Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) delivered a clean beat in its fiscal second quarter. Revenue hit $2.05 billion, topping the $2.01 billion consensus by roughly $35 million. Non-GAAP EPS of $3.30 beat by $0.18. The headline numbers were good. The real signal came in the guidance: management raised full-year billings expectations to a range of $8.575 billion to $8.65 billion and lifted revenue guidance to $8.295 billion–$8.345 billion. The new outlook incorporates both the MaintainX acquisition and higher organic growth assumptions.
Revenue grew 16% year over year, or 14% on a constant currency basis. The AECO segment, Autodesk's largest, rose 17% to $1.03 billion. Make, which includes manufacturing and production workflows, grew 26% to $244 million. AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT revenue increased 14% to $500 million, while Media & Entertainment added 15% to $92 million. The Americas led geographically with 14% growth, but EMEA posted 19% as reported (13% constant currency), suggesting some FX tailwind in the quarter.
Non-GAAP operating margin expanded 200 basis points to 41%, a figure that bears scrutiny. The expansion came despite the inclusion of MaintainX, which management described as dilutive to margins in the near term. That means the core business is running at an even higher margin than the reported 41%. Operating leverage from the sales reorganization and go-to-market optimization more than offset the acquisition drag. For the full year, management held non-GAAP operating margin guidance at roughly 39%, implying some step-down from Q2's level as MaintainX costs annualize and investment spending continues.
The billings raise is the most forward-looking element in the release. Billings of $1.85 billion in Q2 grew 10% year over year, but the full-year guidance increase to $8.575 billion–$8.65 billion implies a stronger second half. CFO Janesh Moorjani attributed the raise to "higher underlying growth expectations" plus MaintainX. That is a meaningful statement: the company is seeing enough demand momentum to lift its organic growth forecast, not just layer on acquisition revenue. Remaining performance obligations (RPO) grew only 2% year over year to $7.43 billion, but current RPO — the portion expected to convert to revenue in the next 12 months — rose 12% to $5.25 billion, a healthier signal for near-term visibility.
Free cash flow of $561 million grew 24% year over year. Full-year FCF guidance was narrowed to $2.725 billion–$2.75 billion. The midpoint implies roughly $1.7 billion in FCF over the second half, which looks achievable given the billings trajectory. The FCF guidance includes approximately $45 million in transaction expenses related to MaintainX, so underlying cash generation is slightly stronger than the headline range suggests.
The stock-based compensation line remains a heavy GAAP-to-non-GAAP reconciling item. SBC of $0.87 per share in Q2 accounted for more than a quarter of non-GAAP EPS. The full-year GAAP EPS guidance of $7.89–$8.72 versus non-GAAP of $12.52–$12.60 implies roughly $4.60 in SBC and amortization per share. That is structural for a software company of Autodesk's maturity, but it means GAAP profitability is substantially lower than the non-GAAP figures investors focus on.
What to watch in the second half is whether the billings momentum translates into sustained revenue acceleration, and how quickly MaintainX integrates without further margin dilution. The sales reorganization is "proceeding as expected," according to Moorjani, but reorganizations carry execution risk. For now, Autodesk has delivered a quarter that supports its narrative: AI-driven demand for connected data across the asset lifecycle is real, and the company is capturing it.