Workday (WDAY) · Software
Workday Q1 FY2027 earnings: summary, key numbers & outlook
Results filed 21 May 2026 · Quarter ended 30 Apr 2026
Slides (27 pages)Press release ↗Investor relations ↗
Summaries and transcripts are machine-generated and can contain errors.
In brief
Fiscal first quarter total revenues were $2.542 billion, up 13.5% year-over-year, with subscription revenues of $2.354 billion, up 14.3% year-over-year.
Workday's first quarter of fiscal 2027 (ended April 30, 2026) brought total revenues of $2.542 billion, up 13.5%, and subscription revenues of $2.354 billion, up 14.3%. GAAP operating income was $338 million, versus $39 million a year ago when restructuring costs weighed on results. Operating cash flows were $696 million, and the company repurchased about 12.0 million shares for $1.6 billion.
For the second quarter, Workday guided to subscription revenues of $2.455 billion, up 13%, and a 30.0% non-GAAP operating margin. It reiterated its full-year subscription revenue outlook of $9.925 billion to $9.950 billion and raised its full-year non-GAAP operating margin guidance to 30.5%. The tension is that the company is pushing agentic AI products and cost efficiency while subscription growth is guided to slow to 12% to 13% for the year.
Slides & documents
Open the slide deck (PDF, 27 pages) ↗
Showing the first 6 of 27 pages.
From Workday investor relations
- Q1 FY27 Earnings Prepared RemarksCFO commentary ↗
- Q1 FY27 Earnings Conference CallWebcast replay ↗
- Q1 FY27 Financial ResultsDocument ↗
- Q1 FY27 10-QDocument ↗
SEC filing
Key numbers
- Total revenues · GAAP
- $2.542 billion
- Operating income · GAAP
- $338 million
- Non-GAAP operating margin · non-GAAP
- 31.8%
- Net income · GAAP
- $222.0M
- Diluted EPS · GAAP
- $0.87
- Non-GAAP diluted EPS · non-GAAP
- $2.66
- Operating cash flows · GAAP
- $696 million
- Free cash flows · non-GAAP
- $616 million
up 13.5% from the first quarter of fiscal 2026
compared to an operating income of $39 million in the same period last year
compared to 30.2% in the same period last year
up from $68 a year ago
compared to $0.25 in the same period last year
compared to $2.23 in the same period last year
compared to $457 million in the same period last year
compared to $421 million in the same period last year
| Segment or metric | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription revenues | $2.354 billion | an increase of 14.3% from the same period last year |
| 12-month subscription revenue backlog | $8.806 billion | up 15.5% from the same period last year |
| Total subscription revenue backlog | $27.294 billion | increasing 10.9% year-over-year |
| Customers using organically developed agents | over 4,000 | more than doubled quarter-over-quarter |
| Recruiting Agent hiring processes | 14 million | up 44% year-over-year |
| Users under contract | more than 80 million |
Where each number comes from
- Total revenues: “Total revenues were $2.542 billion, an increase of 13.5% from the first quarter of fiscal 2026.”
- Operating income: “Operating income was $338 million, or 13.3% of revenues, compared to an operating income of $39 million, or 1.8% of revenues, in the same period last year.”
- Non-GAAP operating margin: “Non-GAAP operating income for the first quarter was $809 million, or 31.8% of revenues, compared to a non-GAAP operating income of $677 million, or 30.2% of revenues”
- Net income: “Total revenues | 2,542 | 2,240 Costs and expenses (1): Costs of subscription services | 412 | 350 Costs of professional services | 192 | 187 Product development | 705 | 663 Sales and marketing | 679 | 623 General and administrative | 216 | 212 Restructuring | 0 | 166 Total costs and expenses | 2,204 | 2,201 Operating income | 338 | 39 Other income, net | 17 | 64 Income before provision for income taxes | 355 | 103 Provision for income taxes | 133 | 35 Net income | $222 | $68”
- Diluted EPS: “Diluted net income per share was $0.87, compared to diluted net income per share of $0.25 in the same period last year.”
- Non-GAAP diluted EPS: “Non-GAAP diluted net income per share was $2.66, compared to non-GAAP diluted net income per share of $2.23 in the same period last year.”
- Operating cash flows: “Operating cash flows were $696 million compared to $457 million in the same period last year. Free cash flows were $616 million compared to $421 million in the same period last year.”
- Free cash flows: “Operating cash flows were $696 million compared to $457 million in the same period last year. Free cash flows were $616 million compared to $421 million in the same period last year.”
- Subscription revenues: “Subscription revenues were $2.354 billion, an increase of 14.3% from the same period last year.”
- 12-month subscription revenue backlog: “12-month subscription revenue backlog was $8.806 billion, up 15.5% from the same period last year.”
- Total subscription revenue backlog: “Total subscription revenue backlog was $27.294 billion, increasing 10.9% year-over-year.”
- Customers using organically developed agents: “The number of customers using Workday's organically developed agents has more than doubled quarter-over-quarter, with over 4,000 customers using at least one of these agents”
- Recruiting Agent hiring processes: “In Q1, Workday supported 14 million hiring processes with its Recruiting Agent, up 44% year-over-year.”
