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Signed by Jeffrey Smith, addressed to Non-Executive Chair Stacy Smith. Core grievance pivots around the May 2024 Audit Committee Investigation that concluded ADSK intentionally reverted to multi-year upfront billings to manipulate FCF after publicly committing to annual billings — Starboard quotes the May 31, 2024 Form 8-K verbatim (CEO/CFO quote-contradiction via prior Deborah Clifford statements). Charts are embedded within letter body (5-year TSR chart, OpEx-%-revenue peer bar, EV/EBITDA peer bar, 4-panel Investor Day targets-vs-actuals). Missing peer/campaign precedents — argument rests entirely on ADSK-specific peer benchmarking rather than activist playbook analogues. SEC and U.S. Attorney's Office investigations mentioned as ongoing.", "kpisCited": [ { "detail": "ADSK 43.5% vs Design Software Peers 193.4%, S&P 500 117.0%, IGV 103.9%, Other Scaled Software Peers 96.4% (Jun-19 to Jun-24)", "metric": "5-year total return" }, { "detail": "ADSK 57% vs peer average 44% — highest of the vertical software peer set (WDAY 55%, NOW 53%, ANSS 49%, CDNS 47%, CRM 46%, PTC/ADBE/SNPS/INTU 43%, AZPN 34%, MSFT 26%)", "metric": "CY2025E Operating Expenses as % of Revenue" }, { "detail": "ADSK 19.4x vs peer average 23.5x (CDNS 34.5x, SNPS 30.2x, NOW 31.7x)", "metric": "EV / CY2025E EBITDA" }, { "detail": "At least 1,000 bps upside on a like-for-like basis", "metric": "Operating margin improvement potential" }, { "detail": "Investor Day target 16-18%, FY23 actual 15% — MISSED", "metric": "FY20-23 Revenue CAGR" }, { "detail": "Investor Day target 40% (adj. 38%), FY23 actual 36% — MISSED", "metric": "Adj. Operating Margins" }, { "detail": "Investor Day target $2.4B, FY23 actual $2.0B — MISSED", "metric": "Free Cash Flow" }, { "detail": "Investor Day target 55-65% (adj. 64-68%), FY23 actual 55% — MISSED midpoint", "metric": "Growth + FCF Margins" }, { "detail": "More than 20% drop from initial disclosure to release of findings", "metric": "Share price decline from Investigation disclosure" }, { "detail": "Approximately 6% increase since June 17, 2024 letter", "metric": "Share price reaction to Starboard letter" }, { "detail": "More than $500 million", "metric": "Starboard stake size" } ], "closingAsk": "Provide shareholders with full transparency on the Investigation and hold culpable executives and directors accountable — up to and including resignations — so Autodesk can rebuild trust and realize its potential.", "extraction": { "at": "2026-04-23 08:09:47+00", "model": "unknown-legacy", "runId": null, "seconds": 161.10352, "promptVersion": null }, "scqaReward": "Best-in-class operations and governance can close the peer multiple gap and deliver a premium valuation on top of material margin expansion, unlocking significant shareholder value at a genuinely high-quality software franchise.", "thesisTypes": [ "operational_turnaround", "governance_board", "management_change" ], "top3Reasons": [ "Autodesk spends 57% of revenue on OpEx vs 44% peer avg — 1,000+ bps margin upside", "Board tolerated years of missed Investor Day targets and misleading billings disclosures with no accountability", "5-year stock return 43.5% vs design-software peers 193.4% — worst-in-class performance" ], "scqaSituation": "Autodesk is a dominant vertical-software franchise in AEC design with best-in-class gross margins and near-monopolistic market position, but trades at 19.4x EV/EBITDA versus a 23.5x peer average.", "thesisSummary": "Starboard, holding a stake valued at more than $500 million, argues that Autodesk is a fundamentally high-quality design-software franchise crippled by Board and management failures. Over five years ADSK returned 43.5% versus 193.4% for design-software peers, and the Company missed every FY2023 Investor Day target — revenue CAGR, margins, and free cash flow. The May 2024 Audit Committee Investigation confirmed management intentionally reverted to multi-year upfront billings to hit FCF goals while telling investors the opposite, yet no real consequences followed (the then-CFO was moved to Chief Strategy Officer). Starboard demands full transparency on who was responsible, accountability up to and including resignations, and execution on a 1,000+ bps operating-margin improvement — led by rightsizing S&M — to rebuild trust and close the EV/EBITDA discount (19.4x vs 23.5x peer avg).", "primaryDemands": [ "Provide full