Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Autodesk Q2 Earnings Beat on Operating Leverage, Revenues Rise Y/Y

Read MoreHide Full Article

Key Takeaways

  • Autodesk's Q2 revenues rose 16% to $2.05B, while non-GAAP operating margin expanded to 41%.
  • Construction and emerging markets supported growth as net revenue retention neared the top of its range.
  • Autodesk provides FY27 guidance, projecting revenues of $8.30B-$8.35B and EPS of $12.52-$12.60.

Autodesk (ADSK - Free Report) reported second-quarter fiscal 2027 non-GAAP earnings of $3.30 per share, up 26% year over year, aided by operating leverage and benefits from sales optimization. The figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.12 by 5.77%.

Revenues increased 16% year over year to $2.05 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.01 billion by 1.84%. Strength in construction and emerging markets supported results, while net revenue retention approximated the top end of the 100%-110% range in constant currency.

ADSK’s Q2 Top-Line Details

Design revenues increased 16% year over year to $1.71 billion. Make revenues climbed 26% to $244 million, while Other revenues declined 3% to $94 million.

Region-wise, Americas revenues rose 14% to $898 million year over year, EMEA revenues increased 19% to $804 million and APAC revenues advanced 14% to $344 million.

Autodesk, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Autodesk, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Autodesk, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Autodesk, Inc. Quote

Billings grew 10% to $1.854 billion, or 12% in constant currency. The new transaction model contributed roughly 2 percentage points to revenue growth.

Management said the sales reorganization remained within its expected range of outcomes. The Americas, APAC, Eastern Europe and the Middle East were normalizing somewhat earlier than Western Europe, while renewal rates remained strong.

ADSK’s Product Line in Detail

Autodesk continues to report performance across four core product families: AECO, AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT, Manufacturing (MFG) and Media and Entertainment (M&E).

AECO revenues increased 17% year over year to $1.03 billion, with construction among the areas of strength highlighted by management.

AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT revenues rose 14% year over year to $500 million.

On a year-over-year basis, Manufacturing revenues grew 15% to $385 million, while Media and Entertainment revenues increased 15% to $92 million. Other product-family revenues grew 29% to $40 million.

Beginning in the third quarter, Autodesk plans to stop disclosing Design and Make revenues and make minor changes to product-family reporting. The company will continue to provide regular commentary on Construction, Fusion and Operations, and will disclose MaintainX revenues for four quarters.

ADSK’s Q2 Operating Results

Non-GAAP operating margin expanded 2 percentage points year over year to 41%, reflecting operating leverage and benefits from sales optimization.

GAAP operating margin improved 4 percentage points to 29%, also benefiting from a lower stock-based compensation burden as a percentage of revenues.

Total operating expenses were $1.27 billion compared with $1.16 billion a year earlier. Marketing and sales expenses were $616 million, research and development costs were $464 million, and general and administrative expenses totaled $179 million.

Autodesk’s Backlog Metrics Show Mixed Trends

Deferred revenues increased 11% year over year to $4.26 billion, while current remaining performance obligations, or current RPO, rose 12% to $5.25 billion.

Unbilled deferred revenues declined 8% to $3.18 billion, and total RPO increased 2% to $7.43 billion.

Autodesk said its ongoing reduction of multi-year discounts, including the wind-down of multi-year Maintenance-to-Subscription renewals, should benefit price realization over time while temporarily weighing on unbilled deferred revenue and RPO growth.

ADSK’s Balance Sheet & Cash Flow

As of July 31, 2026, Autodesk had cash and cash equivalents (including marketable securities) of $4.16 billion compared with $2.92 billion as of April 30, 2026.

Autodesk repurchased roughly 2.1 million shares for $453 million during the quarter. Management expects fiscal 2027 share repurchases to be similar to fiscal 2026 in total dollars and continues to target roughly 50% of free cash flow for buybacks over time.

Cash flow from operating activities increased 25% year over year to $575 million. Free cash flow rose 24% to $561 million after $14 million of capital expenditures.

Autodesk Provides Q3 & FY27 Outlook

For the third quarter of fiscal 2027, Autodesk expects revenues of $2.13-$2.14 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $3.04-$3.09.

For fiscal 2027, revenues are projected at $8.30-$8.35 billion, billings at $8.58-$8.65 billion and non-GAAP EPS at $12.52-$12.60.

The company continues to expect a non-GAAP operating margin of about 39% and free cash flow of $2.73-$2.75 billion.

Guidance includes MaintainX, which is expected to contribute about $60 million of second-half revenues and $70 million of second-half billings, both slightly weighted toward the fourth quarter. Free cash flow includes about $45 million of MaintainX transaction expenses.

ADSK’s Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Currently, Autodesk carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Dell Technologies (DELL - Free Report) , Palo Alto Networks (PANW - Free Report) and ServiceTitan Inc. (TTAN - Free Report) are some better-ranked stocks that investors can consider in the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector. DELL currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while PANW and TTAN carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Dell Technologies is slated to announce its second-quarter fiscal 2027 results on Sept. 1. Palo Alto Networks is also scheduled to report its fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Sept. 1, while ServiceTitan is set to announce its second-quarter fiscal 2027 results on Sept. 8.

Published in