Concerns about competitiveness in an AI-driven market continue to weigh on how investors assess the viability of Software as a Service (“SaaS”) companies.

The group suffered significant selloffs during the first months of 2026, and while shares have somewhat recovered since then, investors still seem cautious about this group of stocks as a whole.

That said, this doesn’t mean every SaaS firm out there will be rendered obsolete by AI alternatives. The reality is, some software companies are just better positioned than others by virtue of their offerings.

Autodesk (ADSK) stands out as one of those companies.

Autodesk is a software firm that specializes in 2D and 3D design software used for architectural, construction, industrial machinery, 3D animation, manufacturing, engineering, visual effects, consumer products, production, automotive, game development, and others.

The company is known primarily for AutoCAD, a computer-aided (“CAD”) application used in 2D and 3D drafting and design. This application is frequently used by engineers, architects, graphic designers, interior designers, and others.

Other notable offerings include: Revit, a building information modeling (“BIM”) software used for building and infrastructure design; Fusion, a cloud-based software used for 3D modeling, electronics, data management, and simulation workloads; and Maya, a 3D modeling software used for animation. 

AutoCAD is an essential application across industries including manufacturing, engineering, and construction, making it costly and time intensive to replace. As a result, the company regularly boasts retention rates above 100%, highlighting its ability to push additional services on its existing client base.

Demand for Autodesk’s offerings remains strong as well. Its remaining performance obligations currently sit at $5.3 billion, representing nearly a year’s worth of revenue in commitments.

Moreover, Autodesk has recently driven further growth through the acquisition of MaintainX for roughly $3.6 billion.

This deal bolstered Autodesk’s operations solutions business, giving the company a unified platform where customers can design and analyze workflows in a centralized space.

The company’s software solutions and impressive retention rates have allowed Autodesk to produce above-average returns over the past few years.

Since 2022, the company’s Uniform return on assets (“ROA”) has consistently exceeded 50%. During its 2026 fiscal year, the firm delivered a Uniform ROA of 52% alongside a Uniform asset growth of 24%.

That said, the company currently trades at Uniform P/E of 19x, indicating that the market is taking a balanced approach towards the company amid construction and manufacturing spending trends.

At this valuation, the market expects Autodesk to maintain 52% returns in perpetuity, along with just 5% asset growth.

That said, Autodesk’s business model, high retention rates, and continued customer demand could enable it to sustain earnings growth that exceeds current market projections.

Best regards,

Joel Litman & Rob Spivey
Chief Investment Officer &
Director of Research
at Valens Research

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