Summary
Autodesk reported first quarter fiscal 2025 results for the period ended April 30, 2024. Revenue reached $1.42 billion, up 11.7% from the prior-year quarter. Gross profit was $1.28 billion, up 12.1%. Operating income came in at $299 million, up 37.8%. Net income was $252 million, up 56.5%. Diluted EPS was $1.16, up $0.41. Gross margin was 90.3%, up 0.3 percentage points. Operating margin was 21.1%, up 4.0 percentage points. The top line and profit lines all moved higher.
Cash flow and balance sheet items were mixed. Operating cash flow was $494 million, down 31.7%. Capital expenditures were $7 million, down 22.2%. Deferred revenue, current portion only, was $3.36 billion, up 5.4%. The MD&A attributes the lower operating cash flow to working capital movements and timing of billings and collections. Autodesk repurchased 33 thousand shares for $9 million in the quarter, compared with 2.7 million shares for $534 million in the prior-year quarter.
The MD&A provides operational color. Recurring revenue was $1,381 million, up 11%. Recurring revenue was 97% of net revenue, compared with 98% in the prior-year quarter. Net revenue retention rate was within the range of 100% and 110% on a constant currency basis for both periods. Non-GAAP operating margin was 35%, compared with 32%. Non-GAAP net income was $405 million, compared with $334 million. Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $1.87, compared with $1.55. The company acquired Payapps Limited in the first quarter, a cloud-based construction payments platform. Autodesk continues its transition to annual billings for multi-year contracts. It also continues moving indirect business to a new transaction model. Management expects that shift to positively affect calculated revenue growth while being broadly neutral to calculated operating profit and free cash flow dollars, and to negatively affect calculated operating margin.
The quarter included product and geographic trends from the MD&A. AEC, AutoCAD, and Manufacturing product families grew, while Media and Entertainment was flat. The Americas, EMEA, and APAC all contributed to growth. On a constant currency basis, total net revenue rose 13%, EMEA rose 14%, and APAC rose 14%. Direct channel revenue grew faster than indirect channel revenue. The company said it expects direct sales to keep increasing as a percentage of total net revenue. Risks include geopolitical conflicts, foreign exchange fluctuations, supply chain disruption, and inflationary pressures. Guidance in the MD&A is limited to expense expectations for the second quarter of fiscal 2025 compared with the second quarter of fiscal 2024: cost of revenue increase, flat as a percent of net revenue; marketing and sales increase, decrease as a percent of net revenue; research and development increase, flat; general and administrative increase, flat; amortization of purchased intangibles flat.
Forecast
Reported figures
GAAP, from SEC filings| Metric | Q1 FY2025 | Q4 FY2024 | QoQ | Q1 FY2024 | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.42B | $1.47B | -3.5% | $1.27B | +11.7% |
| Gross profit | $1.28B | $1.34B | -4.4% | $1.14B | +12.1% |
| Gross margin | 90.3% | 91.2% | -0.8 pp | 90.0% | +0.3 pp |
| Research & development | $346.0M | $352.0M | -1.7% | $327.0M | +5.8% |
| Sales & marketing | $469.0M | $479.0M | -2.1% | $456.0M | +2.9% |
| General & administrative | $155.0M | $182.0M | -14.8% | $132.0M | +17.4% |
| Total operating expenses | $981.0M | $1.02B | -4.2% | $925.0M | +6.1% |
| Operating income (loss) | $299.0M | $315.0M | -5.1% | $217.0M | +37.8% |
| Operating margin | 21.1% | 21.4% | -0.3 pp | 17.1% | +4.0 pp |
| Net income (loss) | $252.0M | $282.0M | -10.6% | $161.0M | +56.5% |
| Net margin | 17.8% | 19.2% | -1.4 pp | 12.7% | +5.1 pp |
| Diluted EPS | $1.16 | $1.31 | -$0.15 | $0.75 | +$0.41 |
Risks
The Audit Committee internal investigation into Autodesk's free cash flow and non-GAAP operating margin practices, announced April 1, 2024, has led to SEC and U.S. Attorney's Office contact and a shareholder class action. The company has incurred significant audit, legal, and consulting expenses and may face penalties, injunctions, or additional litigation.
International net revenue represented 64% of net revenue for the three months ended April 30, 2024, and growth has decelerated in certain geographies including China. Ongoing wars between Ukraine and Russia and between Israel and Hamas, trade sanctions, tariffs, supply chain disruption, inflationary pressures, and higher interest rates may delay or reduce customer technology purchases.
TD Synnex accounted for 38% of total net revenue for the three months ended April 30, 2024, down from 40% for the prior-year period, and combined AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT family products represented 27% of total net revenue for the three months ended April 30, 2024, down from 28%. A significant disruption with this distributor or a decline in these products could harm revenue.
Autodesk is transitioning its indirect business to a new transaction model in major markets during fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2026, which will shift sales incentives from contra revenue to operating expenses, expected to positively impact calculated revenue growth but negatively impact calculated operating margin. The transition to annual billings for multi-year contracts affects timing of billings, cash collections, deferred revenue, and RPO.
Autodesk is increasingly building AI into offerings such as Autodesk AI and Forma, but competitors may incorporate AI more quickly or successfully, and AI outputs alleged to be deficient, inaccurate, or biased could create legal liability and reputational harm. Regulatory and ethical scrutiny of AI may raise R&D costs and slow adoption.
MD&A reported deferred revenue of $3.96 billion, a decrease of 7% compared to the fourth quarter in the prior fiscal year, and RPO of $5.89 billion, a decrease of 4% compared to the fourth quarter in the prior fiscal year. Current RPO decreased 1% compared to the fourth quarter in the prior fiscal year, and the shift from multi-year upfront billing to annual billing may negatively impact total RPO growth rates.
Autodesk acquired Payapps Limited in the first quarter of fiscal 2025 and multiple businesses in fiscal 2024, and in the second quarter of fiscal 2025 used approximately $131 million for a cloud-based AI pipeline acquisition. Integration challenges, inability to realize synergies, and diversion of management time could negatively impact financial results.
Autodesk depends on attracting new customers and renewing and expanding existing subscriptions, and cannot assure renewal rates or subscription mix. Renewal rates may decline or fluctuate due to pricing, competitive offerings, customer satisfaction, or reduced customer spending from economic downturns. NR3 was within the range of 100% and 110% on a constant currency basis for both the three months ended April 30, 2024 and 2023.
SaaS KPIs
All quarters →Non-GAAP Operating Margin
Remaining Performance Obligations (RPO)
Deferred Revenue
Current Remaining Performance Obligations (cRPO)
Unbilled Deferred Revenue
Net Revenue Retention Rate (NR3)
Non-GAAP Gross Margin
Recurring Revenue as a Percentage of Net Revenue
Summary, forecast, risks and KPIs are extracted from Autodesk, Inc.'s SEC filings for Q1 FY2025 (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.