Autodesk Sets Sail for Strong Fiscal '26 Despite Uncertain Headwinds
As reported in its Q1 fiscal '26 conference call transcript, Autodesk delivered strong first-quarter results despite a backdrop of uncertainty in geopolitics, macroeconomics, and policy. The company's revenue and non-GAAP earnings per share exceeded expectations, with billings, non-GAAP margins, and free cash flow all outperforming forecasts.
Speaking during the call, Andrew Anagnost, CEO of Autodesk, highlighted the company's strong momentum in the first quarter as a key factor setting it up well for the year. He also emphasized that the company is making the right decisions to drive long-term shareholder value through strategic investments in cloud, platform, and AI.
"We are focusing our growth investments on our strategic priorities in cloud, platform, and AI," Anagnost said. "We are optimizing our sales and marketing and investing to enable future optimization that drives higher margins. We are allocating more capital to share repurchases as our free cash flow stack rebuilds from the transition to annual billings for most multiyear contracts."
Janesh Moorjani, CFO of Autodesk, provided further insight into the company's quarterly financial performance, citing strength in AECO upfront revenue and in the Autodesk store. He also highlighted the benefits of the new transaction model, which contributed $78 million to revenue and $105 million to billings in the first quarter.
"Our go-to-market optimization plan is also on track," Moorjani said. "We saw growth in total revenue, with 15% as reported and 16% in constant currency. Billings increased 29% as reported and 30% in constant currency."
The company's Q1 performance was characterized by a number of notable achievements. Total revenue grew 11% at constant currency and excluding the impact of the new transaction model, while billings grew 22% at constant currency and excluding the impact of the new transaction model.
"We continue to make progress on our strategic growth initiatives," Anagnost said. "The appointment of John Cahill, Ram Krishnan, Jeff Epstein, and Christie Simons refreshes our Board to guide the next decade of growth."
Autodesk's Q1 results demonstrate its resilience in the face of uncertainty and highlight the company's commitment to driving long-term shareholder value through strategic investments and operational efficiency.
