3D design software company Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) announced better-than-expected revenue in Q1 CY2026, with sales up 18.4% year on year to $1.93 billion. Guidance for next quarter’s revenue was better than expected at $2.01 billion at the midpoint, 0.8% above analysts’ estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $2.99 per share was 5.1% above analysts’ consensus estimates.
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Autodesk (ADSK) Q1 CY2026 Highlights:
- Revenue: $1.93 billion vs analyst estimates of $1.89 billion (18.4% year-on-year growth, 2.2% beat)
- Adjusted EPS: $2.99 vs analyst estimates of $2.84 (5.1% beat)
- The company slightly lifted its revenue guidance for the full year to $8.19 billion at the midpoint from $8.14 billion
- Management slightly raised its full-year Adjusted EPS guidance to $12.53 at the midpoint
- Operating Margin: 28%, up from 14.3% in the same quarter last year
- Free Cash Flow Margin: 45.3%, down from 49.7% in the previous quarter
- Billings: $1.69 billion at quarter end, up 17.7% year on year
- Market Capitalization: $50.04 billion
"Our customers need AI that produces outputs that are accurate in the real world. That requires data, context, and expertise. Each one is scarce and what differentiates Autodesk is that we have all three at scale. We can validate AI-generated outputs against real-world constraints using our existing parametric and physics-based 3D technology," said Andrew Anagnost, CEO of Autodesk.
Company Overview
Starting with AutoCAD in the 1980s and evolving into a comprehensive design ecosystem, Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) provides software solutions for architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, and entertainment industries to design, simulate, and visualize projects.
Revenue Growth
Reviewing a company’s long-term sales performance reveals insights into its quality. Any business can put up a good quarter or two, but many enduring ones grow for years. Over the last five years, Autodesk grew its sales at a 14% compounded annual growth rate. Though this growth is acceptable on an absolute basis, we need to see more than just topline growth for the software sector, which can display significant earnings volatility. This means our bar for the sector is particularly high, reflecting the non-essential and hit-driven nature of the products and services offered. Additionally, five-year CAGR starts around Covid, when revenue was depressed then rebounded.
We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within software, a half-decade historical view may miss recent innovations or disruptive industry trends. Autodesk’s annualized revenue growth of 15.3% over the last two years is above its five-year trend, suggesting some bright spots. 
This quarter, Autodesk reported year-on-year revenue growth of 18.4%, and its $1.93 billion of revenue exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by 2.2%. Company management is currently guiding for a 14% year-on-year increase in sales next quarter.
Looking further ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 11.2% over the next 12 months, a deceleration versus the last two years. This projection is underwhelming and suggests its products and services will face some demand challenges.
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Billings
Billings is a non-GAAP metric that is often called “cash revenue” because it shows how much money the company has collected from customers in a certain period. This is different from revenue, which must be recognized in pieces over the length of a contract.
Autodesk’s billings punched in at $1.69 billion in Q1, and over the last four quarters, its growth was fantastic as it averaged 26.8% year-on-year increases. This alternate topline metric grew faster than total sales, meaning the company collects cash upfront and then recognizes the revenue over the length of its contracts - a boost for its liquidity and future revenue prospects. 
Customer Acquisition Efficiency
The customer acquisition cost (CAC) payback period measures the months a company needs to recoup the money spent on acquiring a new customer. This metric helps assess how quickly a business can break even on its sales and marketing investments.
Autodesk’s recent customer acquisition efforts haven’t yielded returns as its CAC payback period was negative this quarter, meaning its incremental sales and marketing investments outpaced its revenue. The company’s inefficiency indicates it operates in a competitive market and must continue investing to grow.
Key Takeaways from Autodesk’s Q1 Results
We were impressed by how significantly Autodesk blew past analysts’ billings expectations this quarter. We were also glad its EPS guidance for next quarter exceeded Wall Street’s estimates. On the other hand, its EBITDA missed. Overall, this print had some key positives. The market seemed to be hoping for more, and the stock traded down 4.8% to $230.48 immediately following the results.
So do we think Autodesk is an attractive buy at the current price? What happened in the latest quarter matters, but not as much as longer-term business quality and valuation, when deciding whether to invest in this stock. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).
