WDAY (Workday) Beneish M-Score: -2.88 (As of Jul. 14, 2026)

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WDAY Workday Inc WDAY
70 GF Score
Price $137.73
GF Value $315.07
Valuation Significantly Undervalued
! 3 Warning Signs
View Full Analysis

What is Workday Beneish M-Score?

Workday WDAY -4.93% 70 Beneish M-Score is -2.88 as of Jul. 14, 2026. GuruFocus rates WDAY with a GF Score™ of 70/100 and a GF Value™ of $315.07 (Significantly Undervalued). The stock has 3 warning signs investors should review. Among 2,631 Software companies, Workday ranks better than 71.87% on this metric.

The zones of discrimination for M-Score is as such:

An M-Score of equal or less than -1.78 suggests that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.
An M-Score of greater than -1.78 signals that the company is likely to be a manipulator.

Good Sign:

Beneish M-Score -2.88 no higher than -1.78, which implies that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.

The historical rank and industry rank for Workday's Beneish M-Score or its related term are showing as below:

WDAY' s Beneish M-Score Range Over the Past 10 Years
Min: -3.33   Med: -2.95   Max: -1.48
Current: -2.88

During the past 13 years, the highest Beneish M-Score of Workday was -1.48. The lowest was -3.33. And the median was -2.95.


Workday Beneish M-Score Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for Workday's Beneish M-Score can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

Workday Beneish M-Score Chart

Workday Annual Data
Trend Jan17 Jan18 Jan19 Jan20 Jan21 Jan22 Jan23 Jan24 Jan25 Jan26
Beneish M-Score
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only -2.96 -3.04 -2.57 -2.76 -2.73

Workday Quarterly Data
Jul21 Oct21 Jan22 Apr22 Jul22 Oct22 Jan23 Apr23 Jul23 Oct23 Jan24 Apr24 Jul24 Oct24 Jan25 Apr25 Jul25 Oct25 Jan26 Apr26
Beneish M-Score Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only -2.82 -2.74 -2.74 -2.73 -2.88

WDAY vs MSTR, FICO, ROP: Beneish M-Score Comparison

For the Software - Application subindustry, Workday's Beneish M-Score, along with its competitors' market caps and Beneish M-Score data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.


Workday Beneish M-Score vs Software Industry

For the Software industry and Technology sector, Workday's Beneish M-Score distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Workday's Beneish M-Score falls into.


WDAY
70GF Score
Workday Inc WDAY
Beneish M-Score is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
View Full Analysis

Workday Beneish M-Score Calculation

The M-score was created by Professor Messod Beneish. Instead of measuring the bankruptcy risk (Altman Z-Score) or business trend (Piotroski F-Score), M-score can be used to detect the risk of earnings manipulation. This is the original research paper on M-score.

The M-Score Variables:

The M-score of Workday for today is based on a combination of the following eight different indices:

M=-4.84+0.92 * DSRI+0.528 * GMI+0.404 * AQI+0.892 * SGI+0.115 * DEPI
=-4.84+0.92 * 1.0197+0.528 * 0.9985+0.404 * 1.4262+0.892 * 1.1332+0.115 * 1.1252
-0.172 * SGAI+4.679 * TATA-0.327 * LVGI
-0.172 * 0.9554+4.679 * -0.141011-0.327 * 1.214
=-2.88

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

This Year (Apr26) TTM:Last Year (Apr25) TTM:
Total Receivables was $1,575 Mil.
Revenue was 2542 + 2532 + 2432 + 2348 = $9,854 Mil.
Gross Profit was 1938 + 1921 + 1841 + 1766 = $7,466 Mil.
Total Current Assets was $6,592 Mil.
Total Assets was $16,091 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was $1,827 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was $355 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was $3,588 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was $6,535 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was $2,676 Mil.
Net Income was 222 + 145 + 252 + 228 = $847 Mil.
Non Operating Income was -9 + -68 + 19 + -4 = $-62 Mil.
Cash Flow from Operations was 696 + 1278 + 588 + 616 = $3,178 Mil.
Total Receivables was $1,363 Mil.
Revenue was 2240 + 2211 + 2160 + 2085 = $8,696 Mil.
Gross Profit was 1703 + 1672 + 1630 + 1574 = $6,579 Mil.
Total Current Assets was $9,963 Mil.
Total Assets was $17,212 Mil.
Property, Plant and Equipment(Net PPE) was $1,495 Mil.
Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization(DDA) was $335 Mil.
Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) was $3,314 Mil.
Total Current Liabilities was $4,821 Mil.
Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation was $3,295 Mil.




1. DSRI = Days Sales in Receivables Index

Measured as the ratio of Revenue in Total Receivables in year t to year t-1.

A large increase in DSR could be indicative of revenue inflation.

DSRI=(Receivables_t / Revenue_t) / (Receivables_t-1 / Revenue_t-1)
=(1575 / 9854) / (1363 / 8696)
=0.159834 / 0.156739
=1.0197

2. GMI = Gross Margin Index

Measured as the ratio of gross margin in year t-1 to gross margin in year t.

Gross margin has deteriorated when this index is above 1. A firm with poorer prospects is more likely to manipulate earnings.

GMI=GrossMargin_t-1 / GrossMargin_t
=(GrossProfit_t-1 / Revenue_t-1) / (GrossProfit_t / Revenue_t)
=(6579 / 8696) / (7466 / 9854)
=0.756555 / 0.757662
=0.9985

3. AQI = Asset Quality Index

AQI is the ratio of asset quality in year t to year t-1.

Asset quality is measured as the ratio of non-current assets other than Property, Plant and Equipment to Total Assets.

