ADSK · Q2 2026 Earnings

Bullish

Autodesk

Reported August 28, 2025

30-second summary

30-second take: Q2 revenue of $1.76B (+17% YoY) beat the prior guide midpoint by ~$38M, billings hit $1.68B, and non-GAAP EPS of $2.62 cleared the high end of guidance by $0.14. Management raised FY26 revenue, billings, non-GAAP EPS, non-GAAP operating margin, and free cash flow — citing H1 strength and FX, while explicitly leaving macro assumptions unchanged. The H2 caution baked in last quarter is now visibly defensive cushion rather than absorbed reality.

Headline numbers

EPS

Q2 FY2026

$2.62

Revenue

Q2 FY2026

$1.76B

+17.0% YoY

Gross margin

Q2 FY2026

91.0%

Free cash flow

Q2 FY2026

$0.45B

Operating margin

Q2 FY2026

25.0%

Key financials

Q2 FY2026

Metric	Q2 FY2026	YoY	Q1 FY2026	QoQ
Revenue	$1.76B	+17.0%	$1.63B	+8.0%
EPS	$2.62	—	$2.29	+14.4%
Gross margin	91.0%	—	90.2%	+78bps
Operating margin	25.0%	—	14.3%	+1070bps
Free cash flow	$0.45B	—	$0.56B	-18.9%

Guidance

Guidance is issued for both next quarter and the full year. Both may appear below.

Actuals vs prior guidance

Metric	Period	Prior guide	Actual	Δ	Result
Revenue	Q2 FY2026	$1,720 - $1,730 million	$1,763 million	+$33-43M above guide	Beat
EPS (GAAP)	Q2 FY2026	$1.37 - $1.46	$1.46	at top of guide	Beat
EPS (Non-GAAP)	Q2 FY2026	$2.44 - $2.48	$2.62	+$0.14-0.18 above guide	Beat

New guidance

Metric	Period	Guide	YoY
Revenue	Q3 FY2026	$1,800 - $1,810 million	—

Changes to prior guidance

Metric	Period	Prior guide	New guide	Δ	Result
Revenue	FY2026	$6,925 - $6,995 million	$7,025 - $7,075 million	+$30-80M at midpoint	Raised
EPS (GAAP)	FY2026	$4.63 - $5.14	$4.68 - $5.09	+$0.05 at low end, -$0.05 at high end (midpoint +$0.04)	Raised
EPS (Non-GAAP)	FY2026	$9.50 - $9.73	$9.80 - $9.98	+$0.27 to +$0.28 (midpoint +$0.275)	Raised
Billings	FY2026	$7,160 - $7,310 million	$7,355 - $7,445 million	+$45-135M (midpoint +$95M)	Raised
Non-GAAP Operating Margin	FY2026	36.5% - 37.0%	~37%	+50 bps at low end (raised to midpoint ~37%)	Raised
Free Cash Flow	FY2026	$2,100 - $2,200 million	$2,200 - $2,275 million	+$75-100M (midpoint +$87.5M)	Raised

Reaffirmed unchanged this quarter: GAAP Operating Margin (21% - 22%)

Segment performance

Q2 FY2026

Segment	Q2 FY2026	YoY
AECO	$0.878B	+23.0%
AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT	$0.44B	+13.0%
Manufacturing	$0.334B	+13.0%
Media and Entertainment	$0.08B	+4.0%
Design	$1.472B	+17.0%
Make	$0.194B	+20.0%

Platform metrics

Q2 FY2026

Segment	Q2 FY2026
Billings	$1,678M
Remaining Performance Obligations (RPO)	$7,297M
Current RPO	$4,677M
Deferred Revenue	$3,844M
Unbilled Deferred Revenue	$3,453M
Subscription Revenue	$1,658M

Profitability

Q2 FY2026

Segment	Q2 FY2026
Non-GAAP Operating Margin	39.0%
Operating Cash Flow	$460M

Other KPIs

Q2 FY2026

Segment	Q2 FY2026	YoY
Americas	$0.786B	+19.0%
EMEA	$0.675B	+18.0%
APAC	$0.302B	+11.0%

Management tone

Q1 anchor: Macro caution layered in → Q2 anchor: H1 strength flows through to FY raise.

The macro caution from Q1 was not consumed; it was preserved. Last quarter, Janesh framed the FY guide as proactively de-risked for an unobserved H2 slowdown. This quarter he kept the same assumption set intact while raising every operational line, telling Elizabeth Porter at Morgan Stanley they have "the same cautious macro assumptions maintained for back half." The shift is from "we're protecting against a slowdown that might come" to "we're protecting against a slowdown that hasn't shown up and we're still not banking on its absence." That is a more confident posture wearing the same costume.

The channel transition narrative is in the rear-view. A quarter ago, the first renewals on the new transaction model in Americas and EMEA were the proof points being publicly committed to. This quarter Andrew described "steady month-over-month increases in partner new business and improving productivity as rollout phase eases" — past tense framing. The transition has moved from open question to closed chapter, freeing oxygen for AI and M&A discussion.

AI moved from deferred-monetization to articulated IP strategy. Q1 Andrew explicitly punted AI pricing detail to Autodesk University and committed to "delivering value, not pricing." Q2 he walked Joe Vrunk at Baird through the full architecture: custom foundation models as the moat, progression from task-level (auto-constraint) to workflow to systems-level automation, AI features rolling out "across multiple products, not just Fusion," and monetization across "subscription, consumption, and outcomes models." Still no specific revenue figures, but the strategic spine is now public. That's progress against the lowest-bar item on last quarter's watch list.

