Autodesk, Inc. is a software company that sells design and engineering tools on a subscription basis and exhibits a high-margin, cash-generative financial profile with rapid per‑share growth in recent years.
The company’s earnings and per‑share growth have been strong: five‑year EPS CAGR is about 38.97% and three‑year EPS CAGR about 30.79%, while five‑year revenue‑per‑share CAGR is roughly 14.82% with the most recent revenue per share at $32.65 and 1‑year revenue‑per‑share growth of 17.7%. Profitability is durable — gross margin is extremely high at 93.4% and trailing operating cash flow has accelerated to $2.45B (TTM), notably exceeding reported net income of $1.11B and supporting cash conversion and reinvestment.
There are areas of concern to monitor. Short‑term liquidity is compressed with a current ratio of 0.8322, which may constrain flexibility for working capital. Market expectations are elevated: the trailing P/E was 60.2x in the most recent quarter, reflecting a high valuation relative to earnings. Additionally, some profitability metrics have shown volatility — operating margin declined from 82.2% to 59.6% in the latest reported quarter and return on equity swung to 10.3% most recently after much larger prior swings, indicating earnings and capital efficiency can move sharply quarter to quarter.
The foundation of business quality and long-term value creation
Autodesk, Inc.'s reported revenues show a marked increase in the most recent available quarter: the latest revenue entry (period ending 2026-01-31) is $5.26B, well above the prior quarterly revenue observations that clustered between about $1.01B and $2.89B over 2022–2025. Earlier multi-year data show a gradual upward baseline from sub-$1B quarters in 2017–2019 to generally $1.0–1.8B quarters in 2020–2024, with a notable step-up in reported revenue at the most recent 2026 data point.
Net income has generally trended higher in recent quarters, with the most recent period (ending 2026-04-30) reporting $491.0M, up from a sequence of quarters in the $250–340M range through 2023–2025. The series includes occasional larger and smaller swings (for example, $911.3M in the 2021-01-31 period and $439.0M in 2023-01-31), but the latest data point represents the highest net income reported in the most recent annual cycle. The most recent quarterly revenue was $5.26B and the most recent quarterly net income was $491.0M.
Why Growth Matters
Consistent revenue and earnings growth are the lifeblood of successful long-term investments. Companies that can grow their top line (revenue) and bottom line (net income) over many years demonstrate they have products or services customers value and are willing to pay for repeatedly.
Revenue Growth shows whether the company is expanding its market reach, gaining market share, or successfully launching new products.Net Income Growth demonstrates the company can convert that revenue into actual profits while managing costs effectively.
Look for steady, sustainable growth rather than erratic spikes. The best businesses compound earnings year after year, creating tremendous value for shareholders over time. Companies that can grow earnings faster than revenue are improving their profitability—a sign of operational excellence and competitive strength.
Year-over-year growth rates for revenue and earnings per share
Reading the Growth Rate Chart
This chart converts the absolute per-share figures into year-over-year percentage changes, making it easy to see whether growth is accelerating, decelerating, or reverting to trend — regardless of the company's absolute size.
Revenue per Share Growth (1-year, split-adjusted) measures how quickly the top line is expanding on a per-share basis. Sustained positive growth signals that the company continues to win customers and grow its addressable market.EPS Diluted Growth (1-year, split-adjusted) measures how quickly earnings are compounding for each shareholder. When EPS growth consistently outpaces revenue growth, operating leverage and margin expansion are at work.
Look for consistency, not just magnitude. A company that reliably grows EPS 10–15% per year is far more valuable than one that alternates between 50% spikes and deep contractions. Negative EPS growth during a period of positive revenue growth is a red flag — costs are rising faster than sales. Quarters where both lines converge near zero or go negative deserve close scrutiny.
How revenue converts to net income for the most recent annual period
Over the period Feb 2025 to Jan 2026, Autodesk Inc converts approximately 93¢ of every revenue dollar into gross profit (gross margin: 93.4%).The waterfall below shows how revenue flows through various expense categories.
Period Information
Report Type: Annual (10-K)
Period: Feb 2025 to Jan 2026
Analyzing long-term margin stability and competitive positioning
Autodesk, Inc.'s gross margin has been consistently high over the period shown, climbing from the mid‑80% range in the mid‑2010s to the high‑90% range around 2020–2021 and remaining in the low‑to‑mid 90s more recently. Operating margin has been more volatile: after extended readings between roughly 60% and the low 90s through 2010s–2022, it fell from 82.2% (period ending 2025‑01‑31) to 59.6% in the most recent quarter (period ending 2026‑01‑31), a clear inflection in the latest data points.
Net profit margin moved from negative values in the mid‑2010s to double‑digit and mid‑30% peaks around 2020–2021, then declined and subsequently recovered into the high‑teens by the 2025 observation. The most recent margins are:
Understanding Profit Margins
Between Feb 2025 and Jan 2026, Autodesk Inc converts every dollar of revenue through the following stages:
Sustainable competitive advantages reveal themselves through consistently superior profit margins over extended periods. Companies with durable economic moats maintain pricing power and operational efficiency that competitors struggle to match.
