<span>STORY: Shares of Workday spiraled to a more than five-year low on Wednesday…</span><span>after a weaker-than-expected sales forecast fanned investor worries about whether the HR software company could stay competitive in the era of <a href="https://beyondlink.live/can-caterpillars-momentum-continue-in-2026-and-beyond/">AI</a>.</span><span>Workday’s recent rout has made it one of the worst-performing U.S. software stocks this year.</span><span>The drop in shares – down nearly 40% this year – has been fueled by concerns that <a href="https://beyondlink.live/can-caterpillars-momentum-continue-in-2026-and-beyond/">AI</a> tools launched by companies such as Anthropic would erode demand for traditional software.</span><span>Workday CEO and co-founder Aneel Bhusri spent a large chunk of the post-earnings call on Tuesday trying to dispel those worries…</span><span>saying, quote, “Just for what it is worth, Anthropic, Google and OpenAI all run Workday”‘s platform.</span><span>He added that, quote, “no amount” of AI-driven coding could replicate complex HR and payroll software.</span><span>Still, about 26 analysts, more than half those covering the stock, lowered their price targets on the stock after Workday issued a softer-than-expected annual subscription revenue forecast.</span><span>The company also said some large deals were taking longer to close, particularly in the government and healthcare sectors.</span>
