Workday, Inc.

Worth knowing

• Stock pay outran buybacks. Stock-based pay expense $4.6B vs $4.0B spent repurchasing shares over the 3 fiscal years to FY Jan 2026.

  Over three fiscal years Workday recorded $4.6B of stock-based pay expense and spent $4.0B repurchasing shares (repurchases can include shares withheld to cover employees' taxes). Repurchases were smaller than the stock pay, so they did little to offset new employee shares.Over three fiscal years Workday recorded $4.6B of stock-based pay expense and spent $4.0B repurchasing shares. Repurchases were smaller than the stock pay, so they did little to offset new employee shares.

• Stock-based pay is a large cost. Stock pay was 17% of revenue in FY Jan 2026.

  Workday paid employees $1.6B in stock in FY Jan 2026, 17% of its $9.6B revenue. It doesn't use cash, so it flatters cash flow, but it is a real cost to shareholders through dilution.

• Operating margin at a 6-year high. 7.5% in FY Jan 2026, the best of the last 6 years.

  Workday kept 7.5% of revenue as operating profit in FY Jan 2026, its highest in the 6 years of filings we have.

• Cash flow well above reported profit. Free cash flow is 2.3× reported profit.

  Free cash flow is 2.3× reported profit. Large non-cash charges, such as depreciation, amortization or stock-based pay, reduce reported profit without using cash.