CAE vs DSGX vs AER Stock Comparison

Cae, Descartes Systems and AerCap Holdings Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CAE Cae Inc
$25.74 +3.5% 1M -10.1% 1Y
Market cap
$8.28B
P/E
34.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.50B
Div. yield
–
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
1 win
AER AerCap Holdings N.V.
$150.07 +0.5% 1M +24.0% 1Y
Market cap
$25.04B
P/E
7.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.96B
Div. yield
0.98%
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
9 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

AerCap Holdings leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (AerCap Holdings 9, Descartes Systems 1, Cae 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCAEDSGXAERLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $8.28B $7.93B $25.04B AER
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 34.4x 42.1x 7.6x AER
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 27.1x 41.9x 8.4x AER
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.5% +13.2% +12.2% DSGX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.9% 24.3% 37.9% AER
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.1% — 9.1% AER
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.0x — 4.9x CAE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% — 0.98% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -10.1% -3.5% +24.0% AER
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.3%/yr +2.4%/yr +19.8%/yr AER
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 33.3% 41.4% 26.9% AER
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 67/100 72/100 AER

Percentile Scorecard

CAEDSGXAER

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

AxisCAEDSGXAER
Valuation 80 #21 of 100 43 #51 of 89 96 #5 of 100
Growth 50 #49 of 97 64 #30 of 81 72 #28 of 97
Profitability 85 #15 of 96 97 #3 of 76 91 #10 of 96
Financial Health 26 #78 of 105 85 #15 of 94 6 #99 of 105
Shareholder Returns 33 #44 of 65 46 #28 of 51 94 #5 of 65
Overall 55 67 72
  • CAE ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • DSGX ranked among 98 companies in Vertical Software
  • AER ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCAEDSGXAERSPY
1 month +3.5%+17.3%+0.5% -0.2%
3 months -2.4%+21.9%-2.6% +3.9%
6 months +0.7%+30.0%+9.4% +8.2%
Year to date -15.4%+5.2%+4.4% +12.9%
1 year -10.1%-3.5%+24.0% +12.3%
3 years +25.6%+32.1%+152.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year +7.9%+9.7%+36.2% +23.3%
5 years -15.2%+12.4%+146.5% +67.9%
5 years, per year -3.3%+2.4%+19.8% +10.9%
10 years +83.7%+345.3%+266.8% +261.1%
10 years, per year +6.3%+16.1%+13.9% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCAEDSGXAERSPY
Volatility, 1Y 33.3%41.4%26.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 35.6%38.5%25.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.910.330.97 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.30-0.080.89 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -55.0%-48.7%-45.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -24.4%-4.6%-3.3% -1.2%
52-week high $34.05$96.58$155.22 $779.14
52-week low $23.15$62.82$121.00 $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.

MultipleCAEDSGXAER
P/E now vs peer median 34.4xmedian 26.5x 42.1xmedian 40.1x 7.6xmedian 26.5x
P/S now vs peer median 2.4xmedian 3.0x 10.2xmedian 2.5x 2.8xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.4xmedian 14.6x 23.1xmedian 18.5x 7.9xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 28.9xmedian 26.4x 26.7xmedian 20.1x 12.0xmedian 26.4x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 2.5x 4.8xmedian 1.8x 1.4xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 1.38median 0.90 2.40median 1.73 0.21median 0.90

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 monthsCAEDSGXAER
Revenue $3.50B $775.17M $8.96B
Gross profit $962.14M $601.59M –
Operating income $541.06M $243.60M –
Net income $213.43M $188.01M $3.39B
Free cash flow $286.93M $297.47M $2.09B
R&D $93.01M $109.17M –
EPS (diluted) $0.74 $2.15 $19.26
Cash & equivalents -$400.24M $401.06M $1.69B
Total debt $9.42B – $42.77B
Shares (diluted) 322.16M 87.58M 176.12M
Enterprise value $8.80B $6.52B $18.68B

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
MetricCAEDSGXAER
P/E 34.4x 42.1x 7.6x
P/FCF 28.9x 26.7x 12.0x
P/Operating cash flow 14.9x 25.9x 4.5x
P/S 2.4x 10.2x 2.8x
P/B 2.1x 4.8x 1.4x
P/Tangible book 2.1x 6.1x 1.4x
EV/EBITDA 12.4x 23.1x 7.9x
EV/EBIT 20.2x 30.9x 11.8x
EV/Revenue 3.1x 9.7x 7.4x
EV/FCF 38.1x 25.3x 31.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.7x 24.6x 11.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.38 2.40 0.21

