ADSK vs CDNS vs DSGX Stock Comparison

Autodesk, Cadence Design Systems and Descartes Systems Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ADSK Autodesk, Inc.
$242.10 +15.6% 1M -22.8% 1Y
Market cap
$51.20B
P/E
31.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.79B
Div. yield
–
Creative Software Technology
4 wins
CDNS Cadence Design Systems Inc
$343.08 +5.2% 1M -2.4% 1Y
Market cap
$93.41B
P/E
67.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.13B
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor EDA Software Technology
3 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Autodesk leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Autodesk 4, Cadence Design Systems 3, Descartes Systems 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionADSKCDNSDSGXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $51.20B $93.41B $7.94B CDNS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 31.2x 67.7x 42.2x ADSK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.8x 38.8x 41.9x ADSK
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +17.9% +17.6% +13.2% ADSK
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 21.1% — 24.3% DSGX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 26.5% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.4x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -22.8% -2.4% -3.5% CDNS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -5.3%/yr +15.2%/yr +2.4%/yr CDNS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 39.8% 41.4% 41.4% ADSK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 54/100 49/100 67/100 DSGX

Percentile Scorecard

ADSKCDNSDSGX

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

AxisADSKCDNSDSGX
Valuation 29 #21 of 29 27 #69 of 94 43 #51 of 89
Growth 62 #11 of 27 65 #33 of 92 64 #30 of 81
Profitability 88 #4 of 26 54 #42 of 90 97 #3 of 76
Financial Health 47 #17 of 31 – 85 #15 of 94
Shareholder Returns 44 #10 of 17 – 46 #28 of 51
Overall 54 49 67
  • ADSK ranked among 32 companies in Workplace Software
  • CDNS ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors
  • DSGX ranked among 98 companies in Vertical Software

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodADSKCDNSDSGXSPY
1 month +15.6%+5.2%+17.3% -0.2%
3 months +2.0%-0.5%+21.9% +3.9%
6 months +3.1%+5.5%+30.0% +8.2%
Year to date -18.2%+9.8%+5.2% +12.9%
1 year -22.8%-2.4%-3.5% +12.3%
3 years +24.1%+48.6%+32.1% +87.4%
3 years, per year +7.5%+14.1%+9.7% +23.3%
5 years -23.7%+103.1%+12.4% +67.9%
5 years, per year -5.3%+15.2%+2.4% +10.9%
10 years +243.0%+1,252.8%+345.3% +261.1%
10 years, per year +13.1%+29.8%+16.1% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureADSKCDNSDSGXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 39.8%41.4%41.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 42.6%41.0%38.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.431.620.33 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.57-0.06-0.08 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -50.8%-33.0%-48.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -22.8%-17.6%-4.6% -1.2%
52-week high $313.53$416.39$96.58 $779.14
52-week low $187.72$265.66$62.82 $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.

MultipleADSKCDNSDSGX
P/E now vs peer median 31.0xmedian 31.0x 68.1xmedian 45.6x 42.1xmedian 40.1x
P/S now vs peer median 6.5xmedian 2.4x 15.4xmedian 7.7x 10.2xmedian 2.5x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.0xmedian 11.3x —median 29.0x 23.1xmedian 18.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 17.8xmedian 15.6x 53.2xmedian 40.6x 26.7xmedian 20.1x
P/B now vs peer median 15.0xmedian 3.0x 13.7xmedian 4.6x 4.8xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median 1.28median 0.74 5.47median 2.28 2.40median 1.73

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 monthsADSKCDNSDSGX
Revenue $7.79B $6.13B $775.17M
Gross profit $7.11B – $601.59M
Operating income $2.04B $1.77B $243.60M
Net income $1.64B $1.38B $188.01M
Free cash flow $2.84B – $297.47M
R&D $1.72B $2.04B $109.17M
EPS (diluted) $7.78 $5.00 $2.15
Cash & equivalents $4.10B $1.45B $401.06M
Total debt $10.43B – –
Shares (diluted) 211.00M 276.16M 87.58M
Enterprise value $39.24B $93.41B $6.53B

