Workday's stock falls after earnings, but this analyst sees no 'thesis breakers'

By Emily Bary

Company plans to acquire HiredScore for terms not disclosed

Shares of Workday Inc. fell 8% in after-hours trading Monday after the company topped profit expectations for the latest quarter but merely met expectations on revenue and reiterated its full-year forecast.

On an adjusted basis, Workday (WDAY) earned $1.57 a share for its fiscal fourth quarter, whereas analysts were modeling $1.47 a share. Workday logged revenue of $1.92 billion, up from $1.65 billion a year before and matching the FactSet consensus.

The software company continues to expect $7.725 billion to $7.775 billion in revenue for the full fiscal year, consistent with its prior forecast given three months ago.

Workday's outlook struck Evercore ISI analyst Kirk Materne as slightly conservative, though he remained upbeat on shares after the report.

"Not surprised to see shares down a bit in the after-market given a fairly small beat and reiteration of the guide, but we do not see any major 'thesis breakers' in the results," he wrote, as he kept his outperform rating.

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The company reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $1.2 billion, or $4.52 cents a share, whereas it reported a net loss of $126 million, or 49 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Net income in the latest quarter reflected a $1.1 billion release of a valuation allowance related to deferred tax assets.

For the fiscal first quarter, Workday models $1.973 billion in total revenue along with $1.810 billion in subscription revenue. That compares with consensus estimates for $1.917 billion and $1.758 billion, respectively.

The company also announced plans to acquire HiredScore for terms not disclosed in its release. Workday described HiredScore as "a leading provider of AI-powered talent orchestration solutions."

-Emily Bary

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02-26-24 2134ET

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