sheri Rhodes Executive | Chief Customer Officer | Director at FormFactor, Inc. | Joined Workday in 2019; transitioned from CIO to Chief Customer Officer in February 2022. | |
Zane Rowe Executive | Chief Financial Officer | Director at eBay Inc. | CFO since June 2023; previously CFO at VMware and EMC; extensive financial leadership experience. | |
Aneel Bhusri Board | Executive Chair | Director at General Motors; Advisory Partner at Greylock Partners | Co-founder of Workday; served as CEO and Co-CEO in prior years; instrumental in Workday's growth and innovation. | |
Christa Davies Board | Director | CFO at Aon plc; Director at Stripe, Inc. | Director since 2012; Chair of Audit Committee; extensive financial expertise. | |
George J. Still, Jr. Board | Lead Independent Director, Vice Chair | Director of two private companies | Director since 2009; Partner Emeritus at Norwest Venture Partners; extensive venture capital experience. | |
Jerry Yang Board | Director | Founding Partner at AME Cloud Ventures; Director at Alibaba Group | Director since 2013; co-founder of Yahoo!; extensive experience in consumer internet technology. | |
Liz Centoni Board | Director | EVP and Chief Customer Experience Officer at Cisco; Supervisory Board Member at Mercedes-Benz AG | Director since December 2024; led Cisco's acquisition of Splunk; expertise in AI and customer success. | |
Lynne M. Doughtie Board | Director | Director at Boeing Company | Director since February 2021; former CEO of KPMG LLP; extensive experience in risk management and global business strategy. | |
Mark J. Hawkins Board | Director | Director at SecureWorks, Toast, and Cloudflare | Director since February 2023; former CFO at Salesforce; extensive financial leadership experience. | |
Michael M. McNamara Board | Director | CEO of Samara Living; Director at Carrier Global | Director since 2011; former CEO of Flex Ltd.; extensive operational leadership experience. | |
Michael Speiser Board | Director | Managing Director at Sutter Hill Ventures; Director at Snowflake | Director since June 2024; founding CEO of multiple companies; extensive experience in AI and high-growth startups. | |
Rhonda J. Morris Board | Director | Fellow at National Academy of Human Resources | Set to join Workday's Board on February 14, 2025; former CHRO at Chevron; led HR digital transformation. |
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Given the 8% workforce reduction, can you provide specific details on which areas or functions are being trimmed versus where you're increasing investment, particularly in AI and international expansion? How will this restructuring impact your operational efficiency and ability to innovate in key growth areas?
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You've highlighted significant investment in your agent system of record and AI-driven solutions. Can you elaborate on your monetization strategy for these AI agents and the expected timeline for them to contribute meaningfully to revenue? What competitive advantages do you have in this space, and how do you plan to capture the market opportunity?
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Despite macroeconomic headwinds in EMEA, you reported strong performance in the U.K. and Germany. How sustainable is this momentum, and what strategies are you implementing to mitigate ongoing challenges in international markets? Are you expecting any changes in the demand environment that could affect your international growth projections?
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Your FY '26 guidance suggests an acceleration of subscription revenue growth in the second half of the year. What factors give you confidence in this acceleration amid FX headwinds and macro uncertainties? Can you provide more insight into the contribution expected from recent large deals and any assumptions about improvements in the spending environment?
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With the federal government's focus on efficiency and IT modernization, you're targeting significant opportunities in this sector. How are you positioning Workday to navigate potential uncertainties related to administrative changes and budget considerations? What challenges do you anticipate in securing federal contracts, and how are you addressing them to ensure growth in this market?
Research analysts who have asked questions during Workday earnings calls.
Bradley Sills
Bank of America
6 questions for WDAY
Brent Thill
Jefferies
6 questions for WDAY
Karl Keirstead
UBS
6 questions for WDAY
Mark Murphy
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
6 questions for WDAY
Aleksandr Zukin
Wolfe Research
5 questions for WDAY
Brad Zelnick
Credit Suisse
5 questions for WDAY
Michael Turrin
Wells Fargo
5 questions for WDAY
S. Kirk Materne
Evercore ISI
5 questions for WDAY
Raimo Lenschow
Barclays
4 questions for WDAY
Kasthuri Rangan
Goldman Sachs
3 questions for WDAY
Derrick Wood
TD Cowen
2 questions for WDAY
James Wood
TD Cowen
2 questions for WDAY
Rishi Jaluria
RBC Capital Markets
2 questions for WDAY
Scott Berg
Needham & Company, LLC
2 questions for WDAY
John DiFucci
Guggenheim Securities
1 question for WDAY
Kash Rangan
Goldman Sachs
1 question for WDAY
Keith Weiss
Morgan Stanley
1 question for WDAY
Kirk Materne
Evercore ISI
1 question for WDAY
Competitors mentioned in the company's latest 10K filing.
