ADBE vs SNPS vs CDNS Stock Comparison

Adobe, Synopsys and Cadence Design Systems Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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ADBE Adobe Inc.
$248.36 +5.5% 1M -30.6% 1Y
Market cap
$98.16B
P/E
13.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.97B
Div. yield
–
Creative Software Technology
7 wins
SNPS Synopsys Inc
$474.42 +11.4% 1M +1.9% 1Y
Market cap
$92.03B
P/E
70.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.88B
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor EDA Software Technology
2 wins
CDNS Cadence Design Systems Inc
$343.08 +5.2% 1M -2.4% 1Y
Market cap
$93.39B
P/E
67.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.13B
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor EDA Software Technology
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Adobe leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Adobe 7, Synopsys 2, Cadence Design Systems 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionADBESNPSCDNSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $98.16B $92.03B $93.39B ADBE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 13.5x 70.7x 67.6x ADBE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 9.9x 32.6x 38.8x ADBE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.0% +38.0% +17.6% SNPS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 28.0% 14.7% — ADBE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 44.3% 1.8% — ADBE
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.1x 2.8x — ADBE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -30.6% +1.9% -2.4% SNPS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -17.2%/yr +7.7%/yr +15.2%/yr CDNS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 42.2% 44.7% 41.4% CDNS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 65/100 39/100 49/100 ADBE

Percentile Scorecard

ADBESNPSCDNS

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

AxisADBESNPSCDNS
Valuation 61 #12 of 29 42 #55 of 94 27 #69 of 94
Growth 19 #22 of 27 48 #48 of 92 65 #33 of 92
Profitability 100 #1 of 26 47 #48 of 90 54 #42 of 90
Financial Health 60 #13 of 31 18 #81 of 99 –
Shareholder Returns 88 #3 of 17 – –
Overall 65 39 49
  • ADBE ranked among 32 companies in Workplace Software
  • SNPS ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors
  • CDNS ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodADBESNPSCDNSSPY
1 month +5.5%+11.4%+5.2% -0.2%
3 months -0.3%+23.6%-0.5% +3.9%
6 months +2.1%-2.0%+5.5% +8.2%
Year to date -29.0%+1.0%+9.8% +12.9%
1 year -30.6%+1.9%-2.4% +12.3%
3 years -51.1%+3.8%+48.6% +87.4%
3 years, per year -21.2%+1.3%+14.1% +23.3%
5 years -61.2%+45.2%+103.1% +67.9%
5 years, per year -17.2%+7.7%+15.2% +10.9%
10 years +132.0%+713.3%+1,252.8% +261.1%
10 years, per year +8.8%+23.3%+29.8% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureADBESNPSCDNSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 42.2%44.7%41.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.2%42.7%41.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.221.681.62 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.720.04-0.06 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -71.9%-42.3%-33.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -31.0%-11.3%-17.6% -1.2%
52-week high $359.91$534.56$416.39 $779.14
52-week low $193.41$372.33$265.66 $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.

MultipleADBESNPSCDNS
P/E now vs peer median 13.5xmedian 31.0x 69.8xmedian 45.6x 68.1xmedian 45.6x
P/S now vs peer median 3.7xmedian 2.4x 10.2xmedian 7.7x 15.4xmedian 7.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.6xmedian 11.3x 42.1xmedian 29.0x —median 29.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 9.2xmedian 15.6x —median 40.6x 53.2xmedian 40.6x
P/B now vs peer median 8.3xmedian 3.0x 2.9xmedian 4.6x 13.7xmedian 4.6x
PEG now vs peer median 0.74median 0.74 147.37median 2.28 5.47median 2.28

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 monthsADBESNPSCDNS
Revenue $25.97B $8.88B $6.13B
Gross profit $23.18B $6.53B –
Operating income $9.27B $847.20M $1.77B
Net income $7.28B $1.30B $1.38B
Free cash flow $10.59B – –
R&D $4.69B $2.81B $2.04B
EPS (diluted) $18.42 $6.77 $5.00
Cash & equivalents $4.36B $3.61B $1.45B
Total debt $4.77B $10.04B –
Shares (diluted) 395.50M 192.32M 276.16M
Enterprise value $73.41B $88.42B $93.39B

