CAE vs DSGX vs HEI Stock Comparison

Cae, Descartes Systems and Heico 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
2 wins
HEI Heico Corp
$308.73 +0.1% 1M -2.3% 1Y
Market cap
$43.13B
P/E
50.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.18B
Div. yield
0.08%
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
7 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionCAEDSGXHEILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $8.28B $7.93B $43.13B HEI
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 34.4x 42.1x 50.9x CAE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 27.1x 41.9x 50.8x CAE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.5% +13.2% +20.7% HEI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.9% 24.3% 16.4% DSGX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.1% — 13.5% HEI
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.0x — 1.6x HEI
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% — 0.08% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -10.1% -3.5% -2.3% HEI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -3.3%/yr +2.4%/yr +17.0%/yr HEI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 33.3% 41.4% 32.4% HEI
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 67/100 67/100 DSGX

Percentile Scorecard

CAEDSGXHEI

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

AxisCAEDSGXHEI
Valuation 80 #21 of 100 43 #51 of 89 35 #65 of 100
Growth 50 #49 of 97 64 #30 of 81 80 #20 of 97
Profitability 85 #15 of 96 97 #3 of 76 94 #7 of 96
Financial Health 26 #78 of 105 85 #15 of 94 60 #43 of 105
Shareholder Returns 33 #44 of 65 46 #28 of 51 66 #23 of 65
Overall 55 67 67
  • CAE ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • DSGX ranked among 98 companies in Vertical Software
  • HEI 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

PeriodCAEDSGXHEISPY
1 month +3.5%+17.3%+0.1% -0.2%
3 months -2.4%+21.9%-15.1% +3.9%
6 months +0.7%+30.0%+17.0% +8.2%
Year to date -15.4%+5.2%-4.6% +12.9%
1 year -10.1%-3.5%-2.3% +12.3%
3 years +25.6%+32.1%+96.2% +87.4%
3 years, per year +7.9%+9.7%+25.2% +23.3%
5 years -15.2%+12.4%+119.5% +67.9%
5 years, per year -3.3%+2.4%+17.0% +10.9%
10 years +83.7%+345.3%+797.2% +261.1%
10 years, per year +6.3%+16.1%+24.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureCAEDSGXHEISPY
Volatility, 1Y 33.3%41.4%32.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 35.6%38.5%31.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.910.331.14 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.30-0.08-0.07 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -55.0%-48.7%-27.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -24.4%-4.6%-17.6% -1.2%
52-week high $34.05$96.58$374.67 $779.14
52-week low $23.15$62.82$260.99 $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.

MultipleCAEDSGXHEI
P/E now vs peer median 34.4xmedian 26.5x 42.1xmedian 40.1x 50.9xmedian 26.5x
P/S now vs peer median 2.4xmedian 3.0x 10.2xmedian 2.5x 8.3xmedian 3.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.4xmedian 14.6x 23.1xmedian 18.5x 31.1xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 28.9xmedian 26.4x 26.7xmedian 20.1x 41.9xmedian 26.4x
P/B now vs peer median 2.1xmedian 2.5x 4.8xmedian 1.8x 8.6xmedian 2.5x
PEG now vs peer median 1.38median 0.90 2.40median 1.73 1.82median 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 monthsCAEDSGXHEI
Revenue $3.50B $775.17M $5.18B
Gross profit $962.14M $601.59M $2.09B
Operating income $541.06M $243.60M $1.24B
Net income $213.43M $188.01M $912.35M
Free cash flow $286.93M $297.47M $1.03B
R&D $93.01M $109.17M –
EPS (diluted) $0.74 $2.15 $6.00
Cash & equivalents -$400.24M $401.06M $240.96M
Total debt $9.42B – $2.54B
Shares (diluted) 322.16M 87.58M 141.27M
Enterprise value $8.80B $6.52B $42.82B

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
MetricCAEDSGXHEI
P/E 34.4x 42.1x 50.9x
P/FCF 28.9x 26.7x 41.9x
P/Operating cash flow 14.9x 25.9x 38.8x
P/S 2.4x 10.2x 8.3x
P/B 2.1x 4.8x 8.6x
P/Tangible book 2.1x 6.1x 13.3x
EV/EBITDA 12.4x 23.1x 31.1x
EV/EBIT 20.2x 30.9x 36.5x
EV/Revenue 3.1x 9.7x 8.8x
EV/FCF 38.1x 25.3x 44.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.7x 24.6x 40.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.38 2.40 1.82

