Wall Street has been enamored with one thing this year: artificial intelligence (AI). AI-themed stocks like Nvidia and Microsoft have awoken the bull market after a long slumber in 2022, with the Nasdaq 100 index now nearing all-time highs.

Who would have thought that sentence would be typed anytime soon looking at where the market was at the end of 2022. But that just goes to show the folly of predicting short-term stock-price movements.

As someone who has followed the company for years, it is curious that investors haven't bid up software giant Autodesk (ADSK 0.71%) as an AI beneficiary.

The company has been investing in generative AI tools for its customers for years, which should give it long-term pricing power as its tools become much more vital for architects, engineers, and construction workers. And yet, Autodesk stock is only up 11% this year, which actually trails the S&P 500's approximate 15% return so far in 2023. 

Should you buy Autodesk as the next stock to play the AI revolution? Let's take a closer look and find out. 

Generative AI for design and engineering software

Autodesk sells software solutions to architects, engineers, and workers in the construction industry. It has a leading architectural design product called Revit, a manufacturing/electrical/mechanical engineering program called Fusion 360, and a plethora of construction productivity tools in the Autodesk Construction Cloud.

Investors don't need to know the ins and outs of every software product, but just know that Autodesk products are used to design and manage engineering, construction, and infrastructure projects of all sizes.

In recent years, Autodesk has worked to improve the capabilities of its software programs by implementing generative AI tools.

For example, a mechanical engineer building a high-powered motorcycle will use a software program like Fusion 306 to design and simulate the forces on various parts across the vehicle. With older programs, these engineers would have to set the testing parameters and the part dimensions one-by-one and see which solution is optimal. Today -- through Autodesk's generative AI tools -- engineers can set a range of parameters and have the software program run a series of simulations to optimize for perfect performance across an engineered product.

These features save customers tons of time and can generate valuable insights, which is why a software program like Revit can charge close to $3,000 per year per user and still be used by virtually every architect. 

Long-term growth prospects are promising

The opportunity for Autodesk to grow its business is huge and should provide a durable tailwind over the next decade and beyond. The construction industry is one of the least digitized in the world, while also one of the largest, which should provide a steady boost to its paying customers.

The company also consistently raises prices as it adds new capabilities to its software programs such as cloud collaboration and the aforementioned generative AI tools.

Taking both of these factors into consideration, management thinks Autodesk can grow its revenue at a 10% to 15% rate for the foreseeable future and hit 40% profit margins.

This year, guidance calls for annual revenue of around $5.4 billion, but with a wide range depending on how foreign currencies change in value versus the U.S. dollar (Autodesk earns a lot of foreign sales). If Autodesk grows revenue by 10% a year, it will hit $10 billion in annual revenue by 2030, or close to double what it is today.

Take a breath and don't get caught up in the hype

Autodesk has been a leader in AI software development, which should help it raise prices over the next few years. But only fools buy stocks because they are a hot "AI play" -- you are just asking to lose money trying to ride the bull market. It is all about what earnings Autodesk will generate in the future relative to the price you have to pay to buy the stock today. 

However, taking the long view, Autodesk stock does look cheap. Today, shares have a market cap of $44 billion. If Autodesk hits a 40% profit margin in 2030, that should equate to $4 billion or more in annual earnings on $10 billion in revenue, which equates to a forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of just 11. Autodesk will likely trade at a P/E much higher than this due to its strong growth prospects and dominant position in the design software space.

From my seat, this makes Autodesk stock a solid buy at these prices and not a bad long-term bet if you want some AI exposure in your portfolio.