ADSK vs CDNS vs ADBE Stock Comparison

Autodesk, Cadence Design Systems and Adobe Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ADSK Autodesk, Inc.
$252.20 +16.1% 1M -18.6% 1Y
Market cap
$52.42B
P/E
31.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.79B
Div. yield
–
Creative Software Technology
3 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
2 wins
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

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionADSKCDNSADBELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $52.42B $88.81B $102.20B ADBE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 31.9x 64.4x 14.0x ADBE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 20.6x 36.5x 10.5x ADBE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +17.9% +14.7% +12.0% ADSK
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 21.1% 23.6% 28.0% ADBE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 26.5% 14.2% 54.5% ADBE
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.4x 0.5x -0.4x ADSK
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -18.6% -6.2% -25.5% CDNS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -4.0%/yr +13.7%/yr -16.3%/yr CDNS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 39.7% 41.0% 42.0% ADSK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 54/100 58/100 65/100 ADBE

Percentile Scorecard

ADSKCDNSADBE

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

AxisADSKCDNSADBE
Valuation 28 #22 of 30 37 #60 of 95 59 #13 of 30
Growth 62 #11 of 27 63 #35 of 93 19 #22 of 27
Profitability 88 #4 of 26 84 #15 of 91 100 #1 of 26
Financial Health 48 #17 of 32 36 #66 of 102 61 #13 of 32
Shareholder Returns 44 #10 of 17 68 #25 of 76 88 #3 of 17
Overall 54 58 65
  • ADSK ranked among 33 companies in Workplace Software
  • CDNS ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors
  • ADBE ranked among 33 companies in Workplace Software

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodADSKCDNSADBESPY
1 month +16.1%+2.4%+9.6% -1.0%
3 months +20.2%-3.0%+17.2% +2.9%
6 months +6.2%-4.9%+7.5% +6.4%
Year to date -14.8%+1.3%-24.6% +11.4%
1 year -18.6%-6.2%-25.5% +13.1%
3 years +23.0%+33.3%-51.1% +79.4%
3 years, per year +7.1%+10.1%-21.2% +21.5%
5 years -18.3%+89.8%-59.0% +67.7%
5 years, per year -4.0%+13.7%-16.3% +10.9%
10 years +254.3%+1,131.0%+142.0% +255.2%
10 years, per year +13.5%+28.5%+9.2% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureADSKCDNSADBESPY
Volatility, 1Y 39.7%41.0%42.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 42.7%41.0%43.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.451.610.25 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.47-0.15-0.61 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -50.8%-33.0%-71.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -19.6%-24.0%-26.7% -2.5%
52-week high $313.53$416.39$359.91 $779.14
52-week low $187.72$265.66$193.41 $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.

MultipleADSKCDNSADBE
P/E now vs peer median 32.3xmedian 32.3x 62.9xmedian 41.5x 14.3xmedian 32.3x
P/S now vs peer median 6.8xmedian 2.4x 14.9xmedian 6.9x 4.0xmedian 2.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.7xmedian 11.5x 42.1xmedian 27.3x 9.9xmedian 11.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 18.6xmedian 14.2x 51.9xmedian 35.6x 9.7xmedian 14.2x
P/B now vs peer median 15.6xmedian 2.7x 12.7xmedian 4.2x 8.8xmedian 2.7x
PEG now vs peer median 1.33median 0.77 4.12median 2.31 0.78median 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 monthsADSKCDNSADBE
Revenue $7.79B $5.84B $25.97B
Gross profit $7.11B $5.01B $23.18B
Operating income $2.04B $1.77B $9.27B
Net income $1.64B $1.38B $7.28B
Free cash flow $2.84B $1.68B $10.59B
R&D $1.72B $1.93B $4.69B
EPS (diluted) $7.78 $4.99 $18.42
Cash & equivalents $4.10B $1.44B $4.36B
Total debt $10.43B $10.35B $1.60B
Shares (diluted) 211.00M 276.16M 395.50M
Enterprise value $40.46B $80.21B $77.45B

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
MetricADSKCDNSADBE
P/E 32.3x 62.9x 14.3x
P/FCF 18.6x 51.9x 9.7x
P/Operating cash flow 18.2x 47.0x 9.5x
P/S 6.8x 14.9x 4.0x
P/B 15.6x 12.7x 8.8x
P/Tangible book 17.8x 17.5x 9.5x
EV/EBITDA 17.7x 42.1x 9.9x
EV/EBIT 25.2x 49.8x 10.7x
EV/Revenue 6.6x 15.1x 3.8x
EV/FCF 18.2x 52.5x 9.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.8x 47.6x 9.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.33 4.12 0.78

