Autodesk Earnings Beat, Guidance Tempered

Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) reported fiscal 2027 second-quarter results for the period ended July 31, 2026, with revenue and non-GAAP EPS exceeding guidance and consensus. However, its third-quarter profit outlook fell short of analysts’ estimates, tempering near-term investor enthusiasm.

Quarterly Results and Margins

Autodesk’s Q2 revenue reached about $2.05 billion, up 16% year over year (14% in constant currency), while non-GAAP diluted EPS rose $0.68 to $3.30, surpassing both the company’s guidance and a consensus near $3.12. GAAP diluted EPS increased $0.87 to $2.33. Billings grew 10% to roughly $1.85 billion (12% in constant currency). Remaining performance obligations (RPO) stood near $7.43 billion, with current RPO up 12% and deferred revenue around $4.26 billion, up 11%.

Operating margins expanded sharply, with GAAP operating margin climbing to 29% and non-GAAP operating margin reaching 41%. Cash flow from operations rose 25% to $575 million, and free cash flow increased 24% to $561 million. The company repurchased about 2.1 million shares for $453 million during the quarter, totaling $901 million in the first half of fiscal 2027. Segment revenue growth included design up 16%, Make up 26%, and AECO (architecture, engineering, construction, and operations) up 17%. Autodesk highlighted AECO, construction renewals, and AI-driven capabilities as key growth drivers.

Guidance and MaintainX Impact

For the quarter ending October 31, 2026, Autodesk forecasted revenue between $2.125 billion and $2.14 billion, with GAAP diluted EPS of $1.57 to $1.87 and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $3.04 to $3.09. The profit guidance fell below a Street consensus near $3.14, while revenue expectations were modestly exceeded.

The company raised full-year fiscal 2027 targets, projecting billings of $8.575 billion to $8.65 billion and revenue of $8.295 billion to $8.345 billion. It maintained a non-GAAP operating margin target near 39% and set non-GAAP EPS guidance at $12.52 to $12.60. Free cash flow guidance narrowed to $2.725 billion to $2.75 billion, including approximately $45 million in transaction expenses.

Autodesk closed its acquisition of MaintainX, an operations and asset-maintenance software provider, on August 3, 2026, integrating it into a new Autodesk Operations Solutions unit. The company expects MaintainX to contribute about $60 million in second-half revenue and $70 million in billings, both weighted slightly toward the fourth quarter. MaintainX was unprofitable at closing and will dilute fiscal 2027 non-GAAP operating margin and free cash flow. However, Autodesk anticipates modest non-GAAP operating margin improvement in fiscal 2028. CFO Janesh Moorjani described an underlying billings outlook improvement of roughly two percentage points—about one point from MaintainX and one point from stronger core performance—lifting organic billings growth to approximately 9–10% before the acquisition pushes total billings growth to about 10–11%.

Management elaborated on these points during the August 27 earnings call, discussing AI strategy, the MaintainX integration, and guidance revisions.

The results present a mixed picture for investors. Strong second-quarter revenue growth and expanding margins support Autodesk’s longer-term prospects, but the below-consensus near-term profit guidance and short-term dilution from MaintainX could limit immediate upside, despite the acquisition’s strategic AI-enabled operations potential.