3D design software company Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) reported Q4 CY2025 results beating Wall Street’s revenue expectations, with sales up 19.4% year on year to $1.96 billion. Guidance for next quarter’s revenue was optimistic at $1.89 billion at the midpoint, 2.9% above analysts’ estimates. Its non-GAAP profit of $2.85 per share was 7.8% above analysts’ consensus estimates.
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Autodesk (ADSK) Q4 CY2025 Highlights:
- Revenue: $1.96 billion vs analyst estimates of $1.92 billion (19.4% year-on-year growth, 2.1% beat)
- Adjusted EPS: $2.85 vs analyst estimates of $2.64 (7.8% beat)
- Adjusted Operating Income: $750 million vs analyst estimates of $699.1 million (38.3% margin, 7.3% beat)
- Revenue Guidance for Q1 CY2026 is $1.89 billion at the midpoint, above analyst estimates of $1.84 billion
- Adjusted EPS guidance for the upcoming financial year 2027 is $12.43 at the midpoint, beating analyst estimates by 6.6%
- Operating Margin: 22%, in line with the same quarter last year
- Free Cash Flow Margin: 49.7%, up from 23.2% in the previous quarter
- Billings: $2.80 billion at quarter end, up 33% year on year
- Market Capitalization: $47.57 billion
"Building agentic AI for the real world requires specialized data, context, and expertise. Scaling and monetizing it requires a platform and next-generation business models and go-to-market," 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
Examining a company’s long-term performance can provide clues about its quality. Even a bad business can shine for one or two quarters, but a top-tier one grows for years. Over the last five years, Autodesk grew its sales at a 13.7% 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 14.5% over the last two years aligns with its five-year trend, suggesting its demand was consistently weak. 
This quarter, Autodesk reported year-on-year revenue growth of 19.4%, and its $1.96 billion of revenue exceeded Wall Street’s estimates by 2.1%. Company management is currently guiding for a 15.9% year-on-year increase in sales next quarter.
Looking further ahead, sell-side analysts expect revenue to grow 10.4% over the next 12 months, a deceleration versus the last two years. This projection doesn't excite us and suggests its products and services will see some demand headwinds.
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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 $2.80 billion in Q4, and over the last four quarters, its growth was fantastic as it averaged 29.6% 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 represents the months required to recover the cost of acquiring a new customer. Essentially, it’s the break-even point for sales and marketing investments. A shorter CAC payback period is ideal, as it implies better returns on investment and business scalability.
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 Q4 Results
We were impressed by how significantly Autodesk blew past analysts’ billings expectations this quarter, leading to beats on the revenue and adjusted operating profit lines. We were also glad its EPS guidance for next quarter trumped Wall Street’s estimates. Overall, we think this was a solid quarter with some key metrics above expectations. The stock traded up 6.9% to $249.65 immediately following the results.
Autodesk put up rock-solid earnings, but one quarter doesn’t necessarily make the stock a buy. Let’s see if this is a good investment. The latest quarter does matter, but not nearly as much as longer-term fundamentals and valuation, when deciding if the stock is a buy. We cover that in our actionable full research report which you can read here (it’s free).
