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Workday shares sink on subscription revenue guidance concerns
CNBCยท 2025-11-26 18:25
Core Viewpoint - Workday's shares have declined significantly due to lowered price targets from analysts, following a revision of the company's full-year subscription revenue forecast, indicating a lack of growth potential [1][3]. Group 1: Company Performance - Workday's third-quarter earnings report revealed a subscription revenue forecast of $8.83 billion for the fiscal year ending January 2026, reflecting a modest growth of 14.4%, with only a $13 million increase from previous guidance [3]. - The new revenue forecast includes contributions from the recent $1.1 billion acquisition of AI and learning software company Sana and a contract with the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency [3]. - Analysts expressed disappointment with the earnings report, suggesting that investors were expecting a stronger performance, which they described as "borders on a slight guide down" [4]. Group 2: Analyst Ratings and Price Targets - Cantor Fitzgerald analysts maintained a buy rating on Workday but noted the earnings report did not meet expectations [4]. - Stifel lowered its price target for Workday from $255 to $235, indicating concerns about the company's growth momentum [4][5]. - RBC analysts, while also maintaining a buy rating, reduced their price target from $340 to $320, acknowledging that the fiscal third-quarter results exceeded consensus despite mixed guidance [7]. Group 3: AI and Market Trends - Workday has launched several AI agents and expanded its offerings through acquisitions, including the recent purchase of Sana [2]. - AI products contributed over 1.5 percentage points to annualized revenue growth, which the CEO highlighted as a positive sign of early momentum in AI [7]. - Despite the introduction of AI products, analysts from Stifel expressed skepticism about the underlying business momentum stabilizing, predicting continued slow growth in subscription revenue [5].