Workday, Inc. management check
WDAY · Information Technology · Application Software · CEO Aneel Bhusri (since the last proxy; previously Carl Eschenbach)
Filings as of
1 good · 3 to watch · 3 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Flag
Have owners done well?
Trailed its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2022 grew to $77, against $125 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Watch
Does pay follow performance?
Pay only loosely tracked returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.24 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Flag
What does the CEO cost owners?
3.8% of net income$26.0m of reported pay in fiscal 2026, against $693.0m of net income.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
New CEO since the proxyAneel Bhusri filed as CEO after the last proxy (which named Carl Eschenbach) and holds 992,050 shares, about $184.7m. Their pay will be in the next proxy. Light activity: no buys, $4.9m sold in six months. 31 of 31 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Flag
Are owners being diluted?
Share count growingDiluted shares changed +0.5% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 17.0% of revenue in the latest year.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
New CEO: Aneel BhusriAneel Bhusri has filed as CEO since the last proxy. CEO in the pay table: Carl Eschenbach. 13 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Information Technology.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 2 | 33 | |
| Pay for performance | 62 | 87 | |
| CEO cost | 2 | 35 | |
| Skin in the game | — | — | 47 |
| Dilution | 20 | 56 | |
| Stable leadership | 60 | 85 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Application Software, by management score. Workday, Inc. is 68th of 73 in its sector.
- 72PLTRPalantir Technologies78
- 186FICOFair Isaac70
- 202CRMSalesforce68
- 264ADBEAdobe Inc.64
- 343DDOGDatadog59
- 350INTUIntuit58
- 405TYLTyler Technologies52
- 430ORCLOracle Corporation49
- 445CDNSCadence Design Systems47
- 456ADSKAutodesk44
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed May 5, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Carl Eschenbach | $26.0m | −$17.7m | $16.6m | $77 | $125 | $693.0m |
| 2025 | — | $26.2m | $11.4m | $22.4m | $142 | $194 | $526.0m |
| 2024 | — | $47.3m | $83.5m | $17.6m | $158 | $179 | $1.4bn |
| 2023 | — | $102.7m | $109.9m | $10.4m | $98 | $119 | −$367.0m |
| 2022 | — | $22.0m | $27.4m | $9.8m | $137 | $146 | $29.0m |
The board says pay is tied most to Adjusted Subscription Revenues. Its other key measures: Annual Customer Satisfaction Score, Workday Class A Common Stock Price.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Aneel Bhusri (CEO) held 992,050 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Oct 5, 2026, roughly $184.7m at that filing's price.
Light activity: no buys, $4.9m sold in six months. 31 of 31 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- SoldZane RoweChief Financial Officer · 10b5-1 plan$2.0mOct 6, 2026
- SoldRobert EnslinPresident, CCO · 10b5-1 plan$1.7mOct 5, 2026
- SoldGerrit S KazmaierPresident, Prod. and Tech. · 10b5-1 plan$903kOct 6, 2026
- SoldMark S. GarfieldChief Accounting Officer · 10b5-1 plan$304kOct 12, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Mar 6, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 9, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 25, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 3, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Nov 26, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 1, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Sep 10, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 1, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 5, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 20, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 25, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 31, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: Jun 22, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $4.1bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 181% of net income, and $7.0bn of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $5.1bn | $6.2bn | $7.3bn | $8.4bn | $9.6bn |
| Net income | $29.0m | −$367.0m | $1.4bn | $526.0m | $693.0m |
| Stock-based pay | $1.1bn | $1.3bn | $1.4bn | $1.5bn | $1.6bn |
| Buybacks | $0 | $75.0m | $423.0m | $700.0m | $2.9bn |
| Dividends | — | — | — | — | — |
| Diluted shares | 254m | 255m | 265m | 269m | 268m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.