A sign of durable competitive advantage is earning sustained higher margins than competitors.Look for margins that remain stable or improve over time, especially during economic downturns. Declining margins may signal increasing competition, pricing pressure, or deteriorating business fundamentals.
Comparing reported earnings to actual cash generation
Over the last year Autodesk, Inc.'s trailing twelve‑month operating cash flow has accelerated, rising from $1.61B at 2025‑01‑31 to $1.68B at 2025‑04‑30 and reaching $2.45B at 2026‑01‑31. Trailing net income increased more gradually over the same recent window, moving into the low‑billions and most recently reported $1.11B as of 2025‑01‑31. In the most recent overlapping data points, operating cash flow exceeds reported net income, indicating cash generation outpacing accounting earnings.
Historically, net income shifted from multi‑quarter losses in 2017–2018 to sustained profitability beginning in 2019 and climbed above $1.0B by 2021; operating cash flow has likewise trended higher from roughly $708.1M in 2015 to the current multi‑billion level. The most recent Operating Cash Flow (TTM) was $2.45B (period end 2026-01-31). The most recent Net Income (TTM) was $1.11B (period end 2025-01-31).
The Earnings vs. Cash Flow Gap
Reported earnings (Net Income) doesn't always reflect actual cash generation. Companies use accrual accounting, which recognizes revenue when earned and expenses when incurred—not when cash actually changes hands. This creates timing differences and opportunities for accounting discretion that can mask underlying business health.
Net Income (the "earnings" number) can be influenced by non-cash items like depreciation, stock-based compensation, and changes in accounting estimates.Operating Cash Flow, however, shows the actual cash the business generates from its core operations—a harder number to manipulate.
Trailing Twelve Months
What to Look For
Key Insight: Companies with durable competitive advantages typically show operating cash flow that meets or exceeds net income over time, demonstrating they convert accounting profits into actual cash that can be returned to shareholders or reinvested in the business.
Measuring management's efficiency at generating profits from shareholder capital
Over the past year, Autodesk, Inc.’s Return on Equity (ROE) has moved from the low‑40% range through 2024 into a sharp decline in the most recent quarter. After recovering to 46.1% for the quarter ended April 30, 2024, and remaining near 42% in the July and October 2024 quarters (42.7% and 41.7%, respectively), ROE fell to 10.3% for the quarter ended January 31, 2025. Earlier in 2023, there was large volatility—ROE was 84.6% for the quarter ended July 31, 2023, but dropped to 12.1% by October 31, 2023.
Looking further back, Autodesk shows pronounced swings: very large negative ROE readings across 2016–2018 (for example, −523.3% on October 31, 2017) flipped to very high positive peaks in 2020–2021 (219.4% on April 30, 2020; 125.1% on January 31, 2021) before moderating. The most recent quarterly ROE was 10.3%.
The Gold Standard of Profitability
Return on Equity (ROE) is a powerful measure of how effectively a company's management is using the money shareholders have invested. Calculated by dividing Net Income by Shareholders' Equity, it reveals how much profit is generated for every dollar of equity capital.
A consistently high ROE (typically above 15-20%) is often the signature of a "quality" business with a durable competitive advantage. It indicates that the company can generate high returns on its own capital, which it can then reinvest at these high rates to compound value over time.
What to Look For:
How the company generates and deploys its cash
Autodesk, Inc.'s trailing twelve-month operating cash flow shows a clear upward trend in the most recent quarters, rising from $1.68B (period ending 2025-04-30) to $2.45B (period ending 2026-01-31). Over the multi-year record provided, operating cash has generally increased from the ~$708M level in 2015 to consistently above $1B in later years, with the largest single-step increase occurring in the latest reported year to $2.45B.
Investing cash flow has been persistently negative, reflecting outflows for investment activity, with fluctuations across periods: a deeper outflow around -$903.0M (period ending 2025-01-31) moved back toward a smaller negative of -$451.0M in the most recent period (2026-01-31).
Financing cash flow entries show recurring net outflows in recent years, increasing from -$168.6M (period ending 2022-01-31) to -$852.0M (period ending 2024-01-31) and to -$987.0M (period ending 2025-01-31). The most recent trailing twelve-month values are: operating cash flow $2.45B; investing cash flow -$451.0M; financing cash flow -$987.0M.
Understanding Company Strategy
Capital allocation refers to how management decides to spend and invest the company's cash. Analyzing the three primary categories of cash flow reveals a company's true operational strategy:
What to look for: Is the company bootstrapping (funding growth solely from operating cash)? Are they borrowing to fund aggressive expansion or dividends? Or are they capital raising by issuing new shares, potentially diluting your ownership? A healthy, mature company typically generates strong operating cash, moderately invests in growth, and returns the surplus to shareholders through financing activities.