Growth

14 metrics
MetricADSKCDNSADBE
Revenue growth (1Y) 17.9% 14.7% 12.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.3% 15.4% 11.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 18.8% 15.1% 12.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 14.7% 13.8% 11.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 46.9% 25.5% 10.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 26.3% 17.4% 13.1%
Net income growth (1Y) 57.4% 36.2% 4.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 23.4% 15.7% 12.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 60.4% 34.6% 12.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 24.2% 15.3% 18.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 50.4% 8.1% 10.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.0% 13.7% 10.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 50.7% 5.9% 10.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.8% 14.0% 11.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricADSKCDNSADBE
Gross margin 91.2% 85.9% 89.3%
EBITDA margin 37.3% 35.9% 38.6%
Operating margin 26.2% 30.3% 35.7%
Pretax margin 27.0% 31.2% 35.7%
Net margin 21.1% 23.6% 28.0%
FCF margin 36.4% 28.8% 40.8%
Operating cash flow margin 37.2% 31.8% 41.6%
Return on equity 49.9% 20.5% 62.6%
Return on assets 13.2% 11.4% 24.3%
Return on invested capital 26.5% 14.2% 54.5%
Return on capital employed 35.0% 17.3% 51.3%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.5x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.8x 1.3x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue 9.1% 8.8% 8.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricADSKCDNSADBE
Debt / assets 22.9% 20.5% 5.3%
Debt / equity 0.9x 0.4x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.4x 0.5x -0.4x
Debt / FCF 1.0x 1.5x 0.2x
Liabilities / assets 73.9% 43.2% 60.8%
Equity / assets 26.1% 56.8% 39.2%
Interest coverage – 14.1x 35.7x
Current ratio 0.9x 1.7x 0.8x
Quick ratio 0.7x 1.7x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.8x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 4.19 12.02 7.54

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricADSKCDNSADBE
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 2.8% 0.7% 8.8%
Shareholder yield 2.8% 0.7% 8.8%
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.

ConsensusADSKCDNSADBE
Forward P/E 20.6xFY2026 36.5xFY2026 10.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.24FY2026 $8.68FY2026 $25.10FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +17.4%FY2026 +21.6%FY2026 +19.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +13.2% +14.5% +5.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.49BFY2026 $6.74BFY2026 $24.94BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +17.8%FY2026 +27.2%FY2026 +4.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.7% +13.3% +21.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersADSKCDNSADBE
Held by institutions 96.0% 88.2% 82.5%
Institutions holding 1,195 1,498 1,982
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.6% +5.4% +3.7%
Institutions buying 501 831 838
Institutions selling 535 518 928
Buyers to sellers 0.94 1.60 0.90

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.

ADSKCDNSADBE
ADSK 1.00 0.35 0.72
CDNS 0.35 1.00 0.22
ADBE 0.72 0.22 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ADSK, CDNS and ADBE?

Adobe (ADBE) is the largest by market capitalisation: Autodesk (ADSK) $52.42B, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) $88.81B, Adobe (ADBE) $102.20B.

Which stock is cheaper, ADSK, CDNS and ADBE?

Adobe (ADBE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Autodesk (ADSK) 31.9x, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 64.4x, Adobe (ADBE) 14.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Adobe (ADBE) is cheapest (Autodesk (ADSK) 20.6x, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 36.5x, Adobe (ADBE) 10.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Autodesk (ADSK) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Autodesk (ADSK) +17.9%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) +14.7%, Adobe (ADBE) +12.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Adobe (ADBE) has the highest net margin (Autodesk (ADSK) 21.1%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 23.6%, Adobe (ADBE) 28.0%). On return on invested capital, Adobe (ADBE) leads (Autodesk (ADSK) 26.5%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 14.2%, Adobe (ADBE) 54.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) returned the most: Autodesk (ADSK) -18.6%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) -6.2%, Adobe (ADBE) -25.5%. Over five years, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) compounded fastest (Autodesk (ADSK) -4.0%/yr, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) +13.7%/yr, Adobe (ADBE) -16.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Autodesk (ADSK) has been the steadiest (Autodesk (ADSK) 39.7%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 41.0%, Adobe (ADBE) 42.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.