Workiva (NYSE:WK) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results that management said capped a year of “strong momentum,” with growth and profitability coming in ahead of the company’s expectations.
Q4 and full-year results came in ahead of guidance
Chief Executive Officer Julie Iskow said Workiva delivered “another guidance beat” and closed 2025 with broad-based demand across its AI-powered platform. In the fourth quarter, subscription revenue grew 21% year over year and total revenue grew 20% compared with Q4 2024, she said.
Subscription revenue in Q4 was $219 million, up 21% year over year, while professional services revenue was $20 million, “up slightly versus the prior year,” Larson said. She noted the company continued to grow higher-margin XBRL services while shifting lower-margin setup and consulting services to partners.
Profitability improved sharply. Iskow highlighted a Q4 non-GAAP operating margin of 19%, calling it a 160-basis-point beat on the high end of guidance and a 1,170-basis-point improvement versus Q4 2024. Larson reported Q4 non-GAAP operating margin of 19.1%, attributing the outperformance to operating leverage from top-line results and “continued focus on operational efficiency and productivity.”
For the full year, Larson said total revenue was $885 million, up 20% year over year, with subscription revenue of $813 million, up 22%. Full-year non-GAAP operating margin was 9.9%, beating the high end of guidance, and free cash flow margin was 15.6%, which she said beat the company’s guide and improved year over year due to working capital timing, tax impacts, and operational efficiencies.
Customer metrics: retention and larger contracts increased
Larson said Workiva ended Q4 with 6,624 customers, up 319 year over year. Gross retention rate was 97%, exceeding the company’s 96% target, and net retention rate (NRR) was 113%, up from 112% in Q4 2024, with about a one-percentage-point foreign exchange benefit to NRR.
Workiva also reported increased multi-solution adoption. Larson said 74% of Q4 subscription revenue came from customers using multiple solutions, up from 70% a year earlier. She also pointed to growth in larger contract cohorts:
- 2,507 contracts over $100,000 annually (up 22% year over year)
- 592 contracts over $300,000 annually (up 42%)
- 248 contracts over $500,000 annually (up 37%)
On revenue drivers, Larson said new customers added in the last 12 months accounted for about 40% of the increase in Q4 subscription revenue, consistent with expectations.
AI positioning, adoption, and packaging were key themes
Iskow used part of her prepared remarks to push back on a broader SaaS narrative that AI could make traditional platforms “less valuable” or “obsolete.” She argued Workiva operates in a category where data must be “trusted, traceable, defensible, and audit-ready,” and said increased AI reliance makes “trust in that data” more critical. She described Workiva as a “platform of trust” where “every number, every narrative, and every change is traceable.”
In the Q&A, Iskow said AI is “a strong topic of conversation” with customers and is “absolutely playing a role in the buying decisions,” even if customers are not always ready to move immediately. She said adoption is increasing as customers recognize they can use AI “in an environment that is safe and secure,” across the portfolio.
Iskow also said nearly 30% of customers have enabled AI on the platform to date, and that usage increases after enablement. She added that Workiva is using customer feedback to focus on AI capabilities that deliver the highest value and can be monetized, including through premium tiers.
On pricing, Iskow emphasized Workiva does not use seat-based licensing, saying the company prices on value, metrics, and consumption—whether the user is “a customer’s AI agent or a human.” She said AI capabilities are included in the company’s “good, better, best” packaging model, with AI in the premium tier across financial reporting, GRC, and sustainability, and noted “strong traction” in premium tiers.
Deal activity: platform, financial reporting, GRC, and sustainability
Management highlighted multiple mid-six-figure, multi-six-figure, and seven-figure deals in Q4 across solutions, often sourced or implemented with partners including Big Four firms. Examples included new platform customers buying multiple solutions and long-time customers expanding into additional modules such as controls management, management reporting, SEC reporting, and carbon and sustainability reporting.
Iskow said sustainability demand moderated in 2025 compared with “2024 highs” amid changing political and regulatory conditions, but she said the company remains optimistic as companies gain clarity on regulatory scope and timelines. She cited Q4 sustainability deals tied to frameworks and requirements including CSRD, Australian mandatory disclosures, and upcoming California climate disclosure rules.
In financial services, Iskow said Workiva continued to land large new logos and expansions, including mid-six-figure and seven-figure deals for fund reporting, and called financial services the company’s “strongest vertical to date.”
Capital return, leadership changes, and 2026 outlook
Larson said Workiva ended 2025 with $892 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities. During Q4, the company repurchased 131,000 shares for $12 million, bringing 2025 repurchases to $72 million under a $100 million authorization. She added that in February the board approved a $250 million increase to the program.
Workiva also discussed leadership additions, including Michael Pinto as chief revenue officer, Deepak Bharadwaj as chief product officer, and Larson as CFO. Iskow said Pinto’s mandate includes building a scalable global sales team, strengthening the partner ecosystem, refining regional sales plays, and sharpening Workiva’s role in the data ecosystem.
Looking ahead, Larson guided Q1 2026 total revenue of $244 million to $246 million and non-GAAP operating margin of 15.5% to 16%. For full-year 2026, Workiva expects total revenue of $1.036 billion to $1.04 billion, with subscription revenue growth of approximately 19% and non-GAAP operating margin of 15% to 15.5%. She guided to 2026 free cash flow margin of approximately 19% and said the company’s 2027 and 2030 targets remain unchanged.
On retention assumptions for 2026, Larson said Workiva is modeling 96% gross retention and 110% net retention. She also said 2026 guidance assumes foreign exchange rates consistent with January 2026 levels.
About Workiva (NYSE:WK)
Workiva, originally founded as WebFilings in 2008, delivers a cloud-native platform designed to streamline and connect data, documents and teams for reporting and compliance. Its flagship Workiva platform supports a range of applications including financial reporting, regulatory filings, internal controls documentation, risk management and environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosures. By centralizing data and automating workflows, the company helps organizations improve accuracy, transparency and auditability across critical reporting processes.
The Workiva platform offers modular solutions that integrate with existing enterprise systems and data sources.
