Citizens downgraded Workday from Market Outperform to Market Perform following CEO Aneel Bhusri's return, citing risks to the company's growth outlook. The firm expressed concerns about the time and investment needed to reset Workday's product strategy amid intensifying AI competition. Fourth-quarter results were preannounced in line with guidance, but Citizens warned full results could disappoint investors.

Citizens supports Bhusri's return, noting his experience from PeopleSoft and ability to accelerate product development and AI innovation. However, the brokerage outlined several near-term risks, including the challenge of positioning Workday's product engine for the AI era. The company's failure to reiterate its fiscal 2027 subscription revenue growth target of 13% in its Form 8-K raised concerns about potential guidance shortfalls.

The brokerage highlighted rising competition in agent orchestration, citing offerings from ServiceNow, Microsoft, and OpenAI. Despite the downgrade, Citizens maintained its fourth-quarter non-GAAP EPS estimate of $2.35 on revenue of $2.52B and its fiscal 2027 EPS estimate of $10.70 on revenue of $10.7B, while cutting its fiscal 2028 EPS forecast to $12.72 from $13.13.