Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ:WDAY) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Barbara Larson: All right. Thank you.

Operator: And our last question comes from Alex Zukin with Wolfe Research. Please proceed with your question.

Alex Zukin: Hey, thanks for squeezing me in. I guess maybe one for Carl and Aneel, and then just a follow-up on the cash flow question. If you kind of stand back and you think about where we are right now from the macro environment, the demand environment, it does seem like things aren’t getting progressively worse. They seem to have stabilized, at least based on commentary from some other companies. As you look at the current configuration, do you feel like we’ve rebased in terms of a net new sales cycle, a net new digestion phase or period? And what — is this the trough basically is a question we get a lot. Do you have any signals or data points that give you a view one way or the other on that?

Doug Robinson: I personally still think it’s a very uncertain environment. It doesn’t feel like the economy is falling off a cliff anymore. I don’t think it ever really did feel like it was falling off a cliff. But there’s conflicting signs as to whether the Fed is going to continue to slow down the economy and get inflation under control, and that continues to be a challenge. So I think it’s still pretty much the same it’s been for the last couple of quarters. I don’t see it — I definitely don’t see it getting better anytime soon, but maybe not getting worse. So yeah, maybe we’re in a stable. I don’t know, what you think, Carl?

Carl Eschenbach: Yeah, I agree with you. Actually, the commentary I always respond with people ask this question, I say there’s — it’s consistently inconsistent depending on who you talk to out there. But what we do know is companies are continuing to invest in technology. And if you have a strong value proposition like we have around HCM and FINS, we should be able to navigate the choppy waters that we’re faced with going forward. And I think that was reflected in both Q4 and our FY 2024 guide. So we’re staying the course. We’re prudent in our guidance. And we have a lot of confidence that our team will execute regardless of what we face in the future. So it’s uncertain, but we’re prepared for it as well.

Alex Zukin: And then maybe just one on the ecosystem, specifically the GSI community. It does feel like they’re getting a little bit even reinvigorated to some extent from some of the moves and changes that you’re making around driving — helping them continue to be also a driver of growth or enabling them to be a driver of growth for your business. What are the key dynamics we should be tuning to that could make that really a bit of a different growth driver this year or in the coming years than it’s been in the past?

Carl Eschenbach: Yeah, Doug, why don’t you take that, and then I’ll add any color.

Doug Robinson: Yeah, it’s a great question. A couple of things to think about or that you should be looking for. Where it really comes to life is when we can take — I mentioned this before in another question, the IP from our partners and couple it with what we deliver and then give something more profound to our mutual customer, and so we loosely put that under umbrella called Industry Accelerators. And I think that’s where you’re going to see it show up with our partners, much more openness to drive industry specific solutions with their expertise partnered with our technology. And so that drives things like Prism and Extend, which we haven’t talked about much on this earnings call, but really taking Workday and extending it beyond core capabilities.