Company | Description |
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A large, well-established enterprise software vendor that provides financial management and HCM applications. It has long-standing relationships with customers and partners, which may make customers hesitant to switch vendors or adopt cloud applications. | |
A well-established provider of financial management and HCM applications with significant name recognition and long-standing customer relationships, which may pose challenges for customer acquisition. | |
Anaplan, Inc. | A vendor offering specific applications that address portions of enterprise cloud applications, including cloud-based solutions. |
A competitor providing specific applications that address portions of enterprise cloud applications, including cloud-based solutions. | |
Coupa Software Inc. | A vendor offering specific applications that address portions of enterprise cloud applications, including cloud-based solutions. |
Dayforce, Inc. | A competitor providing specific applications that address portions of enterprise cloud applications, including cloud-based solutions. |
Infor, Inc. | A vendor offering specific applications that address portions of enterprise cloud applications, including cloud-based solutions. |
A competitor providing specific applications that address portions of enterprise cloud applications, including cloud-based solutions. | |
UKG Inc. | A vendor offering specific applications that address portions of enterprise cloud applications, including cloud-based solutions. |
Notable M&A activity and strategic investments in the past 3 years.
Company | Year | Details |
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Evisort | 2024 | Workday acquired Evisort for $311 million in an all-cash deal, with a purchase price allocation that included $44 million for developed technology intangible assets, $28 million for customer relationships, and $238 million in goodwill, reflecting expected synergies by incorporating its AI-powered contract intelligence platform (including the industry’s first LLM for contracts and ISO 42001 certification) to enhance Workday’s finance and HR applications. |
HiredScore | 2024 | Workday’s $530 million all-cash acquisition of HiredScore included detailed allocations for developed technology, customer relationships, and a significant $411 million goodwill, and was aimed at enhancing its AI-driven talent orchestration solutions to empower talent acquisition and internal mobility. |
Peakon | 2021 | Workday acquired the employee success platform Peakon for $702 million, intending to convert employee feedback into actionable insights for improved engagement and organizational performance, with integration into Workday’s consolidated financial results post-acquisition. |
Zimit | 2021 | Workday acquired Zimit for a total consideration of $76 million (comprising $62 million in cash and $14 million from a re-priced prior equity investment) to integrate its CPQ solution for services industries, driving efficiencies in the quote-to-cash process with allocated intangible assets and goodwill to reflect anticipated synergies. |
VNDLY | 2021 | Workday completed the $473.16 million acquisition of VNDLY, a cloud-based external workforce and vendor management platform, which included cash payments and an equity issuance to key VNDLY employees, with a purchase price allocation of $412.15 million in goodwill and $40 million in acquisition-related intangible assets to support unified workforce optimization. |
Recent press releases and 8-K filings for WDAY.
- Workday, Inc. completed its acquisition of Paradox on October 1, 2025, a candidate experience agent that uses conversational AI to simplify the job application journey.
- This acquisition provides Workday with a unified end-to-end AI-powered talent acquisition suite, designed to help companies hire faster, improve recruiter efficiency, and deliver a better candidate experience.
- Paradox's AI agent streamlines the hiring process by offering personalized experiences, instant responses, self-scheduling, and 24/7 support, particularly for frontline and high-volume roles.
- The Workday Paradox Candidate Experience Agent is now available for purchase for both existing and new customers.
- Elliott Investment Management, a significant investor in Workday with an investment exceeding $2 billion, has publicly affirmed its support for the company.
- Elliott expressed confidence in Workday's management, including CEO Carl Eschenbach and CFO Zane Rowe, and views Workday as a unique software franchise with industry-leading growth potential and strong customer retention.
- Elliott endorsed the multi-year plan announced at Workday's Financial Analyst Day, believing it will significantly enhance the operating model and capital allocation framework, driving substantial long-term value for shareholders.
- Workday provided FY26E guidance for subscription revenues of $8.8 billion, a Non-GAAP operating margin of 29.0%, and Stock-Based Compensation (SBC) as a percentage of revenue of ~17%. This guidance was provided on the Q2 earnings call on August 21, 2025.
