Workday Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY)

Gross Profit Margin

The gross profit margin exhibits a consistently strong and gradually increasing trend commencing from April 2020 onwards. Initial values are slightly above 70%, with incremental rises observed over subsequent quarters. The margin increases steadily, reaching approximately 75.6% to 75.8% in the last observed quarters spanning into early 2025. This indicates sustained efficiency in production or service delivery relative to revenue.

Operating Profit Margin

The operating profit margin shows a notable improvement trajectory over the analyzed periods. Initially, it was significantly negative, with margins worse than -13% in early 2020. However, a marked upward trend is evident, with successive quarters demonstrating reduced losses, transitioning into positive territory around mid to late 2023. By the most recent quarters, the operating margin achieves stable positive values exceeding 4%, reflecting improved operational efficiency and control over operating expenses.

Net Profit Margin

The net profit margin similarly starts with negative values around -13% in early 2020, followed by fluctuating losses through 2021 and 2022. An improvement trend emerges beginning in late 2022, with positive values appearing by 2023. Notably, a sharp increase is recorded in mid-2023, peaking near 19% to 20%, before moderating to approximately 5% to 6% in the last recorded periods. This suggests a period of exceptional profitability followed by a normalization to stable yet positive net margins.

Return on Equity (ROE)

Return on equity follows a comparable pattern to net profit margin, with significantly negative returns in early 2020 reaching near -20%. Over time, there is a gradual recovery, with ROE crossing into positive returns around early 2022 to mid-2023. A remarkable surge is seen in 2023 where the return on equity attains roughly 17% to 19%, before settling to a still positive range near 5% to 6% in the later quarters. This pattern indicates a restoration of profitability and effective utilization of shareholder equity.

Return on Assets (ROA)

Return on assets remains negative through early periods until approximately 2022, with the lowest figures near -7%. Slight recovery occurs gradually, with ROA moving into marginally positive values by 2021 and improving further into 2023. A pronounced increase is observed in mid-2023 reaching near 9%, followed by a moderation to approximately 2.8% to 3.2% in the most recent quarters. This reflects enhanced efficiency in asset utilization but with less pronounced volatility compared to ROE and net profit margin.

The data reveals consistent growth in both gross profit and revenues over the observed periods. Revenues show a steady upward trajectory, increasing from $825 million in April 2019 to an estimated $2,348 million by April 2025, indicating sustained expansion in sales or service volume.

Gross profit also follows a similar increasing pattern, rising from $582 million in April 2019 to approximately $1,766 million in April 2025. This suggests the company has maintained efficient control over cost of goods sold relative to revenues, enabling gross profit to grow substantially.

The gross profit margin percentage, available from January 2020 onward, illustrates a gradually improving efficiency in generating profit from revenues. Starting around 70.6%, it shows a modest but steady increase reaching approximately 75.6% by April 2025. This indicates that the company has been progressively enhancing its profitability on sales, possibly through improved pricing strategies, cost management, or favorable product mix changes.

Revenues

Exhibit continuous growth across all periods, reflecting robust top-line performance and expanding business activities.

Gross Profit

Follows revenue growth closely, indicating stable cost controls and operational efficiency.

Gross Profit Margin

Shows a steady upward trend, increasing from approx. 70.6% to about 75.6%, confirming improving profitability on sales.

Overall, the company's financial data suggests successful growth management and improving profitability trends, with both revenue and gross profit expanding significantly and profit margins strengthening over time. This points toward effective operational execution and possible competitive advantages in the marketplace.

Revenues

Revenues displayed a generally consistent upward trend throughout the observed periods. Starting from US$825 million in April 2019, revenues steadily increased each quarter, reaching US$2,348 million by July 2025. This represents nearly a threefold growth over the course of the data set, reflecting sustained business expansion or increased market demand. The growth appears relatively stable without any significant volatility or abrupt declines.

Operating Income (Loss)

Operating income exhibited greater volatility compared to revenues. Initial figures indicated consistent losses, with operating losses peaking around -US$146 million in January 2020. Thereafter, losses substantially decreased, with some fluctuations, notably improving to positive territory beginning around October 2021. From this point onward, operating income oscillated between positive values but showed an overall upward trajectory, reaching a high of US$248 million in July 2025. This shift from consistent losses to positive operating income suggests operational improvements or cost control measures implemented over time, enhancing profitability despite early negative results.

Operating Profit Margin

The operating profit margin data, available from October 2019 onwards, corroborated the trends observed in operating income. Early margins were significantly negative, with the lowest around -13.85% in October 2019. Margins steadily improved over subsequent quarters, turning positive by October 2023. The profit margin then continued to increase, reaching approximately 5.88% by July 2025. This progression indicates an improving efficiency in operations relative to revenue, consistent with transitioning from losses to operating profitability.

