Workday Inc tops Wall Street estimates in the fiscal third quarter

Workday Inc. (NASDAQ: WDAY) reported its financial results for the fiscal third quarter on Thursday that topped analysts’ estimates for earnings and revenue. The company, however, acknowledged the COVID-19 uncertainties that it warned could weigh on performance in the upcoming months.

Workday shares slid roughly 3% in after-hours trading on Thursday. On a year to date basis, the U.S. company is now close to 35% up in the stock market. If you’re interested in investing in the stock market online, you’ll need a broker; here’s a comparison of the top few to make selection easier for you.

Workday’s Q3 financial results versus analysts’ estimates

Workday said that its loss in the third quarter stood at £18.32 million that translates to 7.54 pence per share. In the same quarter last year, it had seen a much broader 38.44 pence of loss per share. In terms of revenue, the Pleasanton-based company reported £840 million versus the year-ago figure of £669 million.

On an adjusted basis, Workday earned 64.82 pence per share as compared to a lower 39.95 pence per share In Q3 of the previous year. In the prior quarter (Q2), Workday had recorded a broader £21.07 million of loss, as per the report published in August.

According to FactSet, experts had forecast the company to print £820 million of revenue in the recent quarter. Their estimate for per-share earnings was capped at 50.50 pence. In an announcement last week, Workday said it was named a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Cloud HCM Suites for 1000+ Employee Enterprises.

Workday’s guidance for the fiscal fourth quarter

For the fiscal fourth quarter, Workday now forecasts its subscription revenue to fall in the range of £746.97 million to £748.48 million that represents an about 18% growth. In comparison, analysts’ estimates for its subscription revenue in Q4 stand at £735.66 million.

CFO Robynne Sisco commented on the earnings report on Thursday and said:

“While we have seen some recent stability in the underlying environment, headwinds due to COVID remain, particularly to net new bookings. And given our subscription model, these headwinds that have impacted us all year will be more fully evident in next year’s subscription revenue, weighing on our growth in the near term.”

At the time of writing, the American on-demand financial and human capital management software vendor has a market capitalisation of £41.23 billion.