Autodesk, Inc. (ADSK)

Autodesk reported second-quarter revenue of $2.05 billion on 27 August 2026, up 16 percent from a year earlier 1.

Growth was 14 percent once currency swings are removed, and the new transaction model added roughly 2 percentage points to it, the finance chief said on the results call 17.

Under that model, customers get a quote from a reseller but the transaction itself happens directly between Autodesk and the customer 3.

The company raised its outlook for the year ending 31 January 2027 to revenue of $8,295 million to $8,345 million, and that range now includes MaintainX 1.

Finance chief Janesh Moorjani said the raise reflects higher underlying growth plus the incremental contribution from MaintainX 1.

Autodesk closed that purchase of a maintenance software maker on 3 August 2026, for about $3.53 billion net of cash acquired 2.

It was financed with cash, a 364-day term loan and commercial paper 2.

On 8 September 2026 Autodesk agreed to issue $500 million of notes due 2029 and $500 million due 2033 to repay $1.0 billion of the loan 4.

Open questions are how the sales reorganization settles, which Moorjani said is normalizing a little earlier in the Americas and Asia Pacific than in Western Europe 7.

A standalone Autodesk Assistant is also pending, with timing, pricing and terms due in 2027, engineering.com reported from the company's September 2026 conference 6.

Autodesk began in early 1982, when programmers John Walker and Dan Drake met 12 other friends at Walker's home in Mill Valley, California 8.

A group of 17 founders pooled $59,000 and focused on INTERACT, a drafting program written by Mike Riddle, which became AutoCAD 8.

The company showed AutoCAD at the COMDEX trade show in November 1982, starting at $1,000 8.

The account says it delivered 80 percent of the capabilities of existing systems for under 20 percent of the cost 8.

Autodesk went public in 1985, and by the next year it had 255 employees and sales above $40 million 8.

Annual revenue reached $100 million in 1989 8.

In the three years covered by its latest annual report, revenue rose from $5.50 billion to $6.13 billion and then to $7.21 billion 3.

The 10-K says the latest jump, 18 percent, came mainly from subscription revenue, meaning customers rent software by the term instead of owning a licence 3.

Architecture, engineering, construction and operations (AECO) grew 22 percent, which the company ties to bundles of tools called AEC Collections, enterprise agreements and its construction cloud, now called Forma for Construction 3.

A big change was the new transaction model, under which Autodesk transacts directly with customers while resellers quote 3.

Distributor TD Synnex accounted for 14 percent of net revenue in fiscal 2026, against 33 percent in fiscal 2025 and 39 percent in fiscal 2024 3.

The annual report adds that media and entertainment revenue rose partly on lower contra revenue, meaning fewer deductions, from adopting that model 3.

In 2024 the board's Audit Committee opened an internal investigation of the company's free cash flow and non-GAAP operating margin practices, with results announced on 31 May 2024 3.

The 10-K says the probe was time-consuming and expensive and led to lawsuits 3.

An agreement dated 23 April 2025 between Autodesk and Starboard Value and Opportunity Master Fund is listed among the 10-K's exhibits 3.

Autodesk then cut costs, starting with a first-quarter fiscal 2026 plan that reorganized sales 3.

A January 2026 plan ends that sales and marketing optimization program with a cut of about 7 percent of the workforce, or about 1,000 employees 3.

Staff fell to about 14,300 on 31 January 2026 from about 15,300 a year earlier 3.

The 10-K ties recent growth in manufacturing to Fusion and Inventor and in AECO to Payapps, a payments tool, and in media to the acquisition of PIX 3.

Architecture, engineering, construction and operations

This family, called AECO, took in $1,029 million of revenue in the second quarter, up 17 percent, and $3,583 million in the year to 31 January 2026, up 22 percent 13.

Revit is the Building Information Modeling tool architects and engineers use to design, build and maintain buildings from one data-rich model 3.

Autodesk Build, part of Forma for Construction, connects design and preconstruction data to the construction and operations phase 3.

BuildingConnected is a preconstruction service for bid and risk management, and Tandem builds a digital twin, a live data copy of a finished building, for its owner 3.

At its September 2026 conference Autodesk announced Forma Street Design, a beta tool for civil engineers, and said Civil 3D will become a Forma Connected Client like Revit 6.

The annual report names Bentley Systems, Nemetschek, Procore Technologies and Trimble among its primary global competitors 3.

AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT

AutoCAD is the company's original product, a customizable drafting tool, and AutoCAD LT is a lighter version built for drafting and detailing 3.

The family earned $500 million in the second quarter, up 14 percent, and $1,787 million in the year to 31 January 2026, also up 14 percent 13.

Fusion, Inventor and Vault

Manufacturing revenue was $385 million in the second quarter, up 15 percent, and $1,379 million in the year to 31 January 2026, up 16 percent 13.

Fusion puts 3D design, machining and engineering analysis on one cloud platform, while Inventor serves mechanical design and Vault manages product data 3.

