PTC Q3 Earnings & Sales Lag, ARR View Raised on AI Momentum & Buybacks

Consequently, fiscal 2026 includes their contribution only until March 13, 2026, the date of the divestiture, while fiscal 2025 reflects a full year, affecting year-over-year comparisons for revenue, EPS and cash flow. Quarterly revenue was below the guidance midpoint solely due to the shorter duration of a single large contract expansion, while deal durations across the broader business remained stable.

Nonetheless, its Intelligent Product Lifecycle vision integrates AI across its major product portfolio, including Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) and Service Lifecycle Management (SLM). PTC aims to build an intelligence layer across these platforms, allowing organizations to leverage trusted engineering and operational data more effectively. This strategy positions the company well as manufacturers increasingly seek AI-driven automation, predictive analytics and digital engineering capabilities.

Top-Line Details

Recurring revenues of $576 million dipped 6% year over year.

Perpetual licenses decreased 91% to $691,000.

Professional services revenues were $23.3 million, up 3.3% year over year.

Revenues by License, Support and Services

License revenues were $205.8 million, down 18.2% from the year-ago quarter figure.

Support and cloud services revenues of $370.9 million edged up 0.3% year over year.

Revenues by Product Group

In the fiscal third quarter, PLM revenues (59% of net sales) were $357 million, slipping 12% year over year.

CAD revenues (41%) were $243 million, up 1%.

ARR Model Continues to Strengthen

Annualized recurring revenues (ARR) were $2.4 billion, up 7% year over year. At cc, ARR was $2.5 billion, up 9.1%. PTC generated $60 million in net new ARR in the fiscal third quarter, led by solid demand across its go-to-market initiatives and encouraging early traction for its AI offerings. Backed by this momentum, PTC raised the midpoint of its full-year ARR growth guidance to 9.25%.

PTC raised and narrowed its full-year ARR guidance, with the midpoint implying $214 million in net new ARR, reflecting strong go-to-market execution and improved pipeline visibility. The company expects a significant acceleration in the fiscal fourth quarter, supported by healthy demand generation and the conversion of deferred ARR, with net new ARR (excluding Kepware and ThingWorx) projected at $79-$92 million.

In the fiscal third quarter, PLM and CAD ARR were $1,426 million and $986 million, rising 8% and 6% year over year, respectively.

Operating Details

Total operating expenses came in at $324 million, almost on par with the prior-year quarter.

Operating income on a non-GAAP basis was $248.5 million, down from $285.2 million in the prior-year quarter.

Operating margin on a non-GAAP basis crashed 290 bps year over year to 41%.

Balance Sheet & Cash Flow

As of June 30, 2026, cash and cash equivalents were $351.5 million compared with $439 million as of March 31, 2026.

Total debt, net of deferred issuance costs, was $1.4 billion as of June 30, 2026, compared with $1.2 billion as of March 31, 2026.

Cash provided by operating activities was $261 million compared with the prior-year quarter figure of $244 million. The free cash flow was $249 million compared with $242 million reported in the year-ago quarter.

PTC accelerated share repurchases in the fiscal third quarter, reflecting management's view that the stock was undervalued. After completing a $375 million accelerated share repurchase program and an additional $525 million of open-market buybacks, the company now expects to repurchase about $1.625 billion of shares in fiscal 2026. This is expected to reduce fully diluted shares outstanding from roughly 121 million to 116 million, supporting EPS growth and signaling confidence in PTC's long-term outlook.

PTC Elevates Fiscal 2026 Outlook

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, PTC estimates revenues in the $630-$690 million band. Non-GAAP EPS is projected in the range of $1.63 to $2.21. Cash from operations is expected to be around $29 million. Free cash flow is forecasted to be roughly $15 million, with the year-over-year decline primarily reflecting capital gains tax outflows from the Kepware and ThingWorx sale.

Driven by an encouraging fiscal fourth quarter outlook, PTC lifted the midpoint of its fiscal 2026 revenue and non-GAAP EPS guidance to $2.69-$2.75 billion and $7.87-$8.42, respectively. The prior view was $2.58 billion to $2.82 billion and between $6.65 and $8.90 per share.

For fiscal 2026, PTC reiterated cash from operations projections to be around $880 million, indicating a rise of about 1% on a year-over-year basis. The free cash flow is still forecasted to be roughly $850 million, suggesting about a 1% fall.

PTC’s Zacks Rank

Currently, PTC carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Recent Performances of Peers

Cadence Design Systems CDNS delivered strong second-quarter 2026 results, driven by broad-based demand for its AI-oriented portfolio amid robust design activity and new system architectures across hyperscaler infrastructure and physical AI. Non-GAAP earnings per share (EPS) of $2.11 beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2.9%, increased 27.9% year over year and topped management’s guided range of $2.02 to $2.08. Revenues of $1.584 billion beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.5% and increased 24.2% year over year. The figure was within the management’s guided range of $1.555-$1.595 billion.

Progress Software Corporation PRGS reported second-quarter fiscal 2026 results wherein revenues came in at $253 million, up 7% year over year and 6% on a constant currency (cc) basis. ARR of $868 million inched up 2% year over year on a cc basis. PRGS reported a 16% year-over-year increase in non-GAAP earnings per share, which stood at $1.62. 

SAP SE SAP reported second-quarter 2026 non-IFRS earnings per share (EPS) of €1.59 ($1.85), which increased 6% from the year-ago quarter. The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at $2. Despite macroeconomic uncertainty, SAP reported total revenues on a non-IFRS basis of €9.9 billion ($11.5 billion), which increased 9% year over year (up 11% at constant currency or cc). The Zacks Consensus Estimate was pegged at $11.4 billion.

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