Workday, Inc. quarterly report, Q1 FY2015

Workday, Inc. — Form 10-Q Summary

Reporting period: Three months ended April 30, 2014 (Q1 fiscal 2015); unaudited. Workday provides cloud-based HCM, payroll, financial management and analytics applications. Comparisons below are with the three months ended April 30, 2013 unless stated otherwise. Dollar amounts are in millions except per-share data.

Financial performance

MetricQ1 2015Prior periodChange / context
Subscription revenue$123.4$68.4Up 80%
Professional services revenue$36.3$23.2Up 56%
Total revenue$159.7$91.6Up 74%
Operating loss$(52.1)$(32.6)GAAP operating margin was (33%), versus (36%)
Net loss / diluted loss per share$(59.4) / $(0.32)$(33.0) / $(0.20)Loss increased
Operating cash flow$21.7$17.3Positive in both periods
Free cash flow (non-GAAP)$11.8$15.3Down $3.5; higher capital spending was the main driver
  • Subscription revenue exceeded 77% of quarterly revenue; management attributed its growth primarily to revenue recognized from a larger number of customer contracts. Workday reported more than 650 customers at quarter-end.
  • Costs and expenses totaled $211.8 million, up from $124.3 million. Share-based compensation rose to $28.9 million from $7.4 million. Management’s non-GAAP core operating margin improved to (14%) from (27%); this measure excludes share-based compensation and specified other expenses.
  • Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaled approximately $1.866 billion at April 30, 2014. Current assets were $2.014 billion and current liabilities $487.3 million. Cash and equivalents alone declined to $246.0 million from $581.3 million at January 31, while marketable securities increased to $1.620 billion from $1.305 billion.
  • Convertible notes had $600 million aggregate principal: $350 million due in 2018 and $250 million due in 2020. Their combined net carrying amount was $473.8 million. Capital leases were $10.2 million current and noncurrent.
  • Unearned revenue was $461.9 million ($388.1 million current and $73.9 million noncurrent), up from $413.6 million at January 31.

Changes, outlook and notable items

  • Workday acquired Identified, Inc. in February for approximately $26.4 million, to enhance search, predictive analytics and machine learning. The preliminary allocation included $23.8 million of goodwill and $3.6 million of developed technology.
  • Investing cash outflow was $352.4 million, largely reflecting marketable-security purchases net of maturities, capital expenditures and the Identified acquisition. Capital expenditures were expected to be approximately $100 million for fiscal 2015, mainly for data centers and office space; potential construction on recently acquired adjacent land was not included.
  • Management expects continued investment in product development, sales and marketing, staffing and data-center capacity, with near-term costs rising and no profitability expected in the near future. It expects professional-services margins in the current fiscal year to be lower than fiscal 2014, partly due to deployment investments in newer markets.
  • A change to the U.S. exempt-employee paid-time-off policy was expected to use approximately $18 million of operating cash in the quarter ending July 31, 2014. This is a disclosed one-time cash-flow item, not an expense forecast.
  • Interest expense was $7.7 million, including $5.9 million of noncash debt-discount and issuance-cost amortization. The notes’ contractual cash interest was approximately $1.6 million for the quarter.
  • Management reported disclosure controls and procedures were effective at a reasonable-assurance level and no material change in internal control over financial reporting during the quarter.
  • The filing identifies risks including rapid growth and execution, competition, reliance on third-party data centers and AWS, security and privacy, customer adoption and renewals, international expansion and foreign-exchange exposure. Workday said it expected to begin a foreign-currency hedging program in fiscal 2015.
  • Workday reported ordinary-course legal proceedings and claims; management did not expect their resolution to have a material adverse effect, while noting an unfavorable outcome could affect a particular quarter. The IRS was examining the 2011 tax year.

Important facts for investors to verify

  • Whether subscription growth, customer additions and unearned-revenue trends continue, and how much growth remains concentrated in HCM.
  • Whether operating losses and share-based compensation continue to grow alongside revenue, and how GAAP results compare with the company’s non-GAAP measures.
  • Actual fiscal 2015 capital expenditures, the expected $18 million PTO-related cash outflow, and the effect of infrastructure investment on free cash flow.
  • Convertible-note repayment, conversion and potential dilution terms, as well as the company’s ability to manage its debt obligations.
  • Developments in the Identified acquisition’s preliminary purchase-price allocation, integration and expected benefits; material changes in legal matters or the IRS examination.