The Earnings Debate

Workday, Inc. (WDAY) Announced Q1 2027 Earnings on May 21, 2026, Reporting "Subscription revenue in Q1 was $2.354 billion, up 14%."

Workday reported its Q1 fiscal 2027 results, highlighting that subscription revenue in Q1 was $2.354 billion, up 14%. Total revenue in Q1 was $2.542 billion, a growth of 13%. The company reported non-GAAP operating income for the first quarter was $809 million, representing a non-GAAP operating margin of 31.8%. Free cash flow for the quarter was $616 million, growth of 46%. The 12-month subscription revenue backlog, or cRPO, was $8.81 billion at the end of Q1, growing 15.5%. Chief Executive Officer Aneel Bhusri highlighted that Q1 was the best first quarter of new ACV growth in 5 years. Management emphasized three simplified priorities to build and deliver the AI future, grow with our customers, and live our values. The company noted new ACV from Agentic AI products grew more than 200% year-over-year in Q1. Workday also highlighted its Flex Credits pricing model, which unifies AI monetization across agents, AI APIs and data cloud. Looking ahead, Workday reiterated its FY 27 subscription revenue outlook of $9.925 billion to $9.950 billion, representing a growth of 12% to 13%. The company increased its FY 27 non-GAAP operating margin guidance to 30.5%. Workday maintained its FY 27 free cash flow outlook of $3.180 billion, growth of 15%. For Q2 FY 27, management expects subscription revenue to be approximately $2.455 billion, a growth of 13%, and a Q2 non-GAAP operating margin of approximately 30%.In product announcements, Workday launched Sana Travel Agent to bring business travel planning, booking and expenses into a single conversational experience. The company also announced Sana for ITSM to automate workflows for employee on and offboarding, access changes and everyday IT requests. Furthermore, management noted that Workday recognition powered by Achievers is live, and the company expanded its Workday Wellness program with Morgan Stanley at Work and PerkSpot.

Zoom Communications, Inc. (ZM) Announced Q1 2027 Earnings on May 21, 2026, Reporting "total revenue grew 5.5% year-over-year to $1.24 billion".

Zoom Communications, Inc. reported its first quarter fiscal year 2027 financial results, noting that in Q1 total revenue grew 5.5% year-over-year to $1.24 billion. The enterprise segment saw revenue growing 7.2% year-over-year, representing 61% of total Q1 revenue. Non-GAAP income from operations grew 9% year-over-year to $509 million, which yielded a non-GAAP operating margin of 41.1% for Q1. Non-GAAP diluted net income per share in Q1 increased to $1.55, and the company generated $500 million in Q1 free cash flow. Additionally, the company announced that its Board authorized an incremental $1 billion share repurchase. Management outlined three primary priorities: elevating workplace with AI, driving growth in new AI revenue streams, and scaling AI-first customer experience. The company highlighted its shift toward becoming a system of action, noting the appointment of Russell Dicker as Chief Product Officer to help drive the AI-first roadmap. In product news, AI Companion usage scaled with paid monthly active users growing 184% year-over-year. The new My Notes product surpassed 1.5 million monthly active users, excluding trial users, just four months after launch. The company also detailed customer wins with organizations like Chelsea FC and Caliber Collision adopting Zoom Phone and Zoom Contact Center solutions. For the second quarter, Zoom expects revenue to be in the range of $1.265 billion to $1.27 billion and non-GAAP operating income to be in the range of $508 million to $513 million. The outlook for Q2 non-GAAP earnings per share is $1.45 to $1.47. For the full fiscal year 2027, the company raised its guidance, expecting revenue in the range of $5.08 billion to $5.09 billion and non-GAAP operating income in the range of $2.065 billion to $2.075 billion. Full year non-GAAP earnings per share guidance was increased to $5.96 to $6, and free cash flows for the full fiscal year 2027 are expected to be in the range of $1.7 billion to $1.74 billion.

Deere & Company (DE) Announced Q2 2026 Earnings on May 21, 2026, Reporting "Net sales and revenues were up 5% to $13.369 billion"

