Workday downgraded at KeyBanc over AI spending, HR budgets
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KeyBanc downgraded Workday (WDAY) to Sector Weight from Overweight rating, saying companies may prioritize broader AI spending over human resources technology budgets, limiting near-term growth for the software maker's AI products.WDAY stock was down ~1% in Friday premarket trading.
"We believe the timeline for more meaningful contribution remains very early and hypothesize that HR IT budgets may continue to take a back seat to more immediate AI initiatives at the Enterprise IT level," analyst Jason Celino said.
The brokerage said conversations with customers and partners suggested companies were taking a measured approach to AI adoption, potentially delaying revenue contributions from Workday's newer products.
Workday has been investing heavily in AI and agent-based tools. KeyBanc said the technology could support the company's longer-term growth targets, but meaningful revenue contributions are likely to take time.
The brokerage also noted that companies considering how to fund rising AI spending across their IT budgets had identified HR technology as a potential source of savings or an area where spending could grow more slowly.
KeyBanc expects Workday's shares to remain range-bound until there are signs of stronger contributions from AI products or a pickup in subscription revenue growth.
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