ANSYS, Inc. (ANSS) DCF Valuation & Fundamental Primer
ANSYS, Inc. (ANSS) currently trades at $237.46 with an enterprise value of $29.88B. Our proprietary institutional model rates ANSYS, Inc. at 82/100 (Grade: A · High-Quality Compounder). The current market price prices in an implied 5-year revenue CAGR of 24.3% vs. historical growth of 20.8% (Fairly Priced to Fundamentals).
Institutional fundamental teardown of ANSYS, Inc. (ANSS) covering SEC 10-K/10-Q cash flow conversion, SBC dilution friction, and Reverse-DCF valuation hurdles.
ANSYS, Inc. (ANSS) 3-Scenario DCF Valuation Range
Institutional Software Quality Scorecard (82/100 · Grade A)
Strong fundamentals, above-average cash generation, and robust competitive positioning.
Elite deferred revenue float; FCF exceeds operating income by >20%
Elevated equity dilution; SBC consumes substantial operating cash flow
Elite Tier-1 SaaS compounder with high gross margin and superior Rule of 40
Positive net cash cushion; self-funding operations with zero insolvency risk
Core Investment Strengths & Moats
- High-grade cash conversion: FCF is 2250% of EBIT driven by upfront annual collections
- Top-quartile software unit economics: 77.3% gross margin and 43.3% Rule of 40 score
- Net cash positive: $2.01B balance sheet buffer
Key Operational & Dilution Risks
- Substantial SBC dilution drag: SBC is 18.8% of revenue ($875.9M)
Reverse-DCF Solver: What Growth is Priced Into ANSS?
Market implies 24.3% annual revenue growth over next 5 years, in line with company run-rate.
ANSYS, Inc. (ANSS) 5-Year Fundamental Forecast
| Statement Line Item | TTM Audited Base | TTM | Y1 | Y2 | Y3 | Y4 | Y5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $4.66B | $4.66B | $5.63B | $6.80B | $8.21B | $9.92B | $11.98B |
| Gross Profit | $3.60B | $3.60B | $4.35B | $5.26B | $6.35B | $7.67B | $9.26B |
| Operating Income (EBIT) | $46.6M | $46.6M | $56.3M | $68.0M | $82.1M | $99.2M | $119.8M |
| Stock-Based Compensation (SBC) | $875.9M | $875.9M | $1.06B | $1.28B | $1.54B | $1.87B | $2.25B |
| Unlevered Free Cash Flow (FCF) | $1.05B | $1.05B | $1.27B | $1.53B | $1.85B | $2.23B | $2.70B |
| SBC-Adjusted True Cash Flow | $172.4M | $172.4M | $208.2M | $251.5M | $303.9M | $367.1M | $443.4M |
Software & Cloud Services Peer Comparables Matrix
| Company | Ticker | Market Cap | TTM Revenue | Gross Margin | FCF Margin | Rule of 40 | SBC % Rev | EV / Rev |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANSYS, Inc. | ANSS | $36.02B | $4.66B | 77.3% | 22.5% | 43.3% | 18.8% | 7.3× |
| ServiceNow, Inc. | NOW | $192.40B | $10.98B | 79.5% | 31.5% | 54.0% | 15.8% | 17.2× |
| Workday, Inc. | WDAY | $38.74B | $2.98B | 74.9% | 20.8% | 41.1% | 17.1% | 12.5× |
| Salesforce, Inc. | CRM | $307.82B | $37.90B | 76.8% | 32.4% | 43.4% | 8.4% | 8.0× |
| Datadog, Inc. | DDOG | $45.58B | $2.68B | 81.2% | 28.5% | 55.0% | 20.4% | 16.1× |
| Snowflake Inc. | SNOW | $54.93B | $3.62B | 74.0% | 26.0% | 54.0% | 34.5% | 14.7× |
| HubSpot, Inc. | HUBS | $38.18B | $4.76B | 83.4% | 16.9% | 38.8% | 10.9% | 7.4× |
| Peer Cohort Median Benchmark (N=6) | 78.2% | 27.3% | 48.7% | 16.4% | 13.6× | |||
EV / Revenue Multiple Compression Stress Test
| Multiple Scenario | EV / Revenue | Implied Enterprise Value | Implied Equity Value | Implied Share Price | Delta vs Current |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current Multiple | 7.3× | $34.01B | $36.02B | $237.46 | 0.0% |
| -20% Multiple Compression | 5.8× | $27.21B | $29.22B | $192.62 | -20.0% |
| -35% Multiple Compression | 4.7× | $22.11B | $24.12B | $158.99 | -35.0% |
| Software Baseline Floor (5.0× EV/Rev) | 5.0× | $23.29B | $25.31B | $166.82 | -31.5% |
Frequently Asked Questions: ANSYS, Inc. (ANSS) Valuation
What is ANSYS, Inc. (ANSS)'s intrinsic DCF valuation and implied share price?
Based on audited SEC 10-K/10-Q filings and a 5-year 3-statement discounted cash flow (DCF) model, ANSYS, Inc. (ANSS) has a Base Case implied value of $210.27 per share (with a Bear Case of $97.17 and a Bull Case of $368.85), compared to its current price of $237.46. The model discounts projected free cash flows at a 10.0% WACC and a 2.5% terminal growth rate.
What is ANSYS, Inc. (ANSS)'s Rule of 40 score and Free Cash Flow margin?
ANSYS, Inc. achieves a Rule of 40 score of 43.3%, combining a 20.8% revenue growth run-rate with a 22.5% TTM free cash flow margin on $4.66B in trailing twelve-month revenue. In the Software & Cloud Services peer cohort, the median Rule of 40 benchmark is 48.7%.
What revenue growth rate is priced into ANSS stock according to Reverse-DCF analysis?
At $237.46 per share (Enterprise Value of $34.01B), our Reverse-DCF solver indicates the market is pricing in a 5-year implied revenue CAGR of 24.3%, compared to ANSYS, Inc.'s historical CAGR of 20.8%. Overall market expectations are rated as "Fairly Priced to Fundamentals".
How does ANSYS, Inc. compare to Software & Cloud Services software peers?
ANSYS, Inc. (ANSS) earns an institutional Software Quality Score of 82/100 (Grade A — High-Quality Compounder). Across its Software & Cloud Services peer group (NOW, WDAY, CRM, DDOG, SNOW), the cohort trades at a median EV/TTM Revenue multiple of 13.6× and a median gross margin of 78.2%.
How does Stock-Based Compensation (SBC) impact ANSYS, Inc. (ANSS)'s valuation?
ANSYS, Inc. recorded $875.9M in TTM stock-based compensation (18.8% of revenue). When treating SBC as a cash-equivalent compensation expense, ANSYS, Inc.'s SBC-adjusted free cash flow yield is 0.5%, scoring 10/25 on our Shareholder Dilution Friction pillar.