By Nate Wolf

Autodesk's rock-solid quarter was just what investors seem to have wanted to see.

Shares of the industrial software maker rose sharply Wednesday after its third-quarter results beat Wall Street's expectations.

Autodesk posted adjusted earnings of $2.67 a share for the quarter, ahead of analysts' consensus call for $2.50, according to FactSet. Revenue totaled $1.85 billion, an 18% jump from last year and above forecasts of $1.81 billion.

The company also boosted its forecasts for the fourth quarter and fiscal year. Management now expects revenue of $7.15 billion to $7.165 billion for the year, up from a previous estimate of $7.025 billion to $7.075 billion.

Autodesk shares jumped 7.9% to $317.63 in premarket trading Wednesday. The stock was down less than 1% in 2025 as of Tuesday's close. It has stagnated alongside other software stocks in a year when Wall Street has preferred artificial-intelligence plays.

CEO Andrew Anagnost acknowledged that AI may reduce the need for human engagement on some projects in the industries it serves, such as construction and manufacturing. Other projects may become more complex, however.

"Our goal is to decrease the number of people that are working on a particular project, but increase the number of projects that our customers and our ecosystem are executing," Anagnost said on a conference call.

For now, the company has been delivering consistently, said KeyBanc Capital Markets in a research note. And it is doing so while transitioning to a subscription model rather than multiyear contracts, and to direct sales from third-party channels.

"We are stuffed with gratitude as Autodesk delivered solid and uneventful F3Q results," wrote KeyBanc analyst Jason Celino.

KeyBanc reiterated an Overweight rating and a $365 price target for Autodesk stock. It said the earnings gave it more confidence in its investment thesis for Autodesk.

Write to Nate Wolf at nate.wolf@barrons.com

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November 26, 2025 09:06 ET (14:06 GMT)

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