The following is excerpted from the question-and-answer section of the transcript.
(Questions from industry analysts are provided in full, but answers are omitted - download the transcript to see the full question-and-answer session)
Question: Taylor McGinnis - UBS AG - Analyst
: <_ALACRA_META_ABSTRACT>Well done. Well done. Okay. So maybe to kick things off, you guys just reported last week, strong 3Q results. There was a
nice upward provision to the 4Q guide. So maybe you could just talk about the drivers behind that momentum and how we
think about some of those demand trends going into next year.
Question: Taylor McGinnis - UBS AG - Analyst
: Perfect. Yeah, let's talk about that resiliency because I know the big question that you guys got from investors is around the
potential growth durability. So Andrew, I know that there's been numerous transitions over these last several years. So in
terms of where Autodesk stands today and whether or not they're positioned maybe better than they have been asked to
seize a lot of these emerging growth opportunities. Can you comment a little bit about that? And on the durability question, I
know there's a lot of questions around there's been products -- we've been in the market for a while. Is there still sufficient
runway left? What are your thoughts there?
Question: Taylor McGinnis - UBS AG - Analyst
: Perfect. I want to talk about some of the AI opportunities and infrastructure on one. But before we get there, Janesh, maybe
to throw this question over to you because you've talked a lot about the potential for durable growth as we look ahead. But
then on the last earnings call, I made comments about the macro uncertainty and the potential to continue a guidance philosophy
that embeds a conservative approach.
So could you maybe talk about when you look into the future and the growth drivers that gave you the most comfort in being
able to sustain growth, what are those? And secondly, what are we trying to get through to the audience in terms of the
messaging around 2027.
Question: Taylor McGinnis - UBS AG - Analyst
: Perfect. And Andrew, let's go back to what you were talking earlier about being able to address capacity constraints with AI.
So there's a lot of -- there's a number of exciting AI initiatives underway at Adidas, whether that be generative design, what
you're doing with AI agents, MCP servers. So could you just talk about the current pace of adoption that you're seeing amongst
your customers? And when do you think we'll see industry-wide production use of AI.
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DECEMBER 02, 2025 / 4:35PM, ADSK.OQ - Autodesk Inc at UBS Global Technology and AI Conference
Question: Taylor McGinnis - UBS AG - Analyst
: Yeah. Let's talk about the monetization strategy because you guys introduced API-based pricing around the platform services.
So could you elaborate why when you spoke with your customers, why did this pricing model make the most sense? What is
the overall customer reaction been to that? And could this be something as needle moving to revenue as next year? Do you
expect this to take time? What's the pace on that?
Question: Taylor McGinnis - UBS AG - Analyst
: Yeah. Makes sense. And how important is the data layer in all of this? Because when I was at Autodesk University, it seemed
like there was a greater emphasis on platform services than maybe in the past. -- and -- which makes sense, right? Because
if you think about AI, these agents, they need to have access right to all the information internally, it's -- it makes a lot of sense
in that regard. But how big of a catalyst could that be? And then a second part to this, could that actually be a catalyst for
cloud migrations to form a Fusion Autodesk Construction Cloud.
Question: Taylor McGinnis - UBS AG - Analyst
: Yeah. Do you -- are you starting to hear that appetite increasing with your customers in terms of realizing that cloud is important
for AI? Or is it still very early days?
Question: Taylor McGinnis - UBS AG - Analyst
: Perfect. You mentioned the opportunity a little bit earlier, so I'd love to dive deeper in on that. At the last Analyst Day, you
broke that out in the TAM, I believe, for the first time it felt like there was a bigger emphasis on the tibilin infrastructure
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DECEMBER 02, 2025 / 4:35PM, ADSK.OQ - Autodesk Inc at UBS Global Technology and AI Conference
opportunity. I know you mentioned that on your last earnings call. Could you talk about what's driving that focus on these
opportunities?
And am I right in the read that this feels that there's more emphasis behind it than maybe there was previously. And that could
be a question for Andrew and then Janesh, a follow-up to that. How do you think about this opportunity as it parlays into the
durability of Construction Cloud and the greater AAC opportunities.
