Revenue growth has decelerated to 9.5% as of 2025Q3, while operating margins remain compressed at 6.3% due to the ongoing costs of migrating legacy clients.
| Sales/Revenue | 1.89B | 1.76B | 1.51B | 1.25B | 1.02B | 842.5M | 824.1M | 740.7M | 750.7M | 623.4M | 693.9M |
| Revenue Growth % | 11.73% | 16.27% | 21.47% | 21.68% | 21.57% | 2.23% | 11.26% | -1.33% | 20.42% | -10.16% | - |
| Cost of Goods Sold | 891.7M | 947.9M | 867.2M | 773M | 641.9M | 501.2M | 455.9M | 425.8M | 406.7M | 396.4M | 413.1M |
| COGS % of Revenue | - | 53.86% | 57.29% | 62.03% | 62.67% | 59.49% | 55.32% | 57.49% | 54.18% | 63.59% | 59.53% |
| Gross Profit | 1B | 812.1M | 646.5M | 473.2M | 382.3M | 341.3M | 368.2M | 314.9M | 269.5M | 227M | 280.8M |
| Gross Margin % | 52.9% | 46.14% | 42.71% | 37.97% | 37.33% | 40.51% | 44.68% | 42.51% | 35.9% | 36.41% | 40.47% |
| Gross Profit Growth % | - | 25.61% | 36.62% | 23.78% | 12.01% | -7.31% | 16.93% | 16.85% | 18.72% | -19.16% | - |
| Operating Expenses | 869.3M | 708M | 513.4M | 499M | 417.8M | 333.5M | 295.9M | 258.8M | 214.1M | 238.2M | 245.5M |
| OpEx % of Revenue | - | 40.23% | 33.92% | 40.04% | 40.79% | 39.58% | 35.91% | 34.94% | 28.52% | 38.21% | 35.38% |
| Selling, General & Admin | 658.6M | 708M | 513.4M | 499M | 417.8M | 333.5M | 295.9M | 258.8M | 214.1M | 225.3M | 245.5M |
| SG&A % of Revenue | - | 40.23% | 33.92% | 40.04% | 40.79% | 39.58% | 35.91% | 34.94% | 28.52% | 36.14% | 35.38% |
| Research & Development | 116.6M | 193.7M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R&D % of Revenue | - | 11.01% | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other Operating Expenses | 1000K | -193.7M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12.9M | 0 |
| Operating Income | 132.3M | 104.1M | 133.1M | -25.8M | -35.5M | 7.8M | 72.3M | 56.1M | 55.4M | -11.2M | 35.3M |
| Operating Margin % | 6.99% | 5.91% | 8.79% | -2.07% | -3.47% | 0.93% | 8.77% | 7.57% | 7.38% | -1.8% | 5.09% |
| Operating Income Growth % | - | -21.79% | 615.89% | 27.32% | -555.13% | -89.21% | 28.88% | 1.26% | 594.64% | -131.73% | - |
| EBITDA | 342M | 313.9M | 265.6M | 63.2M | 42M | 59.6M | 129.4M | 112.7M | 109.2M | 46.1M | 91.3M |
| EBITDA Margin % | 18.06% | 17.84% | 17.55% | 5.07% | 4.1% | 7.07% | 15.7% | 15.22% | 14.55% | 7.39% | 13.16% |
| EBITDA Growth % | 8.81% | 18.19% | 320.25% | 50.48% | -29.53% | -53.94% | 14.82% | 3.21% | 136.88% | -49.51% | - |
| D&A (Non-Cash Add-back) | 209.7M | 209.8M | 132.5M | 89M | 77.5M | 51.8M | 57.1M | 56.6M | 53.8M | 57.3M | 56M |
| EBIT | -65.5M | 78.2M | 132.1M | -34.3M | -54.4M | 5.1M | 66.7M | 56.3M | 46.6M | -11.2M | 7.5M |
| Net Interest Income | -29.1M | -40.6M | -36.1M | -28.6M | -35.9M | -25.1M | -32.4M | -83.2M | -87.1M | -87.4M | -87.8M |
| Interest Income | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Interest Expense | 29.1M | 40.6M | 36.1M | 28.6M | 35.9M | 25.1M | 32.4M | 83.2M | 87.1M | 87.4M | 87.8M |
| Other Income/Expense | -226.9M | -66.5M | -37.1M | -37.1M | -54.8M | -27.8M | -38M | -83M | -95.9M | -87.4M | -115.6M |
| Pretax Income | -94.6M | 37.6M | 96M | -62.9M | -90.3M | -20M | 34.3M | -26.9M | -40.5M | -98.6M | -80.3M |
| Pretax Margin % | -5% | 2.14% | 6.34% | -5.05% | -8.82% | -2.37% | 4.16% | -3.63% | -5.39% | -15.82% | -11.57% |
| Income Tax | 55.2M | 19.5M | 41.2M | 10.5M | -14.9M | -16M | -44.4M | 8.4M | -44.7M | 6.7M | 8.6M |
| Effective Tax Rate % | -58.35% | 51.86% | 42.92% | -16.69% | 16.5% | 80% | -129.45% | -31.23% | 110.37% | -6.8% | -10.71% |
| Net Income | -149.8M | 18.1M | 54.8M | -73.4M | -75.4M | -4M | 78.7M | -60.6M | -9.2M | -92.9M | -104.7M |
| Net Margin % | -7.91% | 1.03% | 3.62% | -5.89% | -7.36% | -0.47% | 9.55% | -8.18% | -1.23% | -14.9% | -15.09% |
| Net Income Growth % | -383.18% | -66.97% | 174.66% | 2.65% | -1785% | -105.08% | 229.87% | -558.7% | 90.1% | 11.27% | - |
| Net Income (Continuing) | -149.8M | 18.1M | 54.8M | -73.4M | -75.4M | -4M | 78.7M | -35.3M | 8M | -105.3M | -108.4M |
| Discontinued Operations | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -6M | 0 | 0 |
| Minority Interest | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37.8M | 38.7M | 0 |
