Workday vs Zoho: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Workday had $9.6B of annual revenue in FY2026 and $693M of net income. Zoho had ~$1.4B of annual revenue in FY2025 and ~$370.2M of net income.
Latest financial snapshot
Financial summary
Workday
Workday reported fiscal 2026 revenue of $9.552B, up 13.1%, with subscription revenue of $8.833B, up 14.5%. GAAP operating income was $721M after $303M of restructuring costs, and GAAP net income was $693M, or $2.59 per diluted share. In Q2 fiscal 2027 (quarter ended July 31, 2026), revenue rose 12.8% to $2.649B and subscription revenue rose 13.9% to $2.471B. GAAP operating margin was 11.8% and non-GAAP operating margin was 31.1%. Diluted EPS of $2.57 included a one-time $1.52 per share tax benefit from an internal IP transfer. The company bought back about $1.3B of stock in the quarter and the board added a $4.0B repurchase authorization. Workday, Inc. is an absolute colossal American cloud-based software vendor that entirely dominates enterprise human capital and financial management, commanding a massive market valuation generally exceeding $65 billion.
Zoho
Zoho files its accounts with India's Registrar of Companies. Revenue from operations rose from ~$1.01 billion (₹8,703.6 crore) in FY23 to ~$1.21 billion (₹10,456 crore) in FY24 and ~$1.43 billion (₹12,313 crore) in FY25 (fiscal years end 31 March). Net profit was ~$329 million (₹2,836 crore) in FY23, ~$383 million (₹3,299 crore) in FY24 and ~$370 million (₹3,191 crore) in FY25. The company does not publish quarterly results. Hurun's 2024 India 500 list valued Zoho at about $12 billion (₹1,03,760 crore), ranking it among India's most valuable unlisted companies; this is an outside estimate, not a transaction price.
Revenue and profit by year
Workday
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | $9.6B | $693M | 7.3% | +13.1% | Source |
| FY2025 | $8.4B | $526M | 6.2% | +16.4% | Source |
| FY2024 | $7.3B | $1.4B | 19.0% | +16.8% | Source |
| FY2023 | $6.2B | -$367M | -5.9% | +21.0% | Source |
| FY2022 | $5.1B | $29M | 0.6% | +19.0% | Source |
| FY2021 | $4.3B | -$282.4M | -6.5% | +19.0% | Source |
| FY2020 | $3.6B | -$480.7M | -13.3% | +28.5% | Source |
| FY2019 | $2.8B | -$418.3M | -14.8% | +31.7% | Source |
| FY2018 | $2.1B | -$321.2M | -15.0% | +36.1% | Source |
| FY2017 | $1.6B | -$384.7M | -24.4% | — | Source |
Zoho
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | ~$1.4B | ~$370.2M | 25.9% | +17.8% | Source |
| FY2024 | ~$1.2B | ~$382.7M | 31.6% | +20.1% | Source |
| FY2023 | ~$1B | ~$329M | 32.6% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Workday
- Subscription services
About 92% of fiscal 2026 revenue
Recurring fees for HCM, Financial Management, planning, payroll, learning, and AI products; $8.833B in fiscal 2026.
- Professional services
About 8% of fiscal 2026 revenue
Deployment, training, and advisory services that support customer implementations.
Zoho
- Zoho suite57
Cloud business applications including Zoho One, CRM, finance, Workplace, HR and support tools; ~$818 million (₹7,051 crore) in FY25.
- ManageEngine39
IT management and security software for IT departments; ~$564 million (₹4,863 crore) in FY25.
- Services3
Sale of services; ~$46.3 million (₹399 crore) in FY25.
Business model and strategy
Workday
How it makes money
Most of Workday's revenue comes from multi-year cloud subscriptions. In fiscal 2026, subscription revenue was $8.833B of $9.552B total, about 92%. The rest is professional services: deployment, training, and advisory work, much of which is handled alongside implementation partners. Customers usually start with HCM or Financial Management and later add planning, payroll, recruiting, learning, and AI agent products.
Growth strategy
Workday is pushing AI agents built on its HR and finance data, adding integration and learning capabilities through acquisitions (Paradox, Sana, Pipedream), selling Financial Management into its HCM base, and expanding industry-specific offerings. It is pairing that with cost cuts and large share buybacks.
Competitive advantage
Workday's main advantage is a single data model shared across HR, payroll, finance, and planning, which it has run as a multi-tenant cloud service from the start. That gives AI agents clean access to employee and financial records, and Workday argues its agents are safer because they act through the same business-process rules and permissions as human users.
Zoho
How it makes money
Zoho sells software subscriptions and licences directly to businesses of all sizes. In FY25 the Zoho suite, which covers CRM, finance, collaboration, HR, support and the Zoho One bundle, brought in ~$818 million (₹7,051 crore), or 57% of revenue. ManageEngine, which sells IT service management, endpoint, identity and network monitoring tools to IT teams, brought in ~$564 million (₹4,863 crore) (39%).
Growth strategy
Zoho grows mainly through organic product development. It adds new applications to its suite, sells upgrades to Zoho One, expands ManageEngine's cloud offerings, and opens local data centres to meet data residency rules in markets such as the UAE. It also invests in hiring and training outside large cities, including offices in rural Tamil Nadu.
Competitive advantage
Zoho's main advantages are its ownership structure and its integrated product line. With no outside investors, management can fund long R&D projects from operating cash flow. Its applications share a common platform and identity layer, which lets Zoho sell them together through Zoho One at a lower combined price than a stack of separate vendors.
Questions about Workday vs Zoho
Which company has higher revenue — Workday, Inc. or Zoho?
Workday, Inc. had $9.6B (FY2026), while Zoho had ~$1.4B (FY2025). By latest annual revenue, Workday, Inc. is the larger business, with Zoho showing a smaller revenue base. Note: these are from different fiscal years and are not a direct like-for-like comparison.
What is the market cap of Workday, Inc. vs Zoho?
Workday, Inc. has a market capitalisation of $51.0B. A public market cap figure for Zoho was not available (it may be privately held).
How does revenue per employee compare for Workday, Inc. and Zoho?
Workday, Inc. has $453k / employee in revenue per employee, while Zoho has $75k / employee. Headcounts may use different dates, so the ratio alone does not establish which business operates more efficiently.
How do Workday, Inc. and Zoho make money?
Workday, Inc. and Zoho generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Workday, Inc.: Most of Workday's revenue comes from multi-year cloud subscriptions. Zoho: Zoho sells software subscriptions and licences directly to businesses of all sizes.
Is Workday, Inc. bigger than Zoho?
By last reported revenue, Workday, Inc. ($9.6B (FY2026)) is the larger company compared to Zoho (~$1.4B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Workday vs Zoho overview