ADSK vs KARO vs CDNS Stock Comparison

Autodesk, Karooooo and Cadence Design Systems Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ADSK Autodesk, Inc.
$242.10 +15.6% 1M -22.8% 1Y
Market cap
$50.60B
P/E
31.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$7.79B
Div. yield
–
Creative Software Technology
3 wins
KARO Karooooo Ltd.
$64.46 +4.6% 1M +40.8% 1Y
Market cap
$1.99B
P/E
31.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$364.50M
Div. yield
2.33%
Supply Chain Software Technology
5 wins
CDNS Cadence Design Systems Inc
$343.08 +5.2% 1M -2.4% 1Y
Market cap
$94.48B
P/E
68.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.13B
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor EDA Software Technology
2 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Karooooo leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Karooooo 5, 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.

QuestionADSKKAROCDNSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $50.60B $1.99B $94.48B CDNS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 31.0x 31.1x 68.1x ADSK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.8x 26.2x 38.8x ADSK
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +17.9% +31.4% +17.6% KARO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 21.1% 17.6% — ADSK
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 26.5% 34.9% — KARO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.4x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 2.33% — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -22.8% +40.8% -2.4% KARO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -5.3%/yr +13.0%/yr +15.2%/yr CDNS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 39.8% 36.5% 41.4% KARO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 54/100 70/100 49/100 KARO

Percentile Scorecard

ADSKKAROCDNS

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

AxisADSKKAROCDNS
Valuation 29 #21 of 29 60 #36 of 89 27 #69 of 94
Growth 62 #11 of 27 81 #16 of 81 65 #33 of 92
Profitability 88 #4 of 26 100 #1 of 76 54 #42 of 90
Financial Health 47 #17 of 31 57 #41 of 94 –
Shareholder Returns 44 #10 of 17 52 #25 of 51 –
Overall 54 70 49
  • ADSK ranked among 32 companies in Workplace Software
  • KARO ranked among 98 companies in Vertical Software
  • CDNS ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodADSKKAROCDNSSPY
1 month +15.6%+4.6%+5.2% -0.2%
3 months +2.0%+0.8%-0.5% +3.9%
6 months +3.1%+28.9%+5.5% +8.2%
Year to date -18.2%+41.7%+9.8% +12.9%
1 year -22.8%+40.8%-2.4% +12.3%
3 years +24.1%+193.4%+48.6% +87.4%
3 years, per year +7.5%+43.2%+14.1% +23.3%
5 years -23.7%+84.2%+103.1% +67.9%
5 years, per year -5.3%+13.0%+15.2% +10.9%
10 years +243.0%—+1,252.8% +261.1%
10 years, per year +13.1%—+29.8% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureADSKKAROCDNSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 39.8%36.5%41.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 42.6%32.1%41.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.430.921.62 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.571.12-0.06 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -50.8%-54.4%-33.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -22.8%-6.2%-17.6% -1.2%
52-week high $313.53$68.71$416.39 $779.14
52-week low $187.72$41.60$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.

MultipleADSKKAROCDNS
P/E now vs peer median 31.0xmedian 31.0x 31.1xmedian 40.1x 68.1xmedian 45.6x
P/S now vs peer median 6.5xmedian 2.4x 5.5xmedian 2.5x 15.4xmedian 7.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.0xmedian 11.3x —median 18.5x —median 29.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 17.8xmedian 15.6x 15.4xmedian 20.1x 53.2xmedian 40.6x
P/B now vs peer median 15.0xmedian 3.0x 10.3xmedian 1.8x 13.7xmedian 4.6x
PEG now vs peer median 1.28median 0.74 —median 1.73 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 monthsADSKKAROCDNS
Revenue $7.79B $364.50M $6.13B
Gross profit $7.11B $245.35M –
Operating income $2.04B $92.48M $1.77B
Net income $1.64B $65.09M $1.38B
Free cash flow $2.84B $129.31M –
R&D $1.72B $16.89M $2.04B
EPS (diluted) $7.78 – $5.00
Cash & equivalents $4.10B $40.11M $1.45B
Total debt $10.43B $171.74M –
Shares (diluted) 211.00M – 276.16M
Enterprise value $38.63B $1.65B $94.48B

