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Autodesk (ADSK) is trading sharply higher after reporting its Q3 (Oct) results last night. The design software provider comfortably beat EPS and revenue expectations, with revenue increasing 18% yr/yr to $1.85 bln, its strongest growth rate in over 3 years. The company also issued upside Q4 guidance, expecting EPS of $2.59-2.67 and revenue of $1.901-1.917 bln, and raised its annual billings guidance to $7.465-7.525 bln from $7.355-7.445, reflecting continued momentum as accelerating AECO activity, rising cloud adoption, and deeper enterprise engagement continue to drive durable growth.

• Strength was broad-based across its three largest segments. AECO was up 23% yr/yr to $921 mln, AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT increased 15% yr/yr to $458 mln, and Manufacturing grew 16% yr/yr to $355 mln.
• Billings, a key forward-looking indicator, increased 21% yr/yr to $1.855 bln. While growth moderated from Q2's 36% pace, the call emphasized that underlying demand remains healthy, with strong renewal activity, continued expansion across enterprise accounts, and improving linearity through the quarter.
• Autodesk continues to see elevated demand from AI-driven data center construction, public infrastructure projects, and industrial facility build-outs, areas that more than offset ongoing softness in commercial.
• Faster adoption of Construction Cloud, broader Fusion usage, and increased reliance on AI tools like Sketch AutoConstrain, are boosting customer productivity and fueling stronger engagement and attach rates.

Briefing.com Analyst Insight

Autodesk's Q3 update underscored resilient demand drivers, particularly in AECO where data center expansion, infrastructure spending, and industrial building activity continue to support growth. Manufacturing also showed steady strength, helped by broader Fusion adoption and customers shifting more design and simulation workflows onto Autodesk's cloud platform. Billings growth moderated but remained healthy, consistent with solid renewal activity and expanding enterprise usage. Management characterized the macro backdrop as broadly stable but noted that overall uncertainty remains elevated. Separately, Autodesk is still working through its sales and marketing optimization efforts, which could introduce some operational noise. Even so, momentum in Construction Cloud, rising Fusion attach rates, and deeper use of AI-driven design tools point to improving engagement and a more embedded position within customer workflows. Taken together, the mix of broad-based growth, resilient subscription trends, and strengthening platform adoption supports a constructive setup as it gears up for the new year.