Trailing Twelve Months
Net assets attributable to each share — the accounting floor of intrinsic value
Why Book Value per Share Matters
Book value per share is the net worth of the company — total assets minus total liabilities — divided by shares outstanding (split-adjusted). It represents the theoretical liquidation value per share if every asset were sold and every liability repaid at balance-sheet carrying values. It is the accounting foundation upon which much of equity valuation is built.
A steadily rising book value per share is one of the most reliable signals of compounding wealth creation. It means the company is retaining earnings and building net worth faster than it is returning capital or eroding it. Warren Buffett famously tracked Berkshire Hathaway's book value per share for decades as his primary measure of intrinsic value growth.
Context is essential. Asset-heavy businesses (banks, manufacturers, utilities) should be judged by book value more directly than asset-light businesses (software, consumer brands), where intangible assets like intellectual property and customer loyalty may far exceed their balance-sheet carrying values. A company trading at a large premium to book value is not necessarily overvalued — it may simply possess competitive advantages that accounting rules do not capture. Conversely, a declining book value per share — especially over multiple years — is a serious warning sign of capital destruction.
How much of the company is financed by debt versus shareholders' equity
Reading the Debt-to-Equity Ratio
The debt-to-equity (D/E) ratio compares total financial debt to shareholders' equity. A ratio of 1.0 means the company has borrowed one dollar for every dollar of equity; a ratio of 2.0 means it has borrowed twice as much as it owns. Financial leverage amplifies both returns and risk: in good times, debt turbocharges equity returns; in bad times, it accelerates losses and can threaten solvency.
Trends matter more than a single number. A rising D/E ratio can mean the company is taking on debt to fund growth — potentially value-creating if returns exceed the cost of capital. But it can also mean equity is being eroded through losses or that the business is borrowing simply to sustain operations. A falling D/E ratio generally reflects strengthening financial health: earnings are being retained, debt maturities are being paid down, or both.
Industry norms vary enormously. Capital-intensive sectors (utilities, real estate, financials) routinely carry high D/E ratios that would be alarming in, say, a technology company. Always compare against sector peers. As a rough rule of thumb, a D/E above 2× in a cyclical business warrants careful scrutiny of interest coverage and refinancing risk.
Short-term liquidity — can the company cover its near-term obligations?
Liquidity: Can the Business Pay Its Bills?
The current ratio is calculated as current assets divided by current liabilities. A ratio of 1.5 means the company has $1.50 of short-term assets — cash, receivables, inventory — for every $1.00 of obligations due within the next twelve months. It is the most direct measure of near-term financial resilience: can the business meet its obligations without needing to raise new capital or sell long-term assets at a discount?
A ratio above 1.0 is generally healthy, meaning current assets exceed current liabilities. A ratio consistently above 2.0 may indicate the company is holding excess cash or inventory that could be deployed more productively. A ratio below 1.0 is a warning sign — the company is relying on future cash generation or external financing to cover its near-term obligations, which is manageable in normal conditions but dangerous during a downturn.
Trends and context matter.A declining current ratio isn't always alarming — highly efficient businesses (e.g., large retailers with reliable daily cash flows) often run leaner balance sheets intentionally. Conversely, a rapidly rising current ratio can signal slowing sales causing inventory to build, or customers taking longer to pay. Always compare the trend against industry peers and cross-reference with the cash flow statement to assess whether the business is genuinely liquid or just holding non-cash current assets.
How much the market is paying for each dollar of company earnings
Autodesk, Inc.'s trailing twelve-month price-to-earnings ratio has risen across the last four reported quarters, moving from 45.9x on 2024-04-30 to 50.3x on 2024-07-31, 55.9x on 2024-10-31 and 60.2x on 2025-01-31. This recent upward trend follows a period in 2023 when the P/E sat mostly in the low- to mid-40s (for example, 40.0x on 2023-10-31, 44.7x on 2023-07-31 and 42.9x on 2023-04-30).
The dataset also shows pronounced historical volatility with earlier extreme spikes—589.1x on 2019-07-31 and other elevated readings around 2020–2021 (for example, 197.3x on 2020-01-31, 140.0x on 2020-07-31, 131.8x on 2020-04-30 and 120.7x on 2020-10-31), followed by a decline into the 40s by late 2023 before the recent increase. The most recent quarterly P/E ratio was 60.2x.
What Is the PE Ratio?
The Price-to-Earnings (PE) ratio is one of the most widely used valuation metrics in investing. It divides the current stock price by the company's earnings per share (EPS), revealing how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of earnings. A high PE can signal that the market expects strong future growth, while a low PE may suggest undervaluation—or reflect genuine concerns about the company's prospects.
Context matters:PE ratios vary significantly across industries. High-growth technology companies routinely trade at PE ratios above 30x or 40x, while mature, low-growth sectors like utilities or financials often trade closer to 10–15x. Always compare a company's PE to its own history and its industry peers, not just an absolute number.
What to Look For:
Key Insight:The PE ratio is a snapshot of market sentiment and expectations. Tracking it over time alongside earnings trends reveals whether the market's valuation has expanded or contracted—and whether that change is justified by fundamentals.