Autodesk forecasts quarterly profit below Wall Street estimates, shares dip

Second-quarter revenue was $2.05 billion, beating the estimate of $2.01 billion, while adjusted profit per share of $3.30 topped Street view of $3.12.

Autodesk software are used by architects, engineers, builders, manufacturers and others to design buildings, products and infrastructure.

Software stocks have broadly come under pressure this year amid investor fears that increasingly capable general-purpose AI tools could disrupt or replace some specialized functions.

Autodesk in May agreed to acquire MaintainX to boost its AI push.

Autodesk forecast third-quarter adjusted profit below expectations on Thursday, sending its shares down more than 5% in extended trading, as investors worry over the potential disruption from AI tools on the software company.

The design and construction software maker said it was seeing higher operating and financing costs tied to its $3.6 billion acquisition of maintenance and operations software firm MaintainX that closed earlier this month.

• The AutoCAD maker forecast third-quarter adjusted profit of $3.04 to $3.09 per share — below analysts' average estimate of $3.14, according to data compiled by LSEG.
• It raised its annual billings forecast to $8.58 billion to $8.65 billion from its prior estimate of $8.51 billion to $8.58 billion, indicating steady demand.