Autodesk Inc.
(
ADSK
) is scheduled to release its fiscal third quarter 2013 results
after the closing bell on November 15, 2012.
Prior Quarter Highlights
Autodesk Inc. reported mixed second quarter 2013 results. The
company reported non-GAAP earnings of 48 cents per share, which
were ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 40 cents per share.
However, including stock based compensation and its related tax
effects, earnings came at 35 cents.
Revenue increased 4.1% from the year-ago quarter to $568.7
million, but was way behind the Zacks Consensus Estimate of
$594.0 million. Revenue growth slowed considerably as certain
organizational realignments hampered sales executions.
Sluggishness in the macroeconomic environment also led to the
weaker-than-expected top-line growth.
For third quarter 2013, Autodesk expects revenues in the range
of $550 million to $570 million. The Zacks Consensus
Estimate for the quarter is pegged at $562 million. Non-GAAP EPS
is expected in the range of 40 cents to 45 cents.
For further details please read:
Autodesk's Outlook Disappoints
Estimate Revision Trend
In the last 30 days, only one out of the five analysts
covering the stock revised the third quarter estimate downward,
while none revised their estimates upward. Thus, the Zacks
Consensus Estimate fell by a penny to 31 cents for the same
period of time.
Analysts covering the stock prefer to remain cautious about
the third quarter results as they expect issues related to the
sales execution, which hampered the second quarter performance,
to continue. Moreover, analysts expect a tepid demand scenario in
the U.S. to weigh on the company's top line.
However, the company's initiatives to shift toward cloud and
mobile computing are expected to be long-term positives.
Recommendation
We note that Autodesk has a negative average earnings surprise
of 4.25% over the past four quarters. The ongoing sluggishness in
the macroeconomic environment, Autodesk's high exposure to Europe
and its customer concentration are the near-term headwinds.
Moreover, Autodesk expects the pre-tax charge to range $40
million to $45 million in the third quarter, which would weigh on
the stock.
However, Autodesk maintains a dominant position in the
computer-aided designing market. We believe that Autodesk's
expanding product portfolio, broadening industry applications and
geographic reach will help it sustain longer-term growth. We
believe that the new cloud-based products will boost Autodesk's
subscriber base in the near term. The company is also increasing
its penetration in the mobile market by developing software for
smartphones and
Apple Inc.
's (
AAPL
) iPad, which will boost Autodesk's top-line growth in the long
term.
We have a Neutral recommendation on Autodesk's shares in the
long term. Currently, Autodesk has a Zacks #4 Rank, which
translates into a short-term (1-3 months) 'Sell' rating.
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