Summary
Autodesk's fiscal 2023 first quarter revenue reached $1.17 billion, up 18.3 percent from the prior-year quarter. Gross profit rose 17.4 percent to $1.05 billion. Gross margin was 90.0%, down 0.7 percentage points, so cost of revenue grew faster than the top line. Operating income climbed 59.7 percent to $214 million, and operating margin widened to 18.3%. Recurring revenue was 98 percent of total revenue, and net revenue retention stayed inside the 100 percent to 110 percent range. Subscription plan revenue did most of the work, and maintenance revenue declined.
Profit below the operating line moved the other way. Net income fell 6.4 percent to $146 million, and diluted EPS slipped 4.3 percent to $0.67. Interest and other expense, net was a bigger drag than a year earlier, and the tax line flipped from a benefit to an expense. Operating leverage was real, but items below the line took it back.
Cash was the cleanest part of the quarter. Operating cash flow rose 29.2 percent to $434 million, and capital expenditures fell 40.0 percent to $12 million. Free cash flow, which the company defines as operating cash flow minus capital expenditures, was $422 million, an increase of $106 million from the prior-year quarter. Non-GAAP operating margin was 34 percent, up 6 percentage points, on non-GAAP operating income of $397 million and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $1.43. The company ended the quarter with $1.62 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, and it spent $436 million repurchasing 2,058 thousand shares.
Current deferred revenue was $2.81 billion, up 10.6 percent from a year earlier. Management guided second quarter fiscal 2023 revenue to $1,220 million to $1,235 million and non-GAAP EPS to $1.54 to $1.60. For the full fiscal year 2023, guidance calls for revenue of $4,960 million to $5,060 million, non-GAAP operating margin of approximately 36 percent, non-GAAP EPS of $6.43 to $6.66, and free cash flow of $2,000 million to $2,080 million.
The plan leans on demand holding up while currency works against it. Excluding roughly $70 million of foreign exchange effects, full-year revenue guidance would be $5,030 million to $5,130 million. Management credited the quarter to broad based strength across products and regions, with growth in AEC collections, enterprise business agreements, Revit, Fusion 360, and Maya, plus steady cost discipline. Autodesk exited Russia during the quarter and adjusted its outlook for currency movements.
Risks are stacked up in the filing. Supply chain disruption and inflationary pressures, a global labor shortage, the war in Ukraine, and COVID-19 flare-ups could all weigh on the rest of fiscal 2023. Spending kept climbing, with total spend up 12 percent on headcount, stock-based compensation, and cloud hosting costs across marketing and sales, research and development, and general and administrative functions. Distributor concentration is high, with Tech Data at 36 percent of total net revenue and Ingram Micro at 9 percent. Beginning in fiscal 2023, rules requiring research and development expenditures to be capitalized and amortized could raise cash taxes. The reduction of the office footprint also produced lease-related impairment charges in the quarter.
Forecast
Reported figures
GAAP, from SEC filings| Metric | Q1 FY2023 | Q4 FY2022 | QoQ | Q1 FY2022 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.17B | $1.21B | -3.4% | $989.3M | +18.3% |
| Gross profit | $1.05B | $1.10B | -4.1% | $896.5M | +17.5% |
| Gross margin | 90.0% | 90.7% | -0.7 pp | 90.6% | -0.6 pp |
| Research & development | $289.0M | $290.3M | -0.4% | $265.5M | +8.9% |
| Sales & marketing | $419.0M | $427.8M | -2.1% | $377.1M | +11.1% |
| General & administrative | $120.0M | $227.6M | -47.3% | $111.9M | +7.2% |
| Total operating expenses | $839.0M | $956.0M | -12.2% | $762.7M | +10.0% |
| Operating income (loss) | $214.0M | $142.4M | +50.3% | $133.8M | +59.9% |
| Operating margin | 18.3% | 11.8% | +6.5 pp | 13.5% | +4.8 pp |
| Net income (loss) | $146.0M | $89.1M | +63.9% | $155.6M | -6.2% |
| Net margin | 12.5% | 7.3% | +5.1 pp | 15.7% | -3.3 pp |
| Diluted EPS | $0.67 | $0.40 | +$0.27 | $0.70 | -$0.03 |
Risks
MD&A says supply chain disruption and resulting inflationary pressures, a global labor shortage, the ebb and flow of COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, and foreign exchange rate fluctuations may impact our outlook for the remainder of fiscal 2023.
International net revenue represented 66% and 67% of net revenue for the three months ended April 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively; the filing notes recent deceleration in growth in certain geographies including China and that Autodesk suspended all new and renewal business in Russia in early March 2022, where revenue was less than 2% of total revenue in the first fiscal quarter of 2022 and fiscal year ended 2022.
The risk factor says cyberattack risk is compounded by work-from-home arrangements and elevated in connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with heightened risk of cyberattacks from or affiliated with nation-state actors, including retaliatory attacks from Russian actors against U.S.-based companies.
We are increasingly building AI into many offerings, and the risk factor says AI ethical issues or potential government regulation in AI ethics may cause brand or reputational harm, competitive harm, legal liability, and additional research and development costs.
The risk factor says customers are not obligated to renew, and renewal rates may decline or fluctuate due to pricing, competition, satisfaction, or reduced spending; MD&A reports NR3 was within 100% and 110% as of both April 30, 2022 and 2021, while RPO was $4.68 billion, a decrease of 1% compared to the fourth quarter in the prior fiscal year.
Tech Data accounted for 36% of total net revenue for both the three months ended April 30, 2022 and 2021, and Ingram Micro accounted for 9% and 10% for those periods; approximately 66% and 67% of revenue came from indirect channel sales.
As of April 30, 2022, Autodesk had $2.65 billion of principal debt with notes due from December 2022 to December 2031; the risk factor says covenants may restrict additional indebtedness and credit rating downgrades could increase interest rates or limit financing.
MD&A says the Tax Act requires capitalization and amortization of research and development expenditures over five or fifteen years beginning in fiscal 2023, and if the requirement is not modified, the Company may recognize an increase to cash taxes.
MD&A says acquisitions entail cost and integration challenges and may in certain instances negatively impact operating margins; the risk factor cites several transactions in fiscal 2022 and the first fiscal quarter of fiscal 2023.
SaaS KPIs
All quarters →Non-GAAP Operating Margin
Remaining Performance Obligations (RPO)
Free Cash Flow
Billings
Current RPO
Net Revenue Retention Rate
Summary, forecast, risks and KPIs are extracted from Autodesk, Inc.'s SEC filings for Q1 FY2023 (10-Q / 10-K and the 8-K earnings release); GAAP figures in the summary are checked against the reported XBRL data. They can contain errors; the filings are authoritative. Processed Oct 2, 2026.