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
MetricADBESNPSCDNS
P/E 13.5x 69.8x 68.1x
P/FCF 9.2x – 53.2x
P/Operating cash flow 9.0x – 48.0x
P/S 3.7x 10.2x 15.4x
P/B 8.3x 2.9x 13.7x
P/Tangible book 9.0x 4.6x 18.6x
EV/EBITDA 9.6x 42.1x –
EV/EBIT 10.4x 114.9x –
EV/Revenue 3.7x 11.0x 15.4x
EV/FCF 9.1x – –
EV/Operating cash flow 8.9x – 48.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.74 147.37 5.47

Growth

14 metrics
MetricADBESNPSCDNS
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.0% 38.0% 17.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 11.2% 22.8% 16.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 12.2% 28.2% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.8% 18.9% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 10.3% -23.3% 19.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 13.1% -7.0% 16.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 4.7% -34.9% 30.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 12.5% 8.0% 13.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 12.3% -45.2% 29.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 18.2% 0.5% 12.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 10.4% – 21.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.4% – 13.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 10.3% – –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.6% – –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricADBESNPSCDNS
Gross margin 89.3% 73.5% –
EBITDA margin 38.6% 26.0% –
Operating margin 35.7% 9.5% –
Pretax margin 35.7% 16.5% –
Net margin 28.0% 14.7% –
FCF margin 40.8% – –
Operating cash flow margin 41.6% – 32.1%
Return on equity 62.6% 4.2% –
Return on assets 24.3% 2.7% –
Return on invested capital 44.3% 1.8% –
Return on capital employed 51.3% 2.0% –
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.2x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x – 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 8.0% – 8.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricADBESNPSCDNS
Debt / assets 15.9% 21.0% –
Debt / equity 0.4x 0.3x –
Net debt / EBITDA -0.1x 2.8x –
Debt / FCF 0.4x – –
Liabilities / assets 60.8% 34.7% –
Equity / assets 39.2% 65.3% 56.2%
Interest coverage 35.7x 1.3x –
Current ratio 0.8x 1.3x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.7x 1.0x –
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.7x –
Altman Z-score 7.34 3.90 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricADBESNPSCDNS
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 9.3% – –
Shareholder yield 9.3% – –
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.

ConsensusADBESNPSCDNS
Forward P/E 9.9xFY2026 32.6xFY2026 38.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $25.10FY2026 $14.56FY2026 $8.84FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +19.9%FY2026 +12.8%FY2026 +23.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.7% +21.4% +14.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $24.94BFY2026 $10.20BFY2026 $6.79BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +4.9%FY2026 +44.6%FY2026 +28.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +21.1% +12.8% +13.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersADBESNPSCDNS
Held by institutions 82.5% 92.3% 88.2%
Institutions holding 1,982 1,440 1,499
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.7% +5.6% +5.4%
Institutions buying 838 772 832
Institutions selling 928 493 518
Buyers to sellers 0.90 1.57 1.61

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.

ADBESNPSCDNS
ADBE 1.00 0.18 0.21
SNPS 0.18 1.00 0.76
CDNS 0.21 0.76 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ADBE, SNPS and CDNS?

Adobe (ADBE) is the largest by market capitalisation: Adobe (ADBE) $98.16B, Synopsys (SNPS) $92.03B, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) $93.39B.

Which stock is cheaper, ADBE, SNPS and CDNS?

Adobe (ADBE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Adobe (ADBE) 13.5x, Synopsys (SNPS) 70.7x, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 67.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Adobe (ADBE) is cheapest (Adobe (ADBE) 9.9x, Synopsys (SNPS) 32.6x, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 38.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Synopsys (SNPS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Adobe (ADBE) +12.0%, Synopsys (SNPS) +38.0%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) +17.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Adobe (ADBE) has the highest net margin (Adobe (ADBE) 28.0%, Synopsys (SNPS) 14.7%). On return on invested capital, Adobe (ADBE) leads (Adobe (ADBE) 44.3%, Synopsys (SNPS) 1.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Synopsys (SNPS) returned the most: Adobe (ADBE) -30.6%, Synopsys (SNPS) +1.9%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) -2.4%. Over five years, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) compounded fastest (Adobe (ADBE) -17.2%/yr, Synopsys (SNPS) +7.7%/yr, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) +15.2%/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) 42.2%, Synopsys (SNPS) 44.7%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 41.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 7. 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.