| EPS (Diluted) | -0.94 | 0.11 | 0.35 | -0.48 | -0.50 | -0.03 | 0.53 | -0.53 | -0.07 | -0.70 | -0.79 |
| EPS Growth % | -384.9% | -68.57% | 172.92% | 4% | -1731.5% | -105.15% | 200% | -667% | 90.13% | 11.39% | - |
| EPS (Basic) | - | 0.11 | 0.35 | -0.48 | -0.50 | -0.03 | 0.55 | -0.53 | -0.14 | -1.42 | -1.60 |
| Diluted Shares Outstanding | 159.8M | 160.4M | 158.5M | 152.94M | 150.4M | 146.77M | 148.76M | 114.05M | 133.17M | 133.17M | 133.17M |
| Basic Shares Outstanding | 159.8M | 157.8M | 155.3M | 152.9M | 150.4M | 146.77M | 142.05M | 114.05M | 65.31M | 65.31M | 65.31M |
| Dividend Payout Ratio | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Margin compression from legacy transition
As reported in recent financial filings, Dayforce's year-over-year revenue growth has decelerated from 21.5% in 2023Q2 to 9.5% by 2025Q3, suggesting that the company's transition from legacy Bureau services to its core SaaS platform is encountering headwinds in maintaining its previous double-digit expansion pace.
The consistent decline in top-line growth rates indicates that the company may be struggling to offset the sunsetting of legacy revenue streams with new enterprise SaaS wins. Investors should monitor whether this deceleration reflects a saturated domestic market or if the current implementation backlog is failing to convert into recognized revenue at the expected velocity.
Based on the provided income statement data, Dayforce's gross margin has exhibited significant volatility, fluctuating between 42.5% and 62.7% over the last ten quarters, which appears to reflect the ongoing operational friction of migrating legacy clients to a unified cloud-based architecture while managing high service-delivery costs.
While the 62.7% margin in 2025Q3 represents a notable improvement, the historical inconsistency suggests that the company has yet to achieve a stable, high-margin software profile comparable to pure-play peers. This variability warrants further investigation into whether recent margin gains are sustainable or merely a result of temporary accounting shifts.
According to the company's quarterly income statements, operating margins have remained thin, peaking at only 9.7% in 2023Q4 and falling to 6.3% in 2025Q3, indicating that Dayforce has not yet realized the expected operating leverage from its scalable single-database platform despite significant ongoing investments in sales and marketing.
The inability to consistently expand operating margins suggests that the company's cost structure remains heavily burdened by the operational overhead of its legacy business and high customer acquisition costs. Without a clear path to scaling operating income faster than revenue, the company may continue to face pressure on its bottom-line profitability.
Analysis of the income statement reveals that stock-based compensation remains a persistent drag on earnings, with quarterly expenses frequently exceeding $40 million, which significantly obscures the company's true operational profitability and contributes to the volatility observed in reported net income figures across the last ten quarters.
The substantial reliance on stock-based compensation suggests that reported EPS may not fully capture the economic cost of talent retention. Investors should be cautious of the disconnect between non-GAAP metrics and the GAAP net losses, such as the -$196.8M reported in 2025Q3, which may indicate underlying structural challenges in achieving consistent GAAP profitability.
Quick answers to the most common questions about buying DAY stock.
For fiscal year 2024, Dayforce Inc (DAY) reported total revenue of $1.76B. This represents a 153.6% increase compared to $693.9M in 2015.
Dayforce Inc (DAY) is profitable, generating $18.1M in net income for the fiscal year ending 2024 with a net profit margin of 1.0%.
Dayforce Inc (DAY) reported an operating income of $104.1M, resulting in an operating profit margin of 5.9%. This margin reflects the operational efficiency of the business before interest and taxes.
Dayforce Inc (DAY) generated $812.1M in gross profit for the year, representing a gross profit margin of 46.1%. This demonstrates the company's core pricing power and production efficiency.