AQI=(1 - (CurrentAssets_t + PPE_t) / TotalAssets_t) / (1 - (CurrentAssets_t-1 + PPE_t-1) / TotalAssets_t-1)
=(1 - (6592 + 1827) / 16091) / (1 - (9963 + 1495) / 17212)
=0.476788 / 0.334302
=1.4262

4. SGI = Sales Growth Index

Ratio of Revenue in year t to sales in year t-1.

Sales growth is not itself a measure of manipulation. However, growth companies are likely to find themselves under pressure to manipulate in order to keep up appearances.

SGI=Sales_t / Sales_t-1
=Revenue_t / Revenue_t-1
=9854 / 8696
=1.1332

5. DEPI = Depreciation Index

Measured as the ratio of the rate of Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization in year t-1 to the corresponding rate in year t.

DEPI greater than 1 indicates that assets are being depreciated at a slower rate. This suggests that the firm might be revising useful asset life assumptions upwards, or adopting a new method that is income friendly.

DEPI=(Depreciation_t-1 / (Depreciaton_t-1 + PPE_t-1)) / (Depreciation_t / (Depreciaton_t + PPE_t))
=(335 / (335 + 1495)) / (355 / (355 + 1827))
=0.18306 / 0.162695
=1.1252

Note: If the Depreciation, Depletion and Amortization data is not available, we assume that the depreciation rate is constant and set the Depreciation Index to 1.

6. SGAI = Sales, General and Administrative expenses Index

The ratio of Selling, General, & Admin. Expense(SGA) to Sales in year t relative to year t-1.

SGA expenses index > 1 means that the company is becoming less efficient in generate sales.

SGAI=(SGA_t / Sales_t) / (SGA_t-1 /Sales_t-1)
=(3588 / 9854) / (3314 / 8696)
=0.364116 / 0.381095
=0.9554

7. LVGI = Leverage Index

The ratio of total debt to Total Assets in year t relative to yeat t-1.

An LVGI > 1 indicates an increase in leverage

LVGI=((LTD_t + CurrentLiabilities_t) / TotalAssets_t) / ((LTD_t-1 + CurrentLiabilities_t-1) / TotalAssets_t-1)
=((2676 + 6535) / 16091) / ((3295 + 4821) / 17212)
=0.572432 / 0.471531
=1.214

8. TATA = Total Accruals to Total Assets

Total accruals calculated as the change in working capital accounts other than cash less depreciation.

TATA=(IncomefromContinuingOperations_t - CashFlowsfromOperations_t) / TotalAssets_t
=(NetIncome_t - NonOperatingIncome_t - CashFlowsfromOperations_t) / TotalAssets_t
=(847 - -62 - 3178) / 16091
=-0.141011

An M-Score of equal or less than -1.78 suggests that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator. An M-Score of greater than -1.78 signals that the company is likely to be a manipulator.

Workday has a M-score of -2.88 suggests that the company is unlikely to be a manipulator.

Frequently Asked Questions Learn more about Beneish M-Score →
What does a Beneish M-Score of -2.88 mean?
Workday (WDAY) has a Beneish M-Score of -2.88 as of Jul. 14, 2026. The Beneish M-score measures the likelihood of earnings manipulation. View historical data on Workday and its competitors. According to the industry distribution chart, Workday ranks #740 out of 2631 companies in the Software industry, placing it in the top 28.1%.
Is Workday's Beneish M-Score too high?
Workday's current Beneish M-Score is -2.88. Based on the distribution chart, Workday ranks #740 out of 2631 companies in the Software industry, which is above the industry midpoint. Overall, Workday has a GF Score™ of 70/100 and is considered Significantly Undervalued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Workday's Beneish M-Score compare to MSTR and FICO?
According to the Software industry distribution chart, Workday ranks #740 out of 2631 companies for Beneish M-Score. This puts Workday in the upper half of its industry. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Beneish M-Score for a Software company?
A good Beneish M-Score depends on the Software industry context. However, Beneish M-Score should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Beneish M-Score mean?
A high Beneish M-Score can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. The Beneish M-score measures the likelihood of earnings manipulation. View historical data on Workday and its competitors. Workday's current Beneish M-Score is -2.88. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Workday stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Workday (WDAY) is currently considered Significantly Undervalued. The stock's GF Value™ is $315.07, compared to a current price of $137.73 — trading 56.3% below its estimated fair value. The current Beneish M-Score is -2.88. Workday's overall GF Score™ is 70/100 with 3 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Beneish M-Score calculated?
Beneish M-Score is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Workday (WDAY), the current Beneish M-Score is -2.88 as of Jul. 14, 2026. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.

Is Workday (WDAY) Overvalued in 2026?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Workday stock appears to be undervalued. The current stock price of $137.73 is trading 56.3% below its estimated GF Value™ of $315.07. GuruFocus considers Workday to be Significantly Undervalued.

Key valuation signals for WDAY:

  • Beneish M-Score: -2.88
  • GF Value™: $315.07 vs. price of $137.73 (56.3% below fair value)
  • GF Score™: 70/100 with 3 warning signs

No single metric tells the full story. See the WDAY stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.


Workday Business Description

Address 6110 Stoneridge Mall Road, Pleasanton, CA, USA, 94588
Workday is a software company that offers human capital management, financial management, and business planning solutions for enterprises. Known for being a cloud-only software provider, Workday was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.
70GF Score

Get the complete analysis for WDAY

Beneish M-Score is just one metric. See GF Value™, 30-year financials, guru trades, warning signs, and more.

$137.73
Price
$315.07
GF Value