On July 14, 2023, Workday's Chief Executive Officer, Carl Eschenbach, attended the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho. However, the company's stock experienced a decline of up to 11% in after-hours trading following the release of a quarterly forecast that fell short of market expectations. For the fiscal fourth quarter, Workday projected an adjusted operating margin of 25% with subscription revenue of $2.03 billion, which was below the 25.5% margin and $2.04 billion in subscription revenue anticipated by analysts from StreetAccount.

Comparing Workday's performance in the fiscal third quarter with the consensus among analysts surveyed by LSEG, the company reported the following:

• Earnings per share: $1.89 adjusted, surpassing the expected $1.76
• Revenue: $2.16 billion, which exceeded the expected $2.13 billion

Workday's total revenue for the quarter ending October 31st grew by approximately 16% year over year, with subscription revenue reaching $1.96 billion, a 16% increase, aligning with the consensus of $1.96 billion among analysts surveyed by StreetAccount. The company's net income was $193 million, or 72 cents per share, marking an increase of $114 million, or 43 cents per share, from the same quarter in the previous year. The adjusted operating margin for the quarter was 26.3%, which was higher than the 25.4% expected by StreetAccount.

Workday's Chief Financial Officer, Zane Rowe, mentioned during a conference call with analysts that the company is still facing heightened scrutiny over deals in certain regions. The company is now focusing on expanding its operations within the U.S. government sector, as stated by CEO Carl Eschenbach. He highlighted a significant opportunity, noting that over 80% of human capital management (HCM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems are still based on premises.

Eschenbach also referenced the "Department of Government Efficiency," an advisory panel announced by President-elect Donald Trump earlier this month, indicating a growing interest in achieving economies of scale and efficiency.

Workday announced that Rob Enslin, a former executive from Google and SAP who left his position as UiPath CEO in June, would be joining the company as President and Chief Commercial Officer. Additionally, Workday informed its employees in October that co-president Doug Robinson would be retiring.

During the quarter, Workday acquired Evisort, a startup specializing in contract lifecycle management software. The company also announced that artificial intelligence agents designed to identify inefficiencies, process expense reports, and update succession plans would be available for early access in 2025. Eschenbach expressed his belief that these AI agents would positively impact bookings and revenue as the company moves into the new year.

Rowe projected subscription revenue of $8.8 billion for the fiscal year 2026, which would represent a 14% growth. As of the close on Tuesday, Workday's shares had decreased by 2% in 2024, contrasting with the S&P 500 index, which had gained 26%.