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCAEDSGXAER
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.5% 13.2% 12.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 13.8% 6.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.2% 15.5% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.6% 14.4% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 21.1% 30.1% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 25.8% 19.8% –
Net income growth (1Y) -29.4% 26.9% 15.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -1.0% 18.3% 22.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 68.8% 26.4% 27.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 24.9% 17.6% 35.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 21.6% 28.6% 5.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 20.3% 14.7% 2.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 43.6% 30.3% 178.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 15.7% 39.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCAEDSGXAER
Gross margin 27.5% 77.6% –
EBITDA margin 25.1% 42.1% 93.1%
Operating margin 15.4% 31.4% –
Pretax margin 10.9% 32.7% 41.1%
Net margin 6.9% 24.3% 37.9%
FCF margin 8.2% 38.4% 23.3%
Operating cash flow margin 15.9% 39.4% 62.7%
Return on equity 7.9% 11.4% 18.4%
Return on assets 7.6% – 4.8%
Return on invested capital 7.1% – 9.1%
Return on capital employed 25.3% – –
Asset turnover 0.9x – 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.6x 1.6x 1.7x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 3.5% 1.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCAEDSGXAER
Debt / assets 27,956% – 60.1%
Debt / equity 0.6x – 2.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.0x – 4.9x
Debt / FCF 7.9x – 20.5x
Liabilities / assets -47,581% 15.9% 74.1%
Equity / assets 47,681% 84.1% 25.9%
Interest coverage 3.4x 168.0x 2.9x
Current ratio 0.8x 2.0x –
Quick ratio 0.2x 1.9x –
Cash ratio -0.2x 1.5x –
Altman Z-score – 16.60 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCAEDSGXAER
Dividend yield – – 1.0%
Net buyback yield -0.6% 0.2% 11.7%
Shareholder yield -0.6% 0.2% 12.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 6.6%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 10.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 15.6%
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.

ConsensusCAEDSGXAER
Forward P/E 27.1xFY2026 41.9xFY2026 8.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.95FY2026 $2.20FY2026 $17.95FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.5%FY2026 +17.6%FY2026 +16.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.3% +18.2% +4.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.78BFY2026 $889.11MFY2026 $9.14BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.1%FY2026 +22.0%FY2026 +7.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -6.2% +1.6% -1.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCAEDSGXAER
Held by institutions 71.8% – 78.7%
Institutions holding 284 – 689
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.1% – -5.5%
Institutions buying 149 – 360
Institutions selling 96 – 237
Buyers to sellers 1.55 – 1.52

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.

CAEDSGXAER
CAE 1.00 0.17 0.34
DSGX 0.17 1.00 -0.12
AER 0.34 -0.12 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAE, DSGX and AER?

AerCap Holdings (AER) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cae (CAE) $8.28B, Descartes Systems (DSGX) $7.93B, AerCap Holdings (AER) $25.04B.

Which stock is cheaper, CAE, DSGX and AER?

AerCap Holdings (AER) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cae (CAE) 34.4x, Descartes Systems (DSGX) 42.1x, AerCap Holdings (AER) 7.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, AerCap Holdings (AER) is cheapest (Cae (CAE) 27.1x, Descartes Systems (DSGX) 41.9x, AerCap Holdings (AER) 8.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Descartes Systems (DSGX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Cae (CAE) +6.5%, Descartes Systems (DSGX) +13.2%, AerCap Holdings (AER) +12.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

AerCap Holdings (AER) has the highest net margin (Cae (CAE) 6.9%, Descartes Systems (DSGX) 24.3%, AerCap Holdings (AER) 37.9%). On return on invested capital, AerCap Holdings (AER) leads (Cae (CAE) 7.1%, AerCap Holdings (AER) 9.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year AerCap Holdings (AER) returned the most: Cae (CAE) -10.1%, Descartes Systems (DSGX) -3.5%, AerCap Holdings (AER) +24.0%. Over five years, AerCap Holdings (AER) compounded fastest (Cae (CAE) -3.3%/yr, Descartes Systems (DSGX) +2.4%/yr, AerCap Holdings (AER) +19.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Cae (CAE) 0.00%, AerCap Holdings (AER) 0.98%. Cae (CAE) and Descartes Systems (DSGX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, AerCap Holdings (AER) has been the steadiest (Cae (CAE) 33.3%, Descartes Systems (DSGX) 41.4%, AerCap Holdings (AER) 26.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CAE, DSGX and AER?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, AerCap Holdings (AER) leads on 9. 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.