ADBE vs CDNS vs PERF Stock Comparison

Adobe, Cadence Design Systems and Perfect Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ADBE Adobe Inc.
$263.82 +9.6% 1M -25.5% 1Y
Market cap
$102.20B
P/E
14.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.97B
Div. yield
–
Creative Software Technology
6 wins
CDNS Cadence Design Systems Inc
$316.49 +2.4% 1M -6.2% 1Y
Market cap
$88.81B
P/E
64.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.84B
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor EDA Software Technology
3 wins
PERF Perfect Corp.
$2.00 +4.2% 1M +1.0% 1Y
Market cap
$170.12M
P/E
35.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$71.07M
Div. yield
–
Creative Software Technology
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Adobe leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Adobe 6, Cadence Design Systems 3, Perfect 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionADBECDNSPERFLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $102.20B $88.81B $170.12M ADBE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 14.0x 64.4x 35.3x ADBE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 10.5x 36.5x 28.6x ADBE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.0% +14.7% +10.4% CDNS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 28.0% 23.6% 8.1% ADBE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 54.5% 14.2% 0.8% ADBE
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.4x 0.5x -67.9x PERF
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -25.5% -6.2% +1.0% PERF
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -16.3%/yr +13.7%/yr — CDNS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.0% 41.0% 47.8% CDNS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 65/100 58/100 60/100 ADBE

Percentile Scorecard

ADBECDNSPERF

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisADBECDNSPERF
Valuation 59 #13 of 30 37 #60 of 95 79 #7 of 30
Growth 19 #22 of 27 63 #35 of 93 35 #18 of 27
Profitability 100 #1 of 26 84 #15 of 91 36 #17 of 26
Financial Health 61 #13 of 32 36 #66 of 102 90 #4 of 32
Shareholder Returns 88 #3 of 17 68 #25 of 76 –
Overall 65 58 60
  • ADBE ranked among 33 companies in Workplace Software
  • CDNS ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors
  • PERF ranked among 33 companies in Workplace Software

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodADBECDNSPERFSPY
1 month +9.6%+2.4%+4.2% -1.0%
3 months +17.2%-3.0%+4.2% +2.9%
6 months +7.5%-4.9%+22.0% +6.4%
Year to date -24.6%+1.3%+10.5% +11.4%
1 year -25.5%-6.2%+1.0% +13.1%
3 years -51.1%+33.3%-27.3% +79.4%
3 years, per year -21.2%+10.1%-10.1% +21.5%
5 years -59.0%+89.8%— +67.7%
5 years, per year -16.3%+13.7%— +10.9%
10 years +142.0%+1,131.0%— +255.2%
10 years, per year +9.2%+28.5%— +13.5%

Risk

MeasureADBECDNSPERFSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.0%41.0%47.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 43.9%41.0%47.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.251.610.22 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.61-0.150.02 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -71.9%-33.0%-88.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -26.7%-24.0%-4.3% -2.5%
52-week high $359.91$416.39$2.09 $779.14
52-week low $193.41$265.66$1.30 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleADBECDNSPERF
P/E now vs peer median 14.3xmedian 32.3x 62.9xmedian 41.5x 35.3xmedian 32.3x
P/S now vs peer median 4.0xmedian 2.4x 14.9xmedian 6.9x 2.4xmedian 2.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.9xmedian 11.5x 42.1xmedian 27.3x 7.0xmedian 11.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 9.7xmedian 14.2x 51.9xmedian 35.6x 15.6xmedian 14.2x
P/B now vs peer median 8.8xmedian 2.7x 12.7xmedian 4.2x 1.1xmedian 2.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.78median 0.77 4.12median 2.31 1.33median 0.77

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsADBECDNSPERF
Revenue $25.97B $5.84B $71.07M
Gross profit $23.18B $5.01B $56.66M
Operating income $9.27B $1.77B $1.26M
Net income $7.28B $1.38B $8.43M
Free cash flow $10.59B $1.68B $10.88M
R&D $4.69B $1.93B $14.93M
EPS (diluted) $18.42 $4.99 $0.06
Cash & equivalents $4.36B $1.44B $125.62M
Total debt $1.60B $10.35B $7.81M
Shares (diluted) 395.50M 276.16M 101.85M
Enterprise value $77.45B $80.21B -$417.85M

