• Total Revenue Growth: 12% in the fourth quarter, both as reported and in constant currency.
• AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Revenue Growth: 9% in constant currency.
• AECO Revenue Growth: 15% in constant currency.
• Manufacturing Revenue Growth: 10% in constant currency, and in the low teens excluding upfront revenue.
• M&E Revenue Growth: 10% in constant currency.
• Regional Revenue Growth: 11% in the Americas, 13% in EMEA, and 11% in APAC, all in constant currency.
• Direct Revenue Increase: 35% in constant currency, representing 47% of total revenue.
• Billings Increase: 24% in the quarter at constant currency.
• RPO and Current RPO Growth: RPO at $6.9 billion grew 14%, and current RPO at $4.5 billion grew 12%.
• GAAP Operating Margin: 22% in the fourth quarter.
• Non-GAAP Operating Margin: 37% in the fourth quarter.
• Free Cash Flow: $1.57 billion for fiscal '25.
• Share Repurchase: Approximately 1.4 million shares for $414 million in the fourth quarter; 3.1 million shares for $858 million for the full year.
• Fiscal '26 Free Cash Flow Guidance: Between $2.075 billion and $2.175 billion.
• Fiscal '26 Share Buyback Guidance: Between $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion.

• Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Signs with QVCGA.

Release Date: February 27, 2025

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

• Autodesk Inc (NASDAQ:ADSK) delivered strong fourth-quarter and full-year results, with revenue and billings exceeding expectations despite foreign exchange headwinds.
• The company is reallocating resources to focus on strategic priorities such as cloud, platform, and AI, which are expected to drive future growth.
• Autodesk Inc (NASDAQ:ADSK) reported a 12% revenue growth in the fourth quarter, with broad-based growth across products and regions.
• The company achieved a 24% increase in billings at constant currency, reflecting a shift to annual billing for multi-year contracts.
• Autodesk Inc (NASDAQ:ADSK) plans to buy back $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion of shares in fiscal '26, a 30% to 40% increase compared to fiscal '25.

Negative Points

• The company is undergoing restructuring, which may cause some disruption despite mitigation plans.
• Autodesk Inc (NASDAQ:ADSK) acknowledged that the 10% to 15% growth framework is no longer appropriate given current business momentum.
• There are potential headwinds from macroeconomic uncertainties and geopolitical factors affecting customer sentiment.
• The transition to a new transaction model and annual billing for multi-year contracts may impact short-term revenue growth.
• The company is facing challenges in new business growth, which has been slow due to economic uncertainty and internal changes.

Q & A Highlights

Q: Andrew, what drives new business growth higher over time given the slow new business growth? A: Andrew Anagnost, CEO: The past slow growth was due to changes at Autodesk and economic uncertainty. Moving forward, we can control enhancing channel productivity and investing in emerging high-growth businesses like industry clouds and AI. These efforts will help us return to a growth path.

Q: Can you provide more color on the margin potential and how the restructuring announcement fits into that? A: Janesh Moorjani, CFO: The restructuring is part of our multi-year journey to evolve our go-to-market strategy, which aligns with our margin expansion goals. We aim to serve customers better through tighter integration and self-service, ultimately lowering the unit cost of serving customers and driving efficient go-to-market motion.

Q: How are customers reacting to macroeconomic uncertainty, and what impact does it have on their decision-making? A: Andrew Anagnost, CEO: Customers are primarily concerned with uncertainty rather than specific policy outcomes. Once policies are in place, Autodesk can navigate them effectively. The key is moving past uncertainty to provide customers with stability.

Q: What are the critical product or technology investments Autodesk is focusing on? A: Andrew Anagnost, CEO: We are accelerating roadmaps for our industry clouds, particularly in construction and manufacturing. Investments focus on expanding data access, APIs, and AI features like the AutoConstrain tool in Fusion, which enhances productivity and competitiveness.

Q: How does the recent restructuring impact the revenue guidance, and what assumptions are built into it? A: Janesh Moorjani, CFO: The guidance considers potential disruption from restructuring and CRO transition, with mitigation plans in place. We factored in these elements prudently, reflecting them in our outlook for fiscal '26.

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.