For the second quarter, Deere reported that "Net sales and revenues were up 5% to $13.369 billion, while net sales for the equipment operations were up 5% to $11.778 billion". Management noted an "equipment operations margin of 16.9%". For the quarter, "Net income attributable to Deere & Company was $1.773 billion or $6.55 per diluted share". The company also "recognized a recovery of $272 million related to refund claims associated with IEFA tariffs" which benefited production costs for the quarter. Executives stated that the results reflected a "strong diversified portfolio of businesses" and noted that "we are delivering double-digit margins across all segments". Regarding the agricultural market, management stated their "baseline view remains that 2026 will represent the bottom of the ag cycle". The company also detailed progress on managing equipment levels, noting that new "Inventories for both high horsepower tractors and combines are down more than 50% from their mid-2024 peak". During the quarter, the company "returned $635 million to shareholders through a combination of share repurchases and dividends".For fiscal year 2026, management stated that "our net income forecast remains unchanged between $4.5 billion and $5 billion". The guidance for full year cash flow from the equipment operations "remains projected between $4.5 billion and $5.5 billion". By segment for the full year, net sales for Production and Precision Ag are forecast to be "down between 5% to 10%", Small ag and turf net sales are expected to be "up approximately 15%", and Construction & Forestry net sales are "now forecasted to be up approximately 20%".The company highlighted continued investment in domestic manufacturing, noting they "recently started building Deere-designed excavators in Kernersville, North Carolina following a $70 million expansion investment". In agricultural technology, management discussed progress with their "partnership with Starlink for satellite-based connectivity", noting they have "sold more than 12,500 JDLink Boost kits". The company also highlighted new offerings including "burrow optimization through our exact depth solution" and "FurrowVision technology", as well as advancements in "See & Spray Green on Green" capabilities.

Intuit Inc. (INTU) Announced Q3 2026 Earnings on May 20, 2026, Reporting "revenue of $8.6 billion, up 10%"

Intuit reported third quarter fiscal 2026 financial results with revenue of $8.6 billion, up 10% for the quarter. GAAP operating income for the quarter was $4 billion versus $3.7 billion last year, and non-GAAP operating income was $4.7 billion versus $4.3 billion last year. GAAP diluted earnings per share for the quarter was $11.09 versus $10.02 a year ago, and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share was $12.80 versus $11.65 last year. Management highlighted momentum in its growth engines, noting that assisted tax, its money portfolio, and the mid-market all grew north of 30%. The company faced headwinds with the most price-sensitive segment of DIY tax filers earning less than $50,000 a year, prompting a shift in its business model to better serve simple filers and monetize beyond tax using its broader consumer platform. Intuit also announced a decision to reduce its full-time workforce by 17% to simplify its organizational structure and become a faster, leaner, and more focused company. During the quarter, the company launched QuickBooks Free and QuickBooks Light to provide a low-friction entry point for early-stage businesses. Looking ahead to August, Intuit is launching a sweeping expansion and a new lineup of its AI-driven expert platform, which will introduce a consumption-based pricing model for its AI and human intelligence services. Intuit raised its total company guidance for revenue and all non-GAAP metrics for the full fiscal year. Full-year fiscal 2026 guidance includes total company revenue of $21.341 billion to $21.374 billion, representing growth of 13% to 14%. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, guidance includes total company revenue growth of 11% to 12%, GAAP earnings per share for the quarter of $0.73 to $0.79, and non-GAAP earnings per share of $3.56 to $3.62.

NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) Announced Q1 2027 Earnings on May 20, 2026, Reporting "Total revenue of $82 billion was up 85% year-over-year and 20% sequentially".

NVIDIA Corporation reported its first quarter fiscal 2027 financial results, delivering total revenue of $82 billion, which was up 85% year-over-year and 20% sequentially. Data center revenue of $75 billion was up 92% year-over-year and 21% sequentially. The company generated record free cash flow of $49 billion for the first quarter, up from $35 billion in Q4. GAAP gross margin was 74.9% and non-GAAP gross margin was 75%. The company also returned a record $20 billion to shareholders and announced an $80 billion share repurchase authorization. Management introduced a new reporting framework comprising data center and edge computing market platforms to better reflect growth drivers. The data center segment now reports hyperscale and ACIE, which stands for AI clouds, industrial, and enterprise. Executive leadership emphasized that the build-out of AI factories is accelerating, driven by the transition to GPU-based computing and the rising adoption of agentic AI. The company highlighted that its Vera CPU opens a brand-new 200 billion TAM for NVIDIA, representing a market they have never addressed before. The company announced several deepening partnerships and product deployments, including expanding Anthropic's compute capacity. AWS will add more than 1 million Blackwell and Rubin GPUs starting this year. In edge computing, a partnership with Uber will power a Robotaxi fleet across nearly 30 cities and 4 continents by 2028. Management confirmed they are on track to commence production shipments of Vera Rubin in the second half of the year, starting in Q3.For the second quarter, NVIDIA expects total revenue to be $91 billion, plus or minus 2%, driven primarily by the data center segment. GAAP and non-GAAP gross margins for the second quarter are expected to be 74.9% and 75%, respectively, plus or minus 50 basis points. For the full year 2027, the company expects GAAP and non-GAAP tax rates to be between 16% and 18%. Management also stated they have full confidence in the $1 trillion in Blackwell and Rubin revenue they foresee from 2025 through calendar 2027.