ADSK - Autodesk Left A Door Ajar For Its Pushy Investor

2024-06-24 10:17:00 ET

Summary

• Autodesk has drawn the ire of shareholder rabble-rouser Starboard Value over how and when it disclosed shifts in billing practices.
• The company says that there’s no issue, since its investigation didn’t lead to any financial restatements, and claims that the changes weren’t engineered to boost pay.
• Starboard’s suggestions are standard fare: cut costs, refrain from silly acquisitions, and return capital to investors.

By Breakingviews

Autodesk ( ADSK ) left its shaky foundation exposed. The $50 bln firm, which develops design software for engineers and architects, has drawn the ire of shareholder rabble-rouser Starboard Value over how and when it disclosed shifts in billing practices. Suspect financial goals and associated executive pay are a tempting activist target. The bigger problem is that this opens a path for Starboard to attack longer-running underperformance....

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