Just when I thought I escaped the recent carnage relatively unscathed, ADSK happened.
-15% AH, and -25% from ATH. Here are my notes.
2/ 3Q topline beat high end of guidance. Overall growth has accelerated a bit this quarter, but based on guidance, unfortunately the acceleration is unlikely to sustain.
3/ All the recent buzzwords here
"While demand is robust, we believe supply chain disruption and resulting inflationary pressures, a global labor shortage making it harder for our customers to staff new projects and the ebb and flow of COVID are contributing to the deceleration"
4/ Direct revenue, which is higher margin, now ~35% of total revenue. Net revenue retention 100-110%.
Non-GAAP operating margin increased by ~200 bps to ~32%
5/ During 3Q, ADSK bought back 980k shares at an avg $293/share. Total buyback this year $483 Mn.
Don't get too excited; SBC YTD $410 Mn, and shares outstanding mostly flat YoY. So buyback so far just negating the dilution.
6/ ADSK extended debt maturity profile by 2 yrs and decreased weighted avg cost by 40 bps. Also reducing 20% sqft of their facilities which will have $180 Mn GAAP charge, but should be helpful in rationalizing costs in the long term.
7/ I understand market's disappointment as sell side had been somewhat suspicious of ADSK’s FY’23 guide. ADSK now not only guided down 4Q’22 guide, but also acknowledged challenges for FY’23 guide as well.
8/ On Fusion 360
"As one measure of this ecosystem, we ended the third quarter with 1 million monthly active users, up over 50% year-over-year, and they are doing some amazing work."
9/ "Across Autodesk, the number of premium subscribers increased more than 500% year-over-year."
Probably just base effect; would be helpful if they provided actual numbers.
10/ Lots of questions about guide down and more detailed explanations here
11/ ADSK hasn't modeled any uplift from infrastructure bill but expects benefits that can materialize over multi-year period
12/ On new Flex pricing model:
"We're seeing a large percent of Flex business coming in is net new. Another chunk of Flex business coming in as these occasional usage buyers. And another chunk of business where people trying and using more advanced products"
13/ What are the data points investors can track to assess macro impact on ADSK?
I. Cost of freight
II. Cost of core commodities
III. Follow chip shortage situations
"Market environment remains weak, with shipments below 2019 levels."
growth opportunities in industrial and automotive
Four revenue scenarios for 2026, with floor being $20 Bn. FYI, $TXN consensus estimates for '26 revenue is $20 Bn.
"I would be extremely disappointed if it ends up at $20 billion. That's not my expectation. That's not the signature I see as we compete for market share today."
I received a couple of DMs asking about "hey, what's going on in Bangladesh"
While I left Bangladesh in 2017, my almost entire family still lives there. So I'm keenly aware of what's going on. I'll briefly cover what happened and the implications.
let's start with the end result. The Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina or SH (who's the Head of State in Bangladesh) fled the country after facing intense protest from Bangladeshi students. Her exact location doesn't seem to be confirmed yet (rumored to be India or EU).
Let's back up a little and give some brief historical context.
SH came to power in 2008. Her father- Mujib was the architect in mobilizing people in Bangladesh to gain independence from Pakistan in 1971. Following independence, Mujib became the first PM of Bangladesh.
closed my $AMZN Jan 2025 $160 calls that I wrote. 43% gain in this trade, but feels like just another lucky trade as I now think AMZN is undervalued (and I was likely too cautious to hedge it at $160 back then). Kept the $55 calls unhedged now.
CSU's organic growth for recurring revenue will probably more or less mimic $BRO's organic growth. But CSU has ~20% ROIC vs BRO's ~10% but they trade at *almost* similar multiple. So I decided to buyback what I trimmed.
Going through insurance brokers earnings now. $AON and $MMC finally growing in tandem after AON lagged MMC consistently since 2Q'21.
$BRO is the clear winner in organic growth for this quarter. (disc: long $BRO and $AON)
Looking closer between MMC and AON.
will add to this thread later as I go through the transcript.
In the meantime, here's my Deep Dive on $BRO (also explains why I love this industry and would like to own probably most of these companies over time at "right" valuation):
After sequential revenue decline in China for 7 consecutive quarters, this quarter experienced ~15-20% growth across all segments in China. Europe and Japan are also in early phase of the upcycle.
More commentary on China:
"the market is more competitive in China, but we can compete and we can win business in very attractive margins"
expect incremental margin to be ~75-85% (ex depreciation)
"Inventory is being built at the right part, where we have this diversity and longevity positions such that we don't risk the scrap of the inventory."