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
MetricADSKKAROCDNS
P/E 31.0x 31.1x 68.1x
P/FCF 17.8x 15.4x 53.2x
P/Operating cash flow 17.5x 15.4x 48.0x
P/S 6.5x 5.5x 15.4x
P/B 15.0x 10.3x 13.7x
P/Tangible book 17.1x 10.3x 18.6x
EV/EBITDA 17.0x – –
EV/EBIT 24.2x 21.5x –
EV/Revenue 6.3x 5.4x 15.4x
EV/FCF 17.4x 15.3x –
EV/Operating cash flow 17.1x 15.3x 48.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.28 – 5.47

Growth

14 metrics
MetricADSKKAROCDNS
Revenue growth (1Y) 17.9% 31.4% 17.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.3% 19.1% 16.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 18.8% 27.8% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 14.7% 21.6% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 46.9% 17.7% 19.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 26.3% 21.9% 16.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 57.4% 15.9% 30.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 23.4% 22.6% 13.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 60.4% – 29.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 24.2% – 12.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 50.4% 45.0% 21.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.0% 24.4% 13.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 50.7% 45.0% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 8.8% 31.7% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricADSKKAROCDNS
Gross margin 91.2% 67.3% –
EBITDA margin 37.3% – –
Operating margin 26.2% 25.4% –
Pretax margin 27.0% 24.2% –
Net margin 21.1% 17.6% –
FCF margin 36.4% 35.5% –
Operating cash flow margin 37.2% 35.5% 32.1%
Return on equity 49.9% 31.3% –
Return on assets 13.2% 16.8% –
Return on invested capital 26.5% 34.9% –
Return on capital employed 35.0% 38.5% –
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.9x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.8x 2.0x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 9.1% – 8.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricADSKKAROCDNS
Debt / assets 22.9% 17.4% –
Debt / equity 0.9x 0.3x –
Net debt / EBITDA -0.4x – –
Debt / FCF 1.0x 0.5x –
Liabilities / assets 73.9% 50.2% –
Equity / assets 26.1% 49.8% 56.2%
Interest coverage – 14.9x –
Current ratio 0.9x 0.6x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.7x 0.9x –
Cash ratio 0.6x 0.5x –
Altman Z-score 4.06 8.21 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricADSKKAROCDNS
Dividend yield – 2.3% –
Net buyback yield 2.9% – –
Shareholder yield 2.9% 2.3% –
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.

ConsensusADSKKAROCDNS
Forward P/E 19.8xFY2026 26.2xFY2026 38.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $12.24FY2026 $2.46FY2026 $8.84FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +17.4%FY2026 +21.2%FY2026 +23.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +13.2% +16.7% +14.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.49BFY2026 $418.13MFY2026 $6.79BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +17.8%FY2026 +22.3%FY2026 +28.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.7% +3.1% +13.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersADSKKAROCDNS
Held by institutions 96.0% 14.4% 88.2%
Institutions holding 1,195 83 1,499
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.6% +18.4% +5.4%
Institutions buying 501 54 832
Institutions selling 535 13 518
Buyers to sellers 0.94 4.15 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.

ADSKKAROCDNS
ADSK 1.00 0.39 0.33
KARO 0.39 1.00 0.26
CDNS 0.33 0.26 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ADSK, KARO and CDNS?

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Autodesk (ADSK) $50.60B, Karooooo (KARO) $1.99B, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) $94.48B.

Which stock is cheaper, ADSK, KARO and CDNS?

Autodesk (ADSK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Autodesk (ADSK) 31.0x, Karooooo (KARO) 31.1x, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 68.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Autodesk (ADSK) is cheapest (Autodesk (ADSK) 19.8x, Karooooo (KARO) 26.2x, 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?

Karooooo (KARO) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Autodesk (ADSK) +17.9%, Karooooo (KARO) +31.4%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) +17.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Autodesk (ADSK) has the highest net margin (Autodesk (ADSK) 21.1%, Karooooo (KARO) 17.6%). On return on invested capital, Karooooo (KARO) leads (Autodesk (ADSK) 26.5%, Karooooo (KARO) 34.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Karooooo (KARO) returned the most: Autodesk (ADSK) -22.8%, Karooooo (KARO) +40.8%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) -2.4%. Over five years, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) compounded fastest (Autodesk (ADSK) -5.3%/yr, Karooooo (KARO) +13.0%/yr, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) +15.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Autodesk (ADSK) 0.00%, Karooooo (KARO) 2.33%. Autodesk (ADSK) and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Karooooo (KARO) has been the steadiest (Autodesk (ADSK) 39.8%, Karooooo (KARO) 36.5%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 41.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ADSK, KARO 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, Karooooo (KARO) leads on 5. 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.