Overall Trends and Insights

The data reveals a robust revenue growth trajectory combined with a marked improvement in operational profitability. Early periods showed substantial operating losses despite growing revenues, but ongoing improvements in margins and income indicate successful efforts to enhance cost management or increase operational leverage. The transition to sustained positive operating income and profit margins suggests that the company has moved into a more mature phase with improved financial health. The simultaneous increase in revenues and profitability over multiple years reflects positive underlying business dynamics and effective strategic execution.

The data reveals notable fluctuations and trends in net income, revenues, and net profit margin over the analyzed quarterly periods.

Revenues (US$ in millions)

Revenues show a consistent upward trend throughout the periods, rising from 825 million in April 2019 to 2,348 million by July 2025. This steady increase indicates sustained growth in sales or services provided, with no significant declines or plateaus observed.

Net Income (Loss) (US$ in millions)

Net income exhibits considerable volatility. Starting with losses between -116 million and -158 million from April 2019 through April 2020, there is a general trend of reducing losses into positive territory beginning around July 2021. However, this improvement is punctuated by fluctuations between gains and losses up to January 2024. From January 2024 onward, net income increases sharply, peaking at 1,188 million, before stabilizing in the 60 to 230 million range in subsequent quarters. This pattern suggests a period of restructuring or operational challenges initially, followed by significant profitability improvements in the later periods.

Net Profit Margin (%)

The net profit margin follows a trajectory from deep negative margins in early periods, with values as low as -13.68%, moving gradually toward break-even and then positive margins. Minor positive margins appear intermittently from July 2021 onward, culminating in a substantial jump to approximately 19% in early 2024. Post the peak, margins moderate but remain positive, fluctuating between about 5% and 7%. This indicates improved operational efficiency and profitability aligned with the notable rise in net income.

Overall, the company experienced sustained revenue growth accompanied by initial challenges in profitability, reflected in early net losses and negative margins. Over time, profitability significantly improved, suggesting successful cost management, revenue quality enhancement, or other operational improvements. The sharp increase in net income and profit margin around early 2024 signals a pivotal positive shift in financial performance.

Net Income (Loss) Trend

The net income displayed significant volatility over the observed periods. Initially, losses were consistently recorded, reaching a peak negative value of -158 million US dollars in April 2020. A marked improvement began in mid-2021, with occasional positive earnings thereafter. Notably, January 2024 witnessed a dramatic surge to 1188 million US dollars, followed by fluctuating but predominantly positive net income figures through July 2025.

Stockholders’ Equity Trend

Stockholders’ equity demonstrated a steady upward trend across all periods. Beginning at 2045 million US dollars in April 2019, it consistently increased each quarter, reaching 9172 million US dollars by July 2025. This growth indicates ongoing capital accumulation and retained earnings over time.

Return on Equity (ROE) Trend

Return on equity was initially negative, reflecting the period's net losses. Starting around -19.33% in October 2019, ROE gradually improved through 2022. From early 2023 onward, the ratio transitioned into positive territory, with significant improvements peaking at approximately 18.79% in January 2025. This improvement corresponds with the transition from net losses to net profits.

Overall Financial Performance Insights

The financial data reveals a transformative period for the company. The initial years were characterized by consistent net losses and negative returns on equity, despite rising shareholder equity. However, beginning in 2021, there was a clear shift toward profitability, culminating in a substantial net income increase in early 2024. The persistent growth in shareholders' equity alongside improving ROE suggests enhanced operational efficiency and profitability, reflecting stronger financial health moving forward.

The net income (loss) exhibits considerable volatility over the analyzed periods, initially displaying consistent negative values from April 2019 through January 2021, with losses peaking in April 2020 at -158 million US dollars. A notable shift occurs starting July 2021, where net income turns positive and fluctuates thereafter, reaching an unprecedented high of 1188 million US dollars in January 2024. Following this peak, net income decreases but remains positive, indicating improved profitability compared to earlier periods.

Total assets demonstrate a steady upward trajectory throughout the entire timeline. Beginning at 5,824 million US dollars in April 2019, total assets grow consistently, reaching 17,961 million US dollars by July 2025. This continuous increase in asset base suggests ongoing investment or asset acquisition strategies supporting business expansion or operational scaling.

Return on Assets (ROA) data, though partially missing in earlier periods, reveals a downturn initially, with negative returns indicating losses relative to asset size. ROA reaches a low of -7.23% in January 2020, then progressively improves, crossing into positive territory by July 2021. Thereafter, ROA shows a strong upward trend, peaking near 9.87% in January 2025 before declining slightly but remaining positive. This shift reflects enhanced efficiency in generating profits from assets, aligning with the net income improvements observed.

Overall, the data indicates an initial phase characterized by losses and negative returns on assets, followed by a recovery and transition to profitability supported by growing asset investments. The substantial net income spike in early 2024 merits further investigation to determine underlying drivers, such as one-time gains or operational improvements. The consistent asset growth combined with improving ROA suggests strengthening financial health and operational performance over the medium term.