CDNS vs ARM vs PDFS Stock Comparison

Cadence Design Systems, Arm Holdings and Pdf Solutions Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CDNS Cadence Design Systems Inc
$322.17 -1.2% 1M -6.6% 1Y
Market cap
$94.14B
P/E
68.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.13B
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor EDA Software Technology
3 wins
ARM Arm Holdings Plc /Uk
$223.35 -28.0% 1M +30.9% 1Y
Market cap
$240.27B
P/E
230.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.16B
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor Design Technology
4 wins
PDFS Pdf Solutions Inc
$40.82 -17.6% 1M +45.2% 1Y
Market cap
$1.79B
P/E
173.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$241.18M
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor EDA Software Technology
2 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

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

QuestionCDNSARMPDFSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $94.14B $240.27B $1.79B ARM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 68.2x 230.1x 173.4x CDNS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 36.4x 107.9x 30.0x PDFS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +17.6% +25.1% +23.0% ARM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 20.2% 4.3% ARM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — 3.1% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — -1.3x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -6.6% +30.9% +45.2% PDFS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +14.3%/yr — +12.1%/yr CDNS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 41.0% 79.0% 69.0% CDNS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 49/100 62/100 48/100 ARM

Percentile Scorecard

CDNSARMPDFS

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

AxisCDNSARMPDFS
Valuation 30 #67 of 95 7 #88 of 95 39 #58 of 95
Growth 64 #34 of 93 88 #12 of 93 86 #14 of 93
Profitability 53 #43 of 91 77 #22 of 91 43 #52 of 91
Financial Health – 77 #24 of 101 55 #46 of 101
Shareholder Returns – – 15 #64 of 75
Overall 49 62 48
  • CDNS ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors
  • ARM ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors
  • PDFS ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCDNSARMPDFSSPY
1 month -1.2%-28.0%-17.6% -0.8%
3 months -4.9%-16.1%-14.5% +3.5%
6 months -4.3%+3.5%-1.3% +7.0%
Year to date +3.1%+104.3%+43.1% +12.2%
1 year -6.6%+30.9%+45.2% +13.0%
3 years +39.5%+355.0%+49.6% +86.3%
3 years, per year +11.8%+65.8%+14.4% +23.1%
5 years +95.1%—+76.8% +68.6%
5 years, per year +14.3%—+12.1% +11.0%
10 years +1,162.4%—+111.8% +258.0%
10 years, per year +28.9%—+7.8% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureCDNSARMPDFSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 41.0%79.0%69.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.0%71.2%71.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.613.473.05 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.160.390.65 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -33.0%-54.0%-65.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -22.6%-49.2%-42.3% -1.8%
52-week high $416.39$439.46$70.79 $779.14
52-week low $265.66$104.55$23.97 $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.

MultipleCDNSARMPDFS
P/E now vs peer median 63.9xmedian 42.1x 227.0xmedian 42.1x 162.1xmedian 42.1x
P/S now vs peer median 14.5xmedian 7.1x 46.0xmedian 7.1x 7.1xmedian 7.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 27.5x 201.3xmedian 27.5x 44.5xmedian 27.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 53.2xmedian 37.2x 117.8xmedian 37.2x -947.3xmedian 37.2x
P/B now vs peer median 12.9xmedian 4.2x 27.5xmedian 4.2x 4.6xmedian 4.2x
PEG now vs peer median 5.13median 2.23 6.40median 2.23 77.05median 2.23

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 monthsCDNSARMPDFS
Revenue $6.13B $5.16B $241.18M
Gross profit – $5.03B $172.35M
Operating income $1.77B $877.00M $19.66M
Net income $1.38B $1.04B $10.31M
Free cash flow – $2.01B -$1.81M
R&D $2.04B $2.96B $70.34M
EPS (diluted) $5.00 $0.98 $0.25
Cash & equivalents $1.45B $3.06B $114.88M
Total debt – – $66.52M
Shares (diluted) 276.16M 1.07B 41.78M
Enterprise value $94.14B $225.98B $1.56B