Question: Taylor McGinnis - UBS AG - Analyst
: Perfect. Janesh.
Question: Taylor McGinnis - UBS AG - Analyst
: Perfect. Yeah. And let's talk about the opportunities in manufacturing and media and entertainment. Any big initiatives going
into your fiscal year 2027. And any catalyst the audience should watch out for in those sectors?
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DECEMBER 02, 2025 / 4:35PM, ADSK.OQ - Autodesk Inc at UBS Global Technology and AI Conference
Question: Taylor McGinnis - UBS AG - Analyst
: Perfect. And then maybe switching gears to 2026 calendar year and what you're hearing from your customers as we close
out 2025. Andrew, how would you characterize overall customer conversations in terms of how they're thinking about spend
going next year? Do you anticipate it could be similar to what we saw this past year? Are there any opportunities for growth
unlock? Any pressure points that you're monitoring closely. What are you seeing there?
Question: Taylor McGinnis - UBS AG - Analyst
: Perfect. And then another big opportunity that you guys now get a lot of questions on is just the data center opportunity. I
would imagine this ties in a little bit to what you guys are talking about with operate, right, and the Digital Twin opportunity.
Could you just elaborate the tailwinds right you're seeing around there and how meaningful that could be to the business as
we look into next year and beyond.
Question: Taylor McGinnis - UBS AG - Analyst
: The data center opportunity. But I would say I would imagine digital twin plays into that in the product in.
Question: Taylor McGinnis - UBS AG - Analyst
: Perfect. And Janesh, let's dive into some of the financials and some of the nitty-gritty details. So as we look into 2027, there's
still a couple of moving pieces on revenue and billings. So one being we're still working through the new transaction change.
So first question for you is in terms of the tailwind that, that could be the billings and revenue growth next year, any qualitative
color you could give there and how that might compare to the 600 basis points of uplift we saw on the revenue side. And
then not to throw too many questions at you. But a second piece, we get a lot of questions on billings because you had a big
renewal cohort this year. So as we look into next year, could that possibly be a headwind such that we see more of a disconnect
between revenue and billings growth adjusted for FX and the model change? Is there a possibility that billings growth could
dip below right, revenue growth? Do you expect them to be more in line? Just any color you can give there, I think, would be
really helpful.
Question: Taylor McGinnis - UBS AG - Analyst
: Perfect. That's really helpful. And then maybe moving to the go-to-market transition. So we talked earlier, this has been a
multiyear approach. We've seen a number of these transitions. More recently, you've talked about the move to self-service.
That's been a tailwind to the Autodesk store. Next year, it sounds like there's going to be some changes to comp incentive
plans for partners. So could you just unpack a little bit of that more? What changes should we expect going in next year?
Andrew, that could be one for you?
And then, Janesh, in terms of how we see impact to the model from those changes? Maybe you could talk through what you're
contemplating there?
Question: Taylor McGinnis - UBS AG - Analyst
: Perfect.
Question: Taylor McGinnis - UBS AG - Analyst
: Perfect. Janes is on margin. So you have the out-year target of 41%, 45% on an adjusted basis. So can you talk through the
trajectory in getting there? Because you've commented earlier that, that's not going to be a linear path. So maybe you could
elaborate a little bit more on that. And then as we think about the levers to getting there, I know on the AI side, you've talked
about the potential to see gross margin compression. I would imagine the offset of that is operating OpEx efficiency. So how
should we think about those moving pieces?
Question: Taylor McGinnis - UBS AG - Analyst
: Perfect. And maybe in the last minute or so that we have left, we can talk about a couple of the pricing levers Autodesk has
-- so I know you guys have spoken about there's a cohort of your customer base that's sitting on heavily discounted licenses,
right? There's maybe the opportunity to monetize that a bit more as we look ahead. So could you just talk about how you're
thinking about the opportunities from price going forward, how that could contribute to growth? And then also two, as you
see the pricing model evolve. How should we think about that playing into the mix too.
Question: Taylor McGinnis - UBS AG - Analyst
: Perfect. So with that, we're out of time. So everyone, let's give Andrew and Janesh out a applause, and I appreciate all your
insights today.
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