Design software company Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) reported results in line with analyst expectations in Q1 FY2024 quarter, with revenue up 8.46% year on year to $1.27 billion. However, guidance for the next quarter was less impressive, coming in at $1.32 billion at the midpoint, being 1.11% below analyst estimates. Autodesk made a GAAP profit of $161 million, improving on its profit of $146 million, in the same quarter last year.
Autodesk (ADSK) Q1 FY2024 Highlights:
- Revenue: $1.27 billion vs analyst estimates of $1.27 billion (small beat)
- EPS (non-GAAP): $1.55 vs analyst expectations of $1.56 (small miss)
- Revenue guidance for Q2 2024 is $1.32 billion at the midpoint, below analyst estimates of $1.33 billion
- The company reconfirmed revenue guidance for the full year, at $5.41 billion at the midpoint
- Free cash flow of $714 million, down 20.9% from previous quarter
- Gross Margin (GAAP): 90%, down from 91.2% same quarter last year
Founded in 1982 by John Walker and growing into one of the industry's behemoths, Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) makes computer-aided design (CAD) software for engineering, construction, and architecture companies.
Autodesk is best known for its flagship software, AutoCAD, which is used to design buildings, cars, and bridges. Being the first CAD software to run on PC, AutoCAD by Autodesk accelerated the shift from paper-based engineering designs to digital designs. Paper-based designs were error-prone, difficult to keep up to date and made cooperation between teams hard. Autodesk and its collection of design tools have made these problems a thing of the past. AutoCAD not only makes edits easy but also allows designers and architects to create a library of components that can be reused later, making the design process much more efficient.
Today, even after 40 years, the software is still an essential go-to tool for a number of industries and its functionality has expanded far beyond its original scope, for example it comes with built-in tools that can analyze and remedy weaknesses in a building’s design. Autodesk also makes software for the entertainment and gaming industries. One of the tools, Maya, is a 3D animation software that is used to add special effects to video games and movies, and was essential in making movies such as Avatar, The Matrix, and Spider-Man.
The demand for rich, interactive 2D, 3D, VR and AR experiences is growing, and while the ubiquitous metaverse might still be more of a buzzword than a real thing, what is real is the demand for the tools to create these experiences, whether they are games, 3D tours or interactive movies.
It is worth highlighting the competition in the design software space, which includes players such as Dassault Systèmes (OTC:DASTY), Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE), Ansys (NASDAQ:ANSS), PTC (NASDAQ:PTC), and Bentley Systems (NASDAQ:BSY).
Sales Growth
As you can see below, Autodesk's revenue growth has been mediocre over the last two years, growing from quarterly revenue of $989 million in Q1 FY2022, to $1.27 billion.
Autodesk's quarterly revenue was only up 8.46% year on year, which might disappoint some shareholders. But the revenue actually decreased by $49 million in Q1, compared to $38 million increase in Q4 2023. However, Autodesk's sales do seem to have a seasonal pattern to them, and considering management is guiding for revenue to rebound in the coming quarter we wouldn't be too concerned.
Guidance for the next quarter indicates Autodesk is expecting revenue to grow 6.71% year on year to $1.32 billion, slowing down from the 16.7% year-over-year increase in revenue the company had recorded in the same quarter last year. Ahead of the earnings results the analysts covering the company were estimating sales to grow 8.97% over the next twelve months.
Profitability
What makes the software as a service business so attractive is that once the software is developed, it typically shouldn't cost much to provide it as an ongoing service to customers. Autodesk's gross profit margin, an important metric measuring how much money there is left after paying for servers, licenses, technical support and other necessary running expenses was at 90% in Q1.
That means that for every $1 in revenue the company had $0.90 left to spend on developing new products, marketing & sales and the general administrative overhead. Despite the recent drop that is still a great gross margin, that allows companies like Autodesk to fund large investments in product and sales during periods of rapid growth and be profitable when they reach maturity.
Cash Is King
If you have followed StockStory for a while, you know that we put an emphasis on cash flow. Why, you ask? We believe that in the end cash is king, as you can't use accounting profits to pay the bills. Autodesk's free cash flow came in at $714 million in Q1, up 69.2% year on year.
Autodesk has generated $2.32 billion in free cash flow over the last twelve months, an impressive 45.5% of revenues. This robust FCF margin is a result of Autodesk asset lite business model, scale advantages, and strong competitive positioning, and provides it the option to return capital to shareholders while still having plenty of cash to invest in the business.
Key Takeaways from Autodesk's Q1 Results
With a market capitalization of $42.1 billion, more than $2.13 billion in cash and with free cash flow over the last twelve months being positive, the company is in a very strong position to invest in growth.
Billings beat and free cash flow was strong in the quarter. On the other hand, it was unfortunate to see that the revenue and EPS guidance for the next quarter missed analysts' expectations and gross margin deteriorated a little. Overall, it seems to us that this was a complicated quarter for Autodesk. The company is flat on the results and currently trades at $198 per share.
Is Now The Time?
Autodesk may have had a bad quarter, but investors should also consider its valuation and business qualities, when assessing the investment opportunity. We think Autodesk is a solid business. However, its revenue growth has been weak, and analysts expect growth rates to deteriorate from there. But on a positive note, its bountiful generation of free cash flow empowers it to invest in growth initiatives, and its impressive gross margins are indicative of excellent business economics.
The market is certainly expecting long term growth from Autodesk given its price to sales ratio based on the next twelve months is 7.7x. There are definitely things to like about Autodesk and looking at the tech landscape right now, it seems that the company trades at a pretty interesting price point.
The Wall St analysts covering the company had a one year price target of $230.3 per share right before these results, implying that they saw upside in buying Autodesk even in the short term.To get the best start with StockStory check out our most recent Stock picks, and then sign up to our earnings alerts by adding companies to your watchlist here. We typically have the quarterly earnings results analyzed within seconds from the data being released, and especially for the companies reporting pre-market, this often gives investors the chance to react to the results before the market has fully absorbed the information.