Workday, Inc.: Workday is a public cloud software company for HR, finance, planning, and AI applications. It reported FY2026 revenue of $9.55B and $693M in net income.
Workday, Inc.: Key Facts
| Company Name | Workday, Inc. |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2005 |
| Founder(s) | Dave Duffield and Aneel Bhusri |
| Headquarters | Pleasanton, California |
| Industry | Enterprise Cloud Software, Human Capital Management, Financial Management, and AI Applications |
| CEO / Lead Executive | Aneel Bhusri |
| Employees | about 21,000 |
| Revenue | $9.55B in FY2026 |
| Net Income | $693M net income |
| Status | Public |
| Stock Symbol | WDAY (Nasdaq) |
| Website | https://www.workday.com |
Workday has moved from cloud-HCM challenger to a mature enterprise software platform with $9.55B in FY2026 revenue, $28.1B in total subscription revenue backlog, and a renewed founder-led CEO structure after Aneel Bhusri returned to the role in February 2026.
What Is the History of Workday, Inc.?
Workday was founded in 2005 by Dave Duffield and Aneel Bhusri after Oracle acquired PeopleSoft. The founding premise was that enterprise HR and finance software should be built cloud-native instead of dragged forward from on-premise systems.
The company grew by first proving cloud HCM, then expanding into finance, planning, payroll, analytics, procurement, and employee experience. Its 2012 IPO made it one of the defining enterprise SaaS companies.
By FY2026, Workday had reached $9.55B in annual revenue, a $28.1B subscription revenue backlog, and a renewed founder-led CEO chapter as AI became a primary strategic focus.
How Does Workday Make Money?
Workday earns from recurring cloud subscription contracts, with professional services supporting implementation and expansion. Customers often start with HR or finance and then add planning, payroll, analytics, spend, talent, and AI features.
The economics depend on high retention, module expansion, partner-led implementations, and the switching costs of moving sensitive HR and finance data away from Workday.
Workday Revenue and Financials
Workday reported FY2026 revenue of $9.552B, including $8.833B of subscription revenue, and GAAP net income of $693M. Total subscription revenue backlog was $28.101B at January 31, 2026. Q1 FY2027 revenue rose to $2.36B, with subscription revenue of $2.15B, showing continued growth even as the company operates at a more mature SaaS scale.
Workday Strategy
Workday strategy centers on land-and-expand subscription growth, cross-selling finance and planning into HCM accounts, embedding AI in workflows, expanding partnerships, and using acquisitions to fill gaps in recruiting, contracts, knowledge, and agent-building capabilities.
Workday next phase depends on AI monetization, international expansion, financial-management attach, public-sector growth, and continued margin discipline. The question is whether AI tools become a reason to expand Workday budgets or simply table stakes in a crowded enterprise software market.
Workday Timeline
Dave Duffield and Aneel Bhusri found Workday after Oracle acquires PeopleSoft. [source]
Workday launches its early cloud HCM product, betting that large enterprises will trust HR data to a multi-tenant cloud system. [source]
Workday goes public and becomes one of the defining enterprise cloud software IPOs of the early SaaS era. [source]
Workday acquires Adaptive Insights, expanding into planning and analytics. [source]
Aneel Bhusri moves to executive chair while Carl Eschenbach becomes CEO, marking a planned succession phase. [source]
Workday announces Aneel Bhusri will return as CEO effective February 1, 2026. [source]
Workday reports FY2026 revenue of $9.552B and subscription revenue of $8.833B. [source]
Workday reports Q1 FY2027 revenue of $2.36B and announces the acquisition of Pipedream for AI agent workflow capabilities. [source]