- The company set FY28 financial targets including a Subscription Revenue CAGR of 13%-14%, a Non-GAAP Operating Margin of ~35%, and Free Cash Flow (FCF) per share of ~$15.
- Workday is experiencing significant AI momentum, with emerging agentic AI SKUs ARR growing >200% to >$150 million as of Q3'25, contributing ~1.5 percentage points of ARR growth to the overall business.
- As part of its capital allocation strategy, Workday plans $5 billion in share repurchases through FY27, prioritizing organic innovation and M&A.
- Other key growth areas include ~15% international subscription revenue growth and ~20% FINS+ subscription revenue growth for the trailing twelve months ended July 31, 2025.
- Workday announced a targeted financial framework for FY2028, aiming for a subscription revenue CAGR of 12% to 15%, a non-GAAP operating margin of 33% to 36%, and free cash flow per share of $15. The company also targets stock-based compensation (SBC) as a percent of revenue to be 13% to 14% by FY2028.
- The company's capital allocation strategy includes an incremental $4 billion in share buybacks, bringing the total to $5 billion through FY2027.
- Workday is significantly investing in AI, integrating AI agents directly into core business processes, and expanding its platform with open standards and a new Flex Credits consumption-based pricing model.
- Strategic growth initiatives focus on international expansion, the medium enterprise segment (Workday Go), and leveraging the recent acquisition of Sana to enhance enterprise search and AI-driven workflows.
- Workday, Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Sana, an AI company specializing in enterprise knowledge tools, for approximately $1.1 billion.
- The acquisition aims to integrate Sana's AI-powered search, agents, and learning capabilities with Workday's platform to create a "new front door for work", delivering proactive, personalized, and intelligent employee experiences.
- The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of Workday's fiscal year 2026, ending January 31, 2026, subject to customary closing conditions.
- Workday announced the expansion of its Agent Partner Network, with more than 15 Workday Ventures portfolio companies integrating their AI agents with the Workday Agent System of Record (ASOR).
- The network has experienced significant growth, expanding more than fourfold to over 50 partners in the last three months, enhancing the ecosystem of secure, enterprise-ready AI solutions.
- These new AI agents, designed to automate tasks and improve productivity, are now available in the Workday Marketplace.
- Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ: WDAY) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Sana, a leading AI company building next-generation enterprise knowledge tools.
- The acquisition is valued at approximately $1.1 billion.
- The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of Workday's fiscal year 2026, ending January 31, 2026.
- This acquisition aims to combine Sana's AI-powered search, agents, and learning with Workday's context and data to power proactive, personalized, and intelligent employee experiences, making Workday the "new front door for work".
- Workday announced a new collaboration with Microsoft to help organizations securely manage their people and AI agents across their platforms.
- This partnership integrates Workday Agent System of Record (ASOR) with Microsoft Entra Agent ID, allowing customers to register and manage AI agents built using Microsoft Azure AI Foundry and Copilot Studio within Workday ASOR.
- The collaboration aims to provide a secure, centralized system for managing both people and AI agents, ensuring verified identities, proper business context, and robust governance for AI agents.
- Key benefits include actionable insights for measuring AI agent ROI, enhanced human-agent collaboration, and strong security and compliance for AI workforces.
- Workday and Kinaxis announced a new partnership on September 12, 2025, to combine an AI-powered, agent-based framework for Kinaxis Maestro® and Workday Adaptive Planning.
- This collaboration aims to provide customers with a unified view of their operational, financial, and HR data, enabling faster and more confident decision-making.
- The integrated solution addresses the challenge of isolated business functions by facilitating cross-functional scenario planning, allowing companies to understand the real-time financial and HR impacts of supply chain events.
- The partnership is expected to help customers achieve stronger financial commitments, increase workforce flexibility, and deliver industry-specific value across sectors like consumer goods, life sciences, high-tech, automotive, and healthcare.
- Strada is showcasing innovations at Workday Rising U.S. 2025, including an exclusive partnership with Nayya for AI-powered benefits optimization, available from September.
- This partnership is expected to deliver up to 50% cost savings and over 50% reductions in support cases and employee calls for Workday customers.
- Strada is launching Strada Verify, an AI-powered test automation platform designed for Workday deployments, updates, and operations.
- The company also announced the go-live of its Automated ACFR app for U.S. public sector organizations, which is projected to reduce ACFR production time by 80% and generate annual savings of $110,000 - $160,000.