Workday beats Q1 revenue estimates, losses not as bad as expected

Picking up quickly after the holiday weekend, Workday published first quarter financial results after the bell on Tuesday.

The HCM software vendor reported a net loss of $61.6 million, or 33 cents per share (statement).

On a non-GAAP basis, the loss was just two cents per share on a revenue of $251 million, up 57 percent year-over-year.

Wall Street was bracing for a loss at eight cents per share with $245 million in revenue.

Workday CEO and co-founder Aneel Bhusri attributed the better-than-expected results to "a record number of new customers."

Subscription revenues totaled $201 million during the quarter, up 63 percent from same time frame last year.

For the current quarter, Wall Street is hoping for a slightly smaller loss at seven cents per share with $272.39 million in revenue.

Workday CFO Mark Peek followed up with a revenue guidance range of $270 million to $274 million, translating to growth between 45 and 47 percent year-over-year.