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
MetricADSKCDNSDSGX
P/E 31.0x 68.1x 42.1x
P/FCF 17.8x 53.2x 26.7x
P/Operating cash flow 17.5x 48.0x 25.9x
P/S 6.5x 15.4x 10.2x
P/B 15.0x 13.7x 4.8x
P/Tangible book 17.1x 18.6x 6.1x
EV/EBITDA 17.0x – 23.1x
EV/EBIT 24.2x – 30.9x
EV/Revenue 6.3x 15.4x 9.7x
EV/FCF 17.4x – 25.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 17.1x 48.0x 24.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.28 5.47 2.40

Growth

14 metrics
MetricADSKCDNSDSGX
Revenue growth (1Y) 17.9% 17.6% 13.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.3% 16.1% 13.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 18.8% – 15.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 14.7% – 14.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 46.9% 19.4% 30.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 26.3% 16.4% 19.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 57.4% 30.1% 26.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 23.4% 13.0% 18.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 60.4% 29.0% 26.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 24.2% 12.5% 17.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 50.4% 21.7% 28.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.0% 13.6% 14.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 50.7% – 30.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.8% – 15.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricADSKCDNSDSGX
Gross margin 91.2% – 77.6%
EBITDA margin 37.3% – 42.1%
Operating margin 26.2% – 31.4%
Pretax margin 27.0% – 32.7%
Net margin 21.1% – 24.3%
FCF margin 36.4% – 38.4%
Operating cash flow margin 37.2% 32.1% 39.4%
Return on equity 49.9% – 11.4%
Return on assets 13.2% – –
Return on invested capital 26.5% – –
Return on capital employed 35.0% – –
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.5x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.8x 1.4x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 9.1% 8.9% 3.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricADSKCDNSDSGX
Debt / assets 22.9% – –
Debt / equity 0.9x – –
Net debt / EBITDA -0.4x – –
Debt / FCF 1.0x – –
Liabilities / assets 73.9% – 15.9%
Equity / assets 26.1% 56.2% 84.1%
Interest coverage – – 168.0x
Current ratio 0.9x 1.4x 2.0x
Quick ratio 0.7x – 1.9x
Cash ratio 0.6x – 1.5x
Altman Z-score 4.06 – 16.60

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricADSKCDNSDSGX
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield 2.9% – 0.2%
Shareholder yield 2.9% – 0.2%
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.

ConsensusADSKCDNSDSGX
Forward P/E 19.8xFY2026 38.8xFY2026 41.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.24FY2026 $8.84FY2026 $2.20FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +17.4%FY2026 +23.8%FY2026 +17.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +13.2% +14.6% +18.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.49BFY2026 $6.79BFY2026 $889.11MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +17.8%FY2026 +28.2%FY2026 +22.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.7% +13.9% +1.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersADSKCDNSDSGX
Held by institutions 96.0% 88.2% –
Institutions holding 1,195 1,499 –
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.6% +5.4% –
Institutions buying 501 832 –
Institutions selling 535 518 –
Buyers to sellers 0.94 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.

ADSKCDNSDSGX
ADSK 1.00 0.33 0.59
CDNS 0.33 1.00 0.31
DSGX 0.59 0.31 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ADSK, CDNS and DSGX?

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Autodesk (ADSK) $51.20B, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) $93.41B, Descartes Systems (DSGX) $7.94B.

Which stock is cheaper, ADSK, CDNS and DSGX?

Autodesk (ADSK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Autodesk (ADSK) 31.2x, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 67.7x, Descartes Systems (DSGX) 42.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Autodesk (ADSK) is cheapest (Autodesk (ADSK) 19.8x, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 38.8x, Descartes Systems (DSGX) 41.9x). 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) +17.6%, Descartes Systems (DSGX) +13.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Descartes Systems (DSGX) has the highest net margin (Autodesk (ADSK) 21.1%, Descartes Systems (DSGX) 24.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) returned the most: Autodesk (ADSK) -22.8%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) -2.4%, Descartes Systems (DSGX) -3.5%. Over five years, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) compounded fastest (Autodesk (ADSK) -5.3%/yr, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) +15.2%/yr, Descartes Systems (DSGX) +2.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Autodesk (ADSK) has been the steadiest (Autodesk (ADSK) 39.8%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 41.4%, Descartes Systems (DSGX) 41.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Autodesk (ADSK) leads on 4. 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.