WDAY Workday, Inc.

Risks

• If our security measures are breached or unauthorized access to customer data is otherwise obtained, our applications may be perceived as not being secure, customers may reduce the use of or stop using our applications, and we may incur significant liabilities.
• We depend on data centers and computing infrastructure operated by third parties, and any disruption in these operations could adversely affect our business.
• If we fail to manage our technical operations infrastructure or experience service outages or delays in the deployment of our applications, we may be subject to liabilities and our reputation and operating results may be adversely affected.
• Privacy concerns and domestic or foreign laws and regulations may reduce the effectiveness of our applications, result in significant costs and compliance challenges, and adversely affect our business.
• We have experienced rapid growth. If we fail to manage our growth effectively, we may be unable to execute our business plan, maintain high levels of service and operational controls, or adequately address competitive challenges.
• We depend on our senior management team and the loss of one or more key employees could adversely affect our business.
• The failure to attract and retain highly skilled employees could adversely affect our business and our future growth prospects.
• If we cannot maintain our corporate culture, we could lose the innovation, teamwork, and passion that we believe contribute to our success, and our business may be harmed.
• The markets in which we participate are intensely competitive, and if we do not compete effectively, our operating results could be adversely affected.
• If the market for enterprise cloud computing grows more slowly than in recent years, our business could be adversely affected.
• If we are not able to provide successful enhancements, new features, and modifications, or realize a return on the investments we have made toward innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and blockchain, our business and results of operations could be adversely affected.
• Our applications must integrate with or incorporate a variety of third-party technologies, and if we are unable to ensure that our solutions integrate with or incorporate such technologies, demand for our applications and our operating results could be adversely affected.
• If our applications fail to perform properly, our reputation could be adversely affected, our market share could decline, and we could be subject to warranty and other claims.
• Catastrophic events may disrupt our business.
• Because we sell applications to manage complex operating environments of large customers, we encounter long sales cycles, which could adversely affect our operating results in a given period.
• The loss of one or more of our key customers, or a failure to renew our subscription agreements with one or more of our key customers, could negatively affect our ability to market our applications.
• Our business could be adversely affected if our customers are not satisfied with the deployment services provided by us or our partners.
• Any failure to offer high-quality technical support services may adversely affect our relationships with our customers and our financial results.
• Sales to customers outside the United States or with international operations expose us to risks inherent in global operations.
• We have acquired, and may in the future acquire, other companies, employee teams, or technologies, which could divert our management’s attention, result in additional dilution to our stockholders, and otherwise disrupt our operations and adversely affect our operating results.
• We are subject to risks associated with our equity investments including partial or complete loss of invested capital, and significant changes in the fair value of this portfolio could negatively impact our financial results.
• We have a history of cumulative losses, and we do not expect to be profitable on a GAAP basis for the foreseeable future.
• We may not receive significant revenues from our current development efforts for several years, if at all.
• If we experience significant fluctuations in our rate of anticipated growth and fail to balance our expenses with our revenue forecasts, our results could be adversely affected.
• We may not be able to sustain our revenue growth rates in the future.
• Our quarterly results may fluctuate significantly and may not fully reflect the underlying performance of our business.
• Because we recognize subscription services revenues over the term of the contract, downturns or upturns in new sales will not be immediately reflected in our operating results and may be difficult to discern.
• Our ability to predict the rate of customer subscription renewals or adoptions, and the impact these renewals and adoptions will have on our revenues or operating results, is limited.
• Failure to adequately expand and optimize our direct sales force will impede our growth.
• If we fail to develop widespread brand awareness cost-effectively, our business may suffer.
• Our growth depends in part on the success of our strategic relationships with third parties.
• Adverse economic conditions may negatively impact our business.
• Any failure to protect our intellectual property rights could impair our ability to protect our proprietary technology and our brand.
• We may be sued by third parties for alleged infringement of their proprietary rights.
• Some of our applications utilize open source software, and any failure to comply with the terms of one or more of these open source licenses could negatively affect our business.
• We employ third-party licensed software for use in or with our applications and for improving our internal systems, processes, and controls, and the inability to maintain these licenses or errors in the software we license could result in increased costs, or reduced service levels, which would adversely affect our business.
• Changes in laws and regulations related to the internet or changes in the internet infrastructure itself may diminish the demand for our applications and could have a negative impact on our business.
• We may discover weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting, which may adversely affect investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports and consequently the market price of our securities.
• We may not be able to utilize a portion of our net operating loss or research tax credit carryforwards, which could adversely affect our profitability.
• Adverse tax laws or regulations could be enacted or existing laws could be applied to us or our customers, which could increase the costs of our services and adversely impact our business.
• Our reported financial results may be adversely affected by changes in accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.
• We have broad discretion in the use of our cash balances and may not use them effectively.
• Our Chairman and CEO have control over key decision making as a result of their control of a majority of our voting stock.
• The dual class structure of our common stock has the effect of concentrating voting control with our Chairman and CEO, and also with other executive officers, directors, and affiliates; this will limit or preclude the ability of non-affiliates to influence corporate matters.
• Our stock price has been volatile in the past and may be subject to volatility in the future.
• We have substantial indebtedness in the form of convertible senior notes, which may adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.
• The convertible note hedge and warrant transactions may affect the value of our Class A common stock.
• Delaware law and provisions in our restated certificate of incorporation and restated bylaws could make a merger, tender offer, or proxy contest difficult, thereby depressing the market price of our Class A common stock.
• If securities or industry analysts publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, or discontinue publishing research about our business, the price and trading volume of our securities could decline.
• We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future.