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCAEDSGXHEI
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.5% 13.2% 20.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 13.8% 25.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 10.2% 15.5% 23.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.6% 14.4% 26.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 21.1% 30.1% 29.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 25.8% 19.8% 28.8%
Net income growth (1Y) -29.4% 26.9% 31.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -1.0% 18.3% 27.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 68.8% 26.4% 31.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 24.9% 17.6% 27.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 21.6% 28.6% 31.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 20.3% 14.7% 35.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 43.6% 30.3% 31.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 15.7% 36.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCAEDSGXHEI
Gross margin 27.5% 77.6% 40.4%
EBITDA margin 25.1% 42.1% 28.2%
Operating margin 15.4% 31.4% 24.0%
Pretax margin 10.9% 32.7% 21.6%
Net margin 6.9% 24.3% 16.4%
FCF margin 8.2% 38.4% 19.9%
Operating cash flow margin 15.9% 39.4% 21.5%
Return on equity 7.9% 11.4% 18.5%
Return on assets 7.6% – 9.3%
Return on invested capital 7.1% – 13.5%
Return on capital employed 25.3% – 14.2%
Asset turnover 0.9x – 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.6x 1.6x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 3.5% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCAEDSGXHEI
Debt / assets 27,956% – 25.6%
Debt / equity 0.6x – 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.0x – 1.6x
Debt / FCF 7.9x – 2.5x
Liabilities / assets -47,581% 15.9% 49.4%
Equity / assets 47,681% 84.1% 50.6%
Interest coverage 3.4x 168.0x 9.4x
Current ratio 0.8x 2.0x 2.7x
Quick ratio 0.2x 1.9x 1.0x
Cash ratio -0.2x 1.5x 0.2x
Altman Z-score – 16.60 7.01

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCAEDSGXHEI
Dividend yield – – 0.1%
Net buyback yield -0.6% 0.2% 0.0%
Shareholder yield -0.6% 0.2% 0.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 3.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 3.4%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 9.1%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 8.4%

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.

ConsensusCAEDSGXHEI
Forward P/E 27.1xFY2026 41.9xFY2026 50.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.95FY2026 $2.20FY2026 $6.08FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.5%FY2026 +17.6%FY2026 +24.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.3% +18.2% +20.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.78BFY2026 $889.11MFY2026 $5.68BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.1%FY2026 +22.0%FY2026 +26.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -6.2% +1.6% +10.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCAEDSGXHEI
Held by institutions 71.8% – 78.3%
Institutions holding 284 – 772
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.1% – +7.4%
Institutions buying 149 – 371
Institutions selling 96 – 267
Buyers to sellers 1.55 – 1.39

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.

CAEDSGXHEI
CAE 1.00 0.17 0.40
DSGX 0.17 1.00 -0.02
HEI 0.40 -0.02 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAE, DSGX and HEI?

Heico (HEI) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cae (CAE) $8.28B, Descartes Systems (DSGX) $7.93B, Heico (HEI) $43.13B.

Which stock is cheaper, CAE, DSGX and HEI?

Cae (CAE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cae (CAE) 34.4x, Descartes Systems (DSGX) 42.1x, Heico (HEI) 50.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Cae (CAE) is cheapest (Cae (CAE) 27.1x, Descartes Systems (DSGX) 41.9x, Heico (HEI) 50.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Heico (HEI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Cae (CAE) +6.5%, Descartes Systems (DSGX) +13.2%, Heico (HEI) +20.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Descartes Systems (DSGX) has the highest net margin (Cae (CAE) 6.9%, Descartes Systems (DSGX) 24.3%, Heico (HEI) 16.4%). On return on invested capital, Heico (HEI) leads (Cae (CAE) 7.1%, Heico (HEI) 13.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Heico (HEI) returned the most: Cae (CAE) -10.1%, Descartes Systems (DSGX) -3.5%, Heico (HEI) -2.3%. Over five years, Heico (HEI) compounded fastest (Cae (CAE) -3.3%/yr, Descartes Systems (DSGX) +2.4%/yr, Heico (HEI) +17.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Cae (CAE) 0.00%, Heico (HEI) 0.08%. Cae (CAE) and Descartes Systems (DSGX) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Heico (HEI) has been the steadiest (Cae (CAE) 33.3%, Descartes Systems (DSGX) 41.4%, Heico (HEI) 32.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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