CAE vs DSGX Stock Comparison

Cae and Descartes Systems Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CAE Cae Inc
$26.09 +4.9% 1M -9.1% 1Y
Market cap
$8.27B
P/E
34.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.50B
Div. yield
–
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Descartes Systems leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Descartes Systems 5, Cae 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCAEDSGXLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $8.27B $7.91B CAE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 34.4x 42.1x CAE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 27.5x 43.1x CAE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.5% +13.2% DSGX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.9% 24.3% DSGX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 7.1% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.0x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -9.1% -1.7% DSGX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -2.7%/yr +3.3%/yr DSGX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 33.4% 41.4% CAE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 54/100 67/100 DSGX

Percentile Scorecard

CAEDSGX

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

AxisCAEDSGX
Valuation 80 #21 of 100 43 #52 of 90
Growth 51 #48 of 97 65 #29 of 82
Profitability 84 #16 of 96 97 #3 of 77
Financial Health 25 #79 of 105 83 #17 of 96
Shareholder Returns 32 #44 of 64 45 #30 of 54
Overall 54 67
  • CAE ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • DSGX ranked among 99 companies in Vertical Software

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCAEDSGXSPY
1 month +4.9%+20.6% -0.8%
3 months +1.1%+33.3% +3.5%
6 months +1.8%+33.4% +7.0%
Year to date -14.2%+8.1% +12.2%
1 year -9.1%-1.7% +13.0%
3 years +27.3%+35.8% +86.3%
3 years, per year +8.4%+10.7% +23.1%
5 years -12.6%+17.5% +68.6%
5 years, per year -2.7%+3.3% +11.0%
10 years +87.4%+351.3% +258.0%
10 years, per year +6.5%+16.3% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCAEDSGXSPY
Volatility, 1Y 33.4%41.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 35.7%38.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.920.34 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.27-0.04 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -55.0%-48.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -23.4%-1.9% -1.8%
52-week high $34.05$96.58 $779.14
52-week low $23.15$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.

MultipleCAEDSGX
P/E now vs peer median 34.9xmedian 26.8x 43.3xmedian 42.4x
P/S now vs peer median 2.4xmedian 2.9x 10.5xmedian 2.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 12.6xmedian 15.2x 23.7xmedian 19.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 29.3xmedian 25.5x 27.4xmedian 19.4x
P/B now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 2.5x 5.0xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median 1.40median 0.94 2.46median 1.75

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 monthsCAEDSGX
Revenue $3.50B $775.17M
Gross profit $962.14M $601.59M
Operating income $541.06M $243.60M
Net income $213.43M $188.01M
Free cash flow $286.93M $297.47M
R&D $93.01M $109.17M
EPS (diluted) $0.74 $2.15
Cash & equivalents -$400.24M $401.06M
Total debt $9.42B –
Shares (diluted) 322.16M 87.58M
Enterprise value $8.74B $6.50B

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
MetricCAEDSGX
P/E 34.9x 43.3x
P/FCF 29.3x 27.4x
P/Operating cash flow 15.1x 26.7x
P/S 2.4x 10.5x
P/B 2.2x 5.0x
P/Tangible book 2.2x 6.2x
EV/EBITDA 12.6x 23.7x
EV/EBIT 20.4x 31.8x
EV/Revenue 3.2x 10.0x
EV/FCF 38.5x 26.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.9x 25.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.40 2.46

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCAEDSGX
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.5% 13.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.4% 13.8%
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%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -1.0% 18.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 68.8% 26.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 24.9% 17.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 21.6% 28.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 20.3% 14.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 43.6% 30.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 5.9% 15.7%

Profitability

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

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCAEDSGX
Debt / assets 27,956% –
Debt / equity 0.6x –
Net debt / EBITDA 3.0x –
Debt / FCF 7.9x –
Liabilities / assets -47,581% 15.9%
Equity / assets 47,681% 84.1%
Interest coverage 3.4x 168.0x
Current ratio 0.8x 2.0x
Quick ratio 0.2x 1.9x
Cash ratio -0.2x 1.5x
Altman Z-score – 17.03

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCAEDSGX
Dividend yield – –
Net buyback yield -0.6% 0.2%
Shareholder yield -0.6% 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.

ConsensusCAEDSGX
Forward P/E 27.5xFY2026 43.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.95FY2026 $2.20FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +10.5%FY2026 +17.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.3% +18.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.78BFY2026 $889.11MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +7.1%FY2026 +22.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -6.2% +1.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCAEDSGX
Held by institutions 71.8% 82.0%
Institutions holding 284 341
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.1% +3.7%
Institutions buying 149 167
Institutions selling 96 139
Buyers to sellers 1.55 1.20

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.

CAEDSGX
CAE 1.00 0.17
DSGX 0.17 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CAE and DSGX?

Cae (CAE) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cae (CAE) $8.27B, Descartes Systems (DSGX) $7.91B.

Which stock is cheaper, CAE and DSGX?

Cae (CAE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cae (CAE) 34.4x, Descartes Systems (DSGX) 42.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Cae (CAE) is cheapest (Cae (CAE) 27.5x, Descartes Systems (DSGX) 43.1x). 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%.

Which company is more profitable?

Descartes Systems (DSGX) has the highest net margin (Cae (CAE) 6.9%, Descartes Systems (DSGX) 24.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Descartes Systems (DSGX) returned the most: Cae (CAE) -9.1%, Descartes Systems (DSGX) -1.7%. Over five years, Descartes Systems (DSGX) compounded fastest (Cae (CAE) -2.7%/yr, Descartes Systems (DSGX) +3.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cae (CAE) has been the steadiest (Cae (CAE) 33.4%, Descartes Systems (DSGX) 41.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do CAE and DSGX move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.17, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, CAE 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, Descartes Systems (DSGX) 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.