What happened
Shares of Workday (WDAY +0.42%) have popped today, closing out the session with gains of 7% after the company reported fiscal first-quarter earnings yesterday. The results were mixed relative to expectations, but investors also cheered two new partnerships.
So what
Revenue in the first quarter increased 23% to $1.02 billion, slightly ahead of the $1 billion in sales that Wall Street was looking for. That translated into adjusted net income of $108.8 million, or $0.44 per share. Analysts had been modeling for $0.49 per share in adjusted profits. Subscription revenue was $882 million, and the cloud-based human resources platform now has a subscription revenue backlog of $8.2 billion.
Image source: Workday.
"The cloud is playing a critical role in today's climate, with organizations leaning on Workday to pivot -- whether it's helping employees learn virtually, closing books remotely, or scenario planning to determine what path to take," CEO Aneel Bhusri said in a statement. "In many of these situations, our customers are running essential businesses, which we are incredibly grateful for."
Now what
Workday announced separate strategic partnerships with two enterprise software behemoths: Microsoft and Salesforce. The deal with Microsoft involves enterprise planning on the company's Azure cloud, while the new agreement with Salesforce includes deeper integrations designed to help mutual customers safely return to normal working conditions.
While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to drive demand for many cloud-based enterprise services, ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties remain, so Workday is reducing its subscription revenue guidance accordingly. Subscription revenue in the second quarter is expected to be in the range of $913 million to $915 million, with subscription revenue for the full fiscal year forecast at $3.67 billion to $3.69 billion.