Capital allocation got a firm boundary. Asked by Sackett Kalia at Barclays about transformative M&A given recent industry headlines, Andrew capped the appetite at "hundreds of millions to low billions" for tuck-ins, with "excess capital deployed to share buybacks." This is a direct ruling-out of the kind of mega-deal speculation that has occasionally floated around Autodesk. The buyback emphasis is the new tone element.

Recurring themes management leaned on this quarter:

Subscription revenue decelerationCloud transition maturationAI product integration executionCustomer retention and valueMargin pressure from investment

Risks management surfaced:

Cloud migration adoption rates slowingAI feature adoption uncertaintyCompetitive pressure on pricingFY2026 guidance executionCustomer churn risk in transition periods

Q&A highlights

Sackett Kalia · Barclays

What is Autodesk's appetite for transformative M&A given recent headline activity?

Andrew stated M&A strategy prioritizes organic investment first, then targeted tuck-in acquisitions in hundreds of millions to low billions range to accelerate roadmap or extend adjacencies (e.g., construction operations), not tens of billions. Excess capital deployed to share buybacks.

M&A range: hundreds of millions to billions, not tens of billionsShare buyback acceleration as capital allocation priorityFocus on tech tuck-ins and targeted adjacency extensions

Adam Borg · Stateful

What is driving continued construction momentum, remaining runway on ACC, and geographic performance?

Andrew confirmed construction momentum unchanged and performing well across U.S. and international markets, with wins at top and mid-market. Payments business performing well internationally. Noted pre-construction and field experience enhancements coming at AU. Janesh noted large EBA renewal pool in back half and strong NRR and revenue retention metrics.

Construction momentum unchanged and broadly consistentU.S. and international construction performing wellLarge EBA renewal pool in back half of yearStrong NRR and revenue retention rates

Elizabeth Porter · Morgan Stanley

How have customer conversations on tariff impact evolved and what is the disruption risk for back half? Also, how is channel productivity on new business recovering post-rollout?

Andrew noted Autodesk not directly impacted by tariffs but some customers face pricing pressures; customers coping well with no additional red flags. Maintained same cautious macro assumptions for back half as prior call. On channel, noted steady month-over-month increases in partner new business and improving productivity as rollout phase eases.

No direct tariff impact to Autodesk; customers coping wellSame cautious macro assumptions maintained for back halfSteady month-over-month increases in partner new businessOperational friction from new transaction model continuing to ease

Joe Vrunk · Baird

How does Autodesk think about its role in AI—investing in custom foundation models vs. partnering? What was the rationale for the strategic investment in an AI CAM vendor?

Andrew outlined strategy to create custom foundation models as IP moat accessible to Autodesk and partners. Focus on making tasks more productive (e.g., auto-constraint), then workflows, then systems-level automations. On CAM investment, noted they like vendor's unique capabilities and exposure to unique customers; will partner closely while organically developing core foundation models. AI features will appear across multiple products, not just Fusion.

Custom foundation models as core IP strategyProgression from task to workflow to systems-level AIStrategic investment in CAM vendor for ecosystem extensionAI features rolling out across product portfolio, not limited to Fusion

Answers to last quarter's watch list

Q2 revenue above the $1.725B midpoint without raising the FY range — Revenue beat at $1.763B (+$38M above midpoint), but management did raise the FY range by $55M at the midpoint. The macro caution was preserved in the new guide ("macro assumptions unchanged"), so the raise flowed cleanly from H1 outperformance plus FX.

Resolved positively

APAC re-accelerating from +6% — APAC grew 11% in Q2, nearly doubling the Q1 rate, though still trailing Americas (+19%) and EMEA (+18%). The gap narrowed materially.

Resolved positively

First renewal cohort results on the new transaction model — Management characterized the rollout phase as "easing" with steady month-over-month partner new business improvement. No specific cohort metrics disclosed, but the narrative shift from active risk to past-tense execution is the substantive answer.

Resolved positively

Non-GAAP operating margin sustaining the 36.5–37% FY guide — Q2 printed 39.0%, well above the range, and FY guide was raised to ~37% (top of prior range). The H1 margin trajectory has overdelivered.

Resolved positively

AI monetization disclosure at Autodesk University — AU has not yet occurred, but Andrew used the Q2 call to articulate the foundation-model IP strategy and three-tier monetization framework (subscription, consumption, outcomes). Specific pricing remains undisclosed.

Continue monitoring

What to watch into next quarter

Whether the FY26 free cash flow guide of $2.20–2.275B requires another raise — Q2 FCF of $451M plus Q1's $556M puts H1 at ~$1.0B; the raised FY guide implies $1.20–1.275B in H2, which would imply only modest H2 growth on a seasonally-back-loaded year. Either conservative or signaling something.

AECO sustaining 20%+ growth — Two quarters in a row above 20% (+20% Q1, +23% Q2) makes this the load-bearing growth segment. A deceleration here changes the whole story.

AU AI monetization specifics — Andrew has now committed publicly twice to AU as the disclosure venue. Absence of concrete pricing or attach-rate detail there would push AI revenue into FY28.

Billings vs. revenue convergence — Billings up to $1.678B vs. revenue $1.763B; the prior gap (Q1 billings $1.43B vs. revenue $1.63B) was wider. Watch whether billings growth continues to outpace revenue, which would extend the cRPO build.

Non-GAAP op margin holding at/above 39% — Q2's 39% is 200bps above the raised FY guide. Either the H2 caution absorbs it or there's another raise coming.

Sources

Autodesk Q2 FY2026 press release: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/769397/000076939725000114/q226pressrelease.htm
Autodesk Q2 FY2026 earnings call Q&A (analyst exchanges referenced inline)
Autodesk Q1 FY2026 brief (Tapebrief) for prior-quarter context

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