Dassault Beats in Q3 With Help From Software License Recovery; Maintain EUR 35 FVE

Dassault Systemes recorded a nice beat in its third-quarter results, surpassing FactSet top- and bottom-line consensus. It showed growth all around, especially in its formerly hard-hit software licenses subsegment, which is recovering from pandemic-related weakness. Encouraged by strong results, the wide-moat company upped its non-IFRS expectations for the full year, confirming concerns from previous earnings calls this year that it was being too conservative on guidance. Nonetheless, our long-term forecast is relatively unchanged, leaving us reiterating our EUR 35/$41 fair value estimate for the computer-assisted design company. The shares are up 6% on the news to EUR 50, leaving them significantly overvalued after rising roughly 30% over the last six months.