Reviewing the AutoTimeline feature, engineering.com's Michael Alba wrote that Autodesk is not breaking ground and pointed to Backflip and CADfit, but that if well built it would be a useful addition to Fusion 6.

Rivals named in the annual report include Dassault Systemes and its SolidWorks unit, PTC and Siemens PLM 3.

Media and entertainment

Maya and 3ds Max are the 3D modeling and animation tools used for film effects and games, and Flow Production Tracking schedules the work of studios 3.

Revenue was $92 million in the second quarter, up 15 percent, and $332 million in the year to 31 January 2026, up 5 percent 13.

MaintainX and Autodesk Operations Solutions

MaintainX builds software to manage maintenance activity, work orders, inspections and asset records, much of it used on factory floors and in the field, SiliconANGLE reported 5.

Autodesk said MaintainX expects more than $135 million of annualized recurring revenue for calendar 2026, with growth above 50 percent 10.

Autodesk folds it into a new unit, Autodesk Operations Solutions, with the Tandem digital twin, the Flexsim simulation tool and Fusion Operations 5.

Moorjani said MaintainX was not profitable at the time of the acquisition and is a drag on operating margin in the current fiscal year 7.

How customers pay

Revenue is mostly recurring: 97 percent of net revenue in fiscal 2026, the annual report says, since customers rent software through subscription plans 3.

Flex lets customers buy tokens for occasional use of products, and an analyst on the August call said Autodesk cut the minimum purchase from $300 to $99 in early June 7.

CEO Andrew Anagnost answered that the cut was customer-driven and that Autodesk is seeing downmarket changes in adoption 7.

Offices, people and the board

Anagnost is chief executive and Janesh Moorjani is chief financial officer, as named in the results release 1.

The board has 11 directors, 10 of them independent, with Stacy Smith as chair, and on 24 April 2026 it nominated Omar Abbosh, chief executive of Pearson, as a new director 12.

Autodesk leases about 1,200,000 square feet of office space in 85 locations, with its San Francisco headquarters and about 140,000 square feet there 3.

The property section of the 10-K describes leased offices and says all facilities are in good condition 3.

Current problems

The Audit Committee investigation produced lawsuits, and the 10-K says more expense or litigation may follow 3.

Autodesk is winding down multi-year discounts, which the release says lifts price realization over time but holds back growth in remaining performance obligations, the contracted revenue not yet recognized, to 2 percent 1.

Schneider Electric agreed on 5 October 2026 to acquire PTC, a rival named in Autodesk's annual report, with closing anticipated by the third quarter of 2027, DEVELOP3D reported 39.

The umbrella, in words

Autodesk offers its products under its own name, among them AutoCAD, Revit, Fusion, Inventor, Maya and 3ds Max, and the parent company is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market 34.

Exhibit 21.1 to the annual report lists subsidiaries such as Autodesk Limited, Autodesk Canada Co., Autodesk GmbH, Autodesk India Private Limited and Autodesk (China) Software Research and Development Co., Ltd. 11.

As for stakes in other companies, the 10-K reports a $9 million loss on strategic investments in its latest fiscal year, an invested tie, without naming the companies in that line 3.

Three institutions report holdings of Autodesk common stock to the SEC: BlackRock, Inc. at 11.0 percent, Vanguard Capital Management at 7.52 percent and Vanguard Portfolio Management at 5.52 percent 131415.

For the third quarter ending 31 October 2026, Autodesk guided to revenue of $2,125 million to $2,140 million and non-GAAP earnings per share of $3.04 to $3.09 1.

For the full year ending 31 January 2027 it guided to billings of $8,575 million to $8,650 million and revenue of $8,295 million to $8,345 million, including MaintainX 1.

It expects a GAAP operating margin of 25 percent to 27 percent, a non-GAAP margin of about 39 percent and free cash flow of $2,725 million to $2,750 million 1.

The free cash flow range includes about $45 million of MaintainX transaction expenses 1.

Moorjani said the current fiscal year's share repurchases should be similar in total dollars to last year's, applying about 50 percent of free cash flow to reduce the share count over time 7.

On the call Moorjani also referred to a 41 percent margin target for fiscal 29 7.

The January 2026 restructuring plan is expected to finish by the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2027, on 31 January 2027, with total pre-tax charges of $135 million to $160 million 3.

Autodesk has not yet finished the purchase accounting for MaintainX, and says it was impracticable to disclose a preliminary allocation in the 10-Q 2.

CEO Anagnost said at the September conference that Autodesk Assistant will become a standalone, agentic experience that reaches across products 6.

The company says it will announce timing, pricing and terms in 2027, and it said the standalone version would not replace the assistants inside products 6.

For Fusion, Anagnost announced an agentic product lifecycle management experience, and engineering.com said it could not tell when several Fusion features will be available 6.

Schneider Electric's purchase of PTC is expected to close by the third quarter of 2027, DEVELOP3D reported, which would change one of Autodesk's named rivals 9.