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
MetricCDNSARMPDFS
P/E 63.9x 227.0x 162.1x
P/FCF 53.2x 117.8x -947.3x
P/Operating cash flow 45.1x 113.2x 44.2x
P/S 14.5x 46.0x 7.1x
P/B 12.9x 27.5x 4.6x
P/Tangible book 17.5x 28.2x 5.3x
EV/EBITDA – 201.3x 44.5x
EV/EBIT – 265.8x 84.5x
EV/Revenue 14.5x 45.2x 6.9x
EV/FCF – 115.8x -920.5x
EV/Operating cash flow 45.1x 111.3x 42.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 5.13 6.40 77.05

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCDNSARMPDFS
Revenue growth (1Y) 17.6% 25.1% 23.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 16.1% 24.7% 14.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 25.6% 23.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 25.4% 14.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 19.4% 14.9% 10,088%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 16.4% 21.6% 57.7%
Net income growth (1Y) 30.1% 49.4% 1,100%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 13.0% 37.2% 4.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 29.0% 48.7% 1,028%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 12.5% 35.5% 2.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 21.7% 105.5% 170.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.6% 34.7% 26.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 121.8% 85.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 33.3% -29.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCDNSARMPDFS
Gross margin – 97.5% 71.5%
EBITDA margin – 22.5% 15.5%
Operating margin – 17.0% 8.2%
Pretax margin – 24.5% 6.9%
Net margin – 20.2% 4.3%
FCF margin – 39.0% -0.7%
Operating cash flow margin 32.1% 40.6% 16.0%
Return on equity – 16.3% 3.2%
Return on assets – 12.6% 2.2%
Return on invested capital – – 3.1%
Return on capital employed – 9.0% 4.9%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.5x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 2.0x 3.8x
Stock comp / revenue 8.9% 22.4% 10.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCDNSARMPDFS
Debt / assets – – 12.8%
Debt / equity – – 0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA – – -1.3x
Debt / FCF – – -36.9x
Liabilities / assets – 22.9% 28.3%
Equity / assets 56.2% 77.1% 71.7%
Interest coverage – – 4.3x
Current ratio 1.4x 5.3x 3.4x
Quick ratio – 4.9x 3.4x
Cash ratio – 3.2x 1.6x
Altman Z-score – 57.27 7.77

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCDNSARMPDFS
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield – – -5.0%
Shareholder yield – – -5.0%
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.

ConsensusCDNSARMPDFS
Forward P/E 36.4xFY2026 107.9xFY2026 30.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.84FY2026 $2.07FY2026 $1.36FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +23.8%FY2026 +16.9%FY2026 +44.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +14.6% +49.8% +16.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.79BFY2026 $5.71BFY2026 $273.57MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +28.2%FY2026 +16.0%FY2026 +24.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +13.9% +38.7% +13.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCDNSARMPDFS
Held by institutions 88.2% 9.3% 93.0%
Institutions holding 1,498 955 283
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.4% +12.4% +20.8%
Institutions buying 831 593 191
Institutions selling 518 257 61
Buyers to sellers 1.60 2.31 3.13

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.

CDNSARMPDFS
CDNS 1.00 0.41 0.43
ARM 0.41 1.00 0.53
PDFS 0.43 0.53 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CDNS, ARM and PDFS?

Arm Holdings (ARM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) $94.14B, Arm Holdings (ARM) $240.27B, Pdf Solutions (PDFS) $1.79B.

Which stock is cheaper, CDNS, ARM and PDFS?

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 68.2x, Arm Holdings (ARM) 230.1x, Pdf Solutions (PDFS) 173.4x). On next year's consensus earnings, Pdf Solutions (PDFS) is cheapest (Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 36.4x, Arm Holdings (ARM) 107.9x, Pdf Solutions (PDFS) 30.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Arm Holdings (ARM) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) +17.6%, Arm Holdings (ARM) +25.1%, Pdf Solutions (PDFS) +23.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Arm Holdings (ARM) has the highest net margin (Arm Holdings (ARM) 20.2%, Pdf Solutions (PDFS) 4.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Pdf Solutions (PDFS) returned the most: Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) -6.6%, Arm Holdings (ARM) +30.9%, Pdf Solutions (PDFS) +45.2%. Over five years, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) compounded fastest (Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) +14.3%/yr, Pdf Solutions (PDFS) +12.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) has been the steadiest (Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 41.0%, Arm Holdings (ARM) 79.0%, Pdf Solutions (PDFS) 69.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CDNS, ARM and PDFS?

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