Workiva Revenue Growth Cools to 17% as Margins Widen

The Tip Desk · November 7, 2026 · 3 min read

Third-quarter revenue was $263 million, up 17% from a year earlier, after 19% growth in the second quarter.

Workiva Inc. (WK), an audit-ready platform for trust, transparency, and accountability, reported third-quarter revenue of $263 million, up 17% from $224 million a year earlier, a slower pace than the 19% year-over-year increase in the second quarter.

Subscription and support revenue, the bulk of the mix, was $246 million, also up 17% from a year earlier. Professional services revenue was $17 million, up 15% from the year-ago quarter.

GAAP operating margin expanded to 6.8% from a 1.5% loss a year earlier. Non-GAAP operating margin was 18.3%, compared with 12.7% a year earlier. GAAP net income was $19 million, or $0.35 a share, versus $3 million, or $0.05 a share, a year earlier.

Chief Financial Officer Barbara Larson said the company beat the high end of its revenue guidance with 17% growth in both subscription and total revenue and expanded non-GAAP operating margin by 560 basis points year-over-year. She said the expanding operating leverage generated healthy free cash flow.

Non-GAAP net income was $41 million, or $0.75 a share on a basic basis and $0.72 a share on a diluted basis, compared with $27 million, or $0.47 and $0.46 a share, a year earlier. Beginning with the third quarter of 2026, the company said non-GAAP net income includes a non-GAAP provision for income taxes using a fixed long-term projected rate of 22%, a change it also applied retrospectively to comparable prior periods. Guidance issued before the quarter used the prior methodology.

Operating cash flow was $70 million, compared with $46 million a year earlier. Free cash flow was $69 million, versus $46 million a year earlier, and free cash flow margin was 26.1%, compared with 20.5% a year earlier.

As of September 30, 2026, Workiva had 6,840 customers, a net increase of 299 from a year earlier. Gross retention was 97% and net retention was 110%. Customers with annual contract value above $100,000 numbered 2,853, up 20% from a year earlier; those above $300,000 numbered 708, up 31%; those above $500,000 numbered 283, up 20%.

Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities totaled $817 million as of September 30, 2026. The remaining obligation on 1.125% convertible senior notes due in 2026 was settled at maturity on August 15, 2026, a $71 million cash outflow from financing activities. Workiva had $702 million aggregate principal of 1.250% convertible senior notes due in 2028 and $13 million of finance lease obligations.

During the quarter the company purchased about 32.6 thousand shares for about $2 million under a $350 million repurchase plan, leaving about $104 million available.

For the fourth quarter of 2026, Workiva expects total revenue of $275 million to $278 million, GAAP operating margin of 7.1% to 7.7%, and non-GAAP operating margin of 19.0% to 19.5%. GAAP net income is expected at $0.40 to $0.42 a share using 60.3 million shares; non-GAAP net income is expected at $0.78 to $0.80 a share using 60.3 million shares.

For the full year 2026, the company expects total revenue of $1.041 billion to $1.044 billion, GAAP operating margin of 6.2% to 6.3%, and non-GAAP operating margin of 18.2% to 18.3%. GAAP net income is expected at $1.31 to $1.34 a share using 56.0 million shares; non-GAAP net income is expected at $2.80 to $2.83 a share using 61.2 million shares. Free cash flow margin is expected to be approximately 21%. The non-GAAP diluted earnings outlook includes the 22% non-GAAP tax provision.