William Blair starts Autodesk at Outperform on ‘material’ growth runway

William Blair initiated coverage of Autodesk with an Outperform rating. The company has grown to more than $5B in revenue, providing simulation and design software for the architecture, engineering, construction manufacturing, and media and entertainment verticals, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Management estimates its current total addressable market to be roughly $95B, implying a "material runway" to support double-digit constant-currency revenue growth for the next several years, says the firm. Blair says Autodesk’s shift to annual billings adds greater visibility and linearity to the model while having no fundamental impact on the long-term positioning of the business.