transparency to shareholders about the Audit Committee Investigation findings and who was responsible", "Hold management accountable for intentionally misleading billings/FCF disclosures — executives who perpetuated the narrative should no longer be employed", "Board members who knew of the misleading disclosures should resign; directors without knowledge should be outraged and take immediate action", "Drive at least 1,000 bps of operating margin improvement by cutting bloated S&M and operating expenses", "Restore best-in-class operations and governance to close the valuation discount to peers" ], "scqaResolution": "The Board must disclose who was responsible for the misleading narrative, remove culpable executives and directors, and drive at least 1,000 bps of operating-margin improvement by cutting bloated sales & marketing spend.", "thesisOneLiner": "Autodesk's Board tolerated years of underperformance and misleading billings disclosures; accountability, transparency, and a 1,000+ bps margin improvement can restore a best-in-class software franchise.", "precedentsCited": [], "scqaComplication": "The Board has presided over five years of peer-lagging returns, every FY2023 Investor Day target missed, and an Audit Committee Investigation confirming management intentionally misled investors on billings practices to manipulate free cash flow — with no meaningful consequences.", "narrativeInterest": 4, "notableSlidePages": [ 1, 2, 3, 4 ], "peerCompaniesCited": [ "ADBE", "ANSS", "AZPN", "CDNS", "CRM", "INTU", "MSFT", "NOW", "PTC", "SNPS", "WDAY" ], "valuationFrameworks": [ "multiple_comparison" ], "visualCraftInterest": 3 }, "pitchdeck": { "metadata": null, "profile": null }, "slides": [ { "page": 1, "type": "tension", "title": "This is the first page of a shareholder letter from Starboard Value to Autodesk.", "function": "frame_problem", "imagePath": "https://imgproxy.kitesheet.com/2bN8XFYy_AcpvkNh_tiZcKoFHo-8sO9X_eZt6jEYKQ8/rs:fit:1200:1200:0/q:82/f:webp/czM6Ly9raXRlc2hlZXQvY29ycHVzL3NsaWRlcy8wZmNiMjI0NDUyYTgvcDAwMS5wbmc", "rawType": "executive_summary", "block": null, "metadata": { "slideType": "executive_summary", "slideTypeCanon": { "name": "Executive summary", "slug": "executive_summary", "status": "active", "canonId": "019de52d-06be-73ff-81b3-f99fe7f0025e", "version": 1, "description": null }, "function": "frame_problem", "functionCanon": { "name": "Frame problem", "slug": "frame_problem", "status": "active", "canonId": "019de52d-13db-753e-ad70-e9b2d0dab398", "version": 1, "description": null }, "density": "sparse", "densityScore": 20, "componentCount": 3, "textChars": 348, "nDataPoints": 1, "notes": "This is the first page of a shareholder letter from Starboard Value to Autodesk.", "elementsJson": null, "confidence": 1, "extraction": { "model": "google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview-20260303", "runId": null, "at": "2026-05-02 21:00:59.316+00", "seconds": 4.636, "promptVersion": "v2-canon-conditioned" } }, "links": { "slide": "/slides/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9d-275a8215036f/1", "deck": "/decks/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9d-275a8215036f", "deckAnchor": "/decks/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9d-275a8215036f#slide-1", "deckJson": "/decks/019dd923-622c-750b-8b9d-275a8215036f.json" }, "components": [ { "bbox": { "h": 0.08, "w": 0.3, "x": 0.35, "y": 0.05 }, "kind": "image", "text": "Starboard Value logo", "attrs": null, "canon": { "kind": { "name": "Image", "slug": "image", "status": "active", "canonId": "019de52c-f978-701f-a720-51d029d769e7", "version": 1, "description": "Photo, illustration, screenshot or icon." }, "tool": null, "subkind": { "name": "Logo", "slug": "logo", "status": "active", "canonId": "019de52c-fdaf-743d-94c4-d7c6a0e55302", "version": 1, "description": null }, "framework": null }, "subkind": "logo", "groupRole": null, "confidence": null, "extraction": { "at": "2026-05-02 21:00:59.316+00", "model": "google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview-20260303", "runId": null, "seconds": null, "promptVersion": null }, "componentId": "014ab2fa-cb35-46f4-8858-a23f04bfeef1", "parentComponentId": null }, { "bbox": { "h": 0.1, "w": 0.5, "x": 0.15, "y": 0.15 }, "kind": "paragraph", "text": "June 25, 2024. Autodesk, Inc. One Market Street, Ste. 400. San Francisco, California 94105. 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