By Nate Wolf

Autodesk posted strong quarterly earnings after the closing bell Thursday, but a $3.6 billion deal to acquire software company MaintainX spooked investors.

Shares of the design and engineering software company fell 6.6% to $225.00 in premarket trading Friday. The stock is down 19% this year.

Autodesk reported adjusted earnings of $2.99 a share on revenue of $1.93 billion in its fiscal first quarter. The results surpassed analysts' expectations for earnings of $2.84 a share and $1.89 billion in revenue. The company also lifted its fiscal-year guidance for both metrics.

But earnings were overshadowed by Autodesk's agreement to purchase MaintainX, a maintenance and operations software platform, for $3.6 billion in cash. The deal will expand Autodesk's operations footprint with customers, which include engineers and builders, Autodesk said. MaintainX expects to reach $135 million in annualized recurring revenue this year with annual growth above 50%.

Software companies are walking a tightrope in 2026 amid fears that artificial-intelligence tools will disrupt their businesses. In this case, the price tag and the fit between Autodesk and MaintainX were enough to send shares spiraling.

The $3.6 billion figure is roughly 18 times expected 2027 revenue, BTIG analyst Nick Altmann estimated. That valuation represents a premium to software peers at a time when multiples have compressed.

Still, Altmann likes the purchase, arguing that MaintainX not only expands Autodesk's presence in its customers' workflow but also adds a rich dataset useful for virtual modeling. BTIG maintained a Buy rating and a $300 target on Autodesk shares.

Oppenheimer analyst Ken Wong was also optimistic about the MaintainX deal, seeing operations as a "natural extension' of Autodesk's role in the design and building process. Investors didn't view things the same way.

"In addition to the price tag, investors are wary of potential organic growth moderation and execution risks as go-to-market synergies aren't apparent," Wong wrote in a note Friday. Nevertheless, the firm reiterated an Outperform rating and a $325 price target on the stock.

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

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May 29, 2026 08:16 ET (12:16 GMT)

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