Shares in Autodesk Inc. fell nearly 9% in late trading today on concerns about the computer-aided software design company’s operating margin, despite its reporting otherwise strong figures in its fiscal 2025 third quarter.

For the quarter that ended on Oct. 31, Autodesk reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.17, up from $2.07 in the third quarter of fiscal 2024, on revenue of $1.57 billion, up 11% year-over-year. Both were ahead of consensus forecasts of $2.12 per share on revenue of $1.56 billion.

Autodesk saw total billings increase 28% year-over-year, to $1.54 billion in the quarter, with revenue from its Design segment coming in at $1.3 billion, up 9% year-over-year, and Make revenue growing 28%, to $171 million. Subscription plan revenue rose as well, coming in at $1.46 billion, up 11% year-over-year.

Deferred revenue, meaning payments received in advance for services that have not yet been delivered or performed, fell 9% in the quarter, to $3.66 billion. Unbilled deferred revenue was $2.45 billion, up $1.24 billion versus the third quarter of 2024. Autodesk ended the quarter with remaining performance obligations of $6.11 billion, up 17% year-over-year.

Autodesk saw its adjusted operating margin in the quarter come in at 36%, down three percentage points from the same quarter of last year — the reason why the company’s stock was down in late trading.

Business highlights in the quarter included Autodesk announcing in September more than 45 enhancements across its Construction Cloud platform, spanning tools that include Autodesk Build, Autodesk Takeoff, Autodesk BIM Collaborate and BuildingConnected. The updates introduced organized commissioning workflows through asset grouping, advanced model visualization with object colorization and improved document management via file packaging, streamlining construction processes.

Also announced in September was a major update to Fusion 360, Autodesk’s cloud-based 3D design and engineering platform, that’s designed to boost design and engineering workflows. New capabilities, including an “Offset of Offset” function, were released alongside improved user interfaces and performance optimizations that aim to enhance productivity and ease of use.

“We generated broad-based underlying growth across products and regions,” Elizabeth Rafael, Autodesk interim’s chief financial officer, said in the company’s earnings release. “Overall, macroeconomic, policy and geopolitical challenges, and the underlying momentum of the business, were consistent with the last few quarters with continued strong renewal rates and headwinds to new business growth.”

For its fiscal 2025 fourth quarter, Autodesk expects adjusted earnings per share of $2.10 to $2.16 on revenue of $1.623 billion to $1.638 billion. For the full year, the company expects revenue of $6.115 billion to $6.13 billion and — also key to the share price move — an adjusted operating margin of 35.5% to 36%.

Also announced alongside the earnings report was news that Autodesk had appointed Janesh Moorjani as the new CFO effective Dec. 16, replacing Rafael. Though leadership changes can sometimes cause uncertainty among investors, the stock’s after-hours decline was primarily focused on the operating margin in Autodesk’s third quarter and outlook.

Photo: Autodesk