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricADBECDNSPERF
P/E 14.3x 62.9x 35.3x
P/FCF 9.7x 51.9x 15.6x
P/Operating cash flow 9.5x 47.0x 16.2x
P/S 4.0x 14.9x 2.4x
P/B 8.8x 12.7x 1.1x
P/Tangible book 9.5x 17.5x 1.1x
EV/EBITDA 9.9x 42.1x 7.0x
EV/EBIT 10.7x 49.8x 12.6x
EV/Revenue 3.8x 15.1x 0.2x
EV/FCF 9.4x 52.5x 1.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 9.2x 47.6x 1.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.78 4.12 1.33

Growth

14 metrics
MetricADBECDNSPERF
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.0% 14.7% 10.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 11.2% 15.4% 13.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 12.2% 15.1% 14.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.8% 13.8% 12.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 10.3% 25.5% 157.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 13.1% 17.4% 26.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 4.7% 36.2% 37.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 12.5% 15.7% 26.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 12.3% 34.6% -1.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 18.2% 15.3% 26.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 10.4% 8.1% -32.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.4% 13.7% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 10.3% 5.9% -31.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.6% 14.0% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricADBECDNSPERF
Gross margin 89.3% 85.9% 79.7%
EBITDA margin 38.6% 35.9% 3.2%
Operating margin 35.7% 30.3% 1.8%
Pretax margin 35.7% 31.2% 10.0%
Net margin 28.0% 23.6% 8.1%
FCF margin 40.8% 28.8% 15.3%
Operating cash flow margin 41.6% 31.8% 14.8%
Return on equity 62.6% 20.5% 5.4%
Return on assets 24.3% 11.4% 4.3%
Return on invested capital 54.5% 14.2% 0.8%
Return on capital employed 51.3% 17.3% 0.8%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.5x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 1.3x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 8.0% 8.8% 1.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricADBECDNSPERF
Debt / assets 5.3% 20.5% 4.0%
Debt / equity 0.1x 0.4x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.4x 0.5x -67.9x
Debt / FCF 0.2x 1.5x 0.7x
Liabilities / assets 60.8% 43.2% 19.4%
Equity / assets 39.2% 56.8% 80.6%
Interest coverage 35.7x 14.1x 66.4x
Current ratio 0.8x 1.7x 4.6x
Quick ratio 0.7x 1.7x 4.6x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.8x 4.4x
Altman Z-score 7.54 12.02 1.28

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricADBECDNSPERF
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 8.8% 0.7% –
Shareholder yield 8.8% 0.7% –
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusADBECDNSPERF
Forward P/E 10.5xFY2026 36.5xFY2026 28.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $25.10FY2026 $8.68FY2026 $0.07FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +19.9%FY2026 +21.6%FY2026 +40.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.7% +14.5% +14.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $24.94BFY2026 $6.74BFY2026 $76.52MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.9%FY2026 +27.2%FY2026 +10.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +21.2% +13.3% +8.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersADBECDNSPERF
Held by institutions 82.5% 88.2% –
Institutions holding 1,982 1,498 –
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.7% +5.4% –
Institutions buying 838 831 –
Institutions selling 928 518 –
Buyers to sellers 0.90 1.60 –

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ADBECDNSPERF
ADBE 1.00 0.22 0.10
CDNS 0.22 1.00 0.10
PERF 0.10 0.10 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ADBE, CDNS and PERF?

Adobe (ADBE) is the largest by market capitalisation: Adobe (ADBE) $102.20B, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) $88.81B, Perfect (PERF) $170.12M.

Which stock is cheaper, ADBE, CDNS and PERF?

Adobe (ADBE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Adobe (ADBE) 14.0x, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 64.4x, Perfect (PERF) 35.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Adobe (ADBE) is cheapest (Adobe (ADBE) 10.5x, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 36.5x, Perfect (PERF) 28.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Adobe (ADBE) +12.0%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) +14.7%, Perfect (PERF) +10.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Adobe (ADBE) has the highest net margin (Adobe (ADBE) 28.0%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 23.6%, Perfect (PERF) 8.1%). On return on invested capital, Adobe (ADBE) leads (Adobe (ADBE) 54.5%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 14.2%, Perfect (PERF) 0.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Perfect (PERF) returned the most: Adobe (ADBE) -25.5%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) -6.2%, Perfect (PERF) +1.0%. Over five years, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) compounded fastest (Adobe (ADBE) -16.3%/yr, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) +13.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) has been the steadiest (Adobe (ADBE) 42.0%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 41.0%, Perfect (PERF) 47.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ADBE, CDNS and PERF?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Adobe (ADBE) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.