- Users under contract: “The Workday customer community now represents more than 80 million users under contract.”
Copied from the press release ↗ and other documents in the SEC filing ↗. A figure is published only if its sentence is in the filing.
| From the filing | Q1 FY2027 | vs year ago | vs last quarter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $2.5B | +13.5% | +0.4% |
| Operating income | $338.0M | +766.7% | +94.3% |
| Net income | $222.0M | +226.5% | +53.1% |
| Diluted EPS | $0.87 | +248.0% | — |
| Free cash flow | $616.0M | +46.3% | −49.4% |
| Operating margin | 13.3% | +11.6 pts | +6.4 pts |
Calculated by code from XBRL, not by the model.
Outlook
| Metric | Period | Outlook |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription revenues | fiscal 2027 second quarter ending July 31, 2026 | $2.455 billion |
| Subscription revenues | fiscal 2027 full year ending January 31, 2027 | $9.925 billion to $9.950 billion |
| Non-GAAP operating margin | fiscal 2027 full year ending January 31, 2027 | 30.5% |
| Non-GAAP tax rate | fiscal 2027 | 19% |
| Operating cash flows | fiscal 2027 | $3.450B |
| Capital expenditures | fiscal 2027 | $270M |
| Free cash flow | fiscal 2027 | $3.180B |
Key takeaways
Operating profit swung sharply from last year
Operating income was $338 million, or 13.3% of revenues, compared to an operating income of $39 million, or 1.8% of revenues, in the same period last year. The prior-year quarter included restructuring expenses of $166 million.
Non-GAAP operating margin rose to 31.8%
Non-GAAP operating income was $809 million, or 31.8% of revenues, compared to 30.2% a year earlier. Full-year non-GAAP operating margin guidance was raised to 30.5%.
Full-year subscription outlook was reiterated, not raised
Workday kept fiscal 2027 subscription revenues at $9.925 billion to $9.950 billion, representing growth of 12% to 13%. Second quarter subscription revenues are guided to $2.455 billion, growth of 13%.
Agent adoption is accelerating among customers
Over 4,000 customers use at least one organically developed agent, and the number more than doubled quarter-over-quarter. The Recruiting Agent supported 14 million hiring processes, up 44% year-over-year.
Cash returned through large share repurchases
Workday repurchased approximately 12.0 million shares for $1.6 billion, while operating cash flows were $696 million. Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were $4.353 billion as of April 30, 2026.
Charts
Fourth quarter worked out from the annual figure.
Data
| Q3 FY25 | $2.2B |
| Q4 FY25 | $2.2B * |
| Q1 FY26 | $2.2B |
| Q2 FY26 | $2.3B |
| Q3 FY26 | $2.4B |
| Q4 FY26 | $2.5B * |
| Q1 FY27 | $2.5B |
| Q2 FY27 | $2.6B |
Data
| Q3 FY25 | $0.72 |
| Q1 FY26 | $0.25 |
| Q2 FY26 | $0.84 |
| Q3 FY26 | $0.94 |
| Q1 FY27 | $0.87 |
| Q2 FY27 | $2.57 |
Fourth-quarter EPS appears once the press release is read; filings report it only for the full year.
Data
| Q3 FY25 | 7.6% |
| Q4 FY25 | 3.4% |
| Q1 FY26 | 1.7% |
| Q2 FY26 | 10.6% |
| Q3 FY26 | 10.6% |
| Q4 FY26 | 6.9% |
| Q1 FY27 | 13.3% |
| Q2 FY27 | 11.8% |
Data
| Q3 FY25 | $359.0M |
| Q4 FY25 | $1.0B |
| Q1 FY26 | $421.0M |
| Q2 FY26 | $588.0M |
| Q3 FY26 | $550.0M |
| Q4 FY26 | $1.2B |
| Q1 FY27 | $616.0M |
| Q2 FY27 | $460.0M |
Operating cash flow minus capital expenditure, from cash flow statements.
Questions
What were Workday's Q1 fiscal 2027 revenues?
Total revenues were $2.542 billion, up 13.5% from a year ago, and subscription revenues were $2.354 billion, up 14.3%.
How profitable was Workday in the quarter?
GAAP operating income was $338 million, or 13.3% of revenues, and non-GAAP operating margin was 31.8%. Diluted EPS was $0.87 GAAP and $2.66 non-GAAP.
What is Workday's guidance for the second quarter?
Workday expects subscription revenues of $2.455 billion, representing growth of 13%, and a non-GAAP operating margin of 30.0%.
Did Workday change its full-year outlook?
It reiterated fiscal 2027 subscription revenues of $9.925 billion to $9.950 billion and raised non-GAAP operating margin guidance to 30.5%.
How is Workday's cash generation and capital return?
Operating cash flows were $696 million and free cash flows were $616 million, up from $457 million and $421 million a year ago. Workday repurchased about 12.0 million shares for $1.6 billion.