CDNS vs SNPS vs DLB Stock Comparison

Cadence Design Systems, Synopsys and Dolby Laboratories Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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CDNS Cadence Design Systems Inc
$316.49 +2.4% 1M -6.2% 1Y
Market cap
$89.75B
P/E
65.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.84B
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor EDA Software Technology
5 wins
SNPS Synopsys Inc
$430.14 +4.1% 1M -5.7% 1Y
Market cap
$87.25B
P/E
67.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.88B
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor EDA Software Technology
2 wins
DLB Dolby Laboratories, Inc.
$62.85 +8.3% 1M -7.0% 1Y
Market cap
$5.89B
P/E
26.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.35B
Div. yield
0.02%
Semiconductor EDA Software Technology
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Cadence Design Systems leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Cadence Design Systems 5, Dolby Laboratories 4, Synopsys 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCDNSSNPSDLBLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $89.75B $87.25B $5.89B CDNS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 65.1x 67.0x 26.1x DLB
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 36.5x 29.6x 14.0x DLB
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.7% +38.0% +0.6% SNPS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 23.6% 14.7% 16.7% CDNS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 14.2% 1.8% — CDNS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.5x 2.8x — CDNS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.02% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -6.2% -5.7% -7.0% SNPS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.7%/yr +6.0%/yr -7.3%/yr CDNS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 41.0% 44.2% 30.2% DLB
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 41/100 66/100 DLB

Percentile Scorecard

CDNSSNPSDLB

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

AxisCDNSSNPSDLB
Valuation 37 #60 of 95 46 #52 of 95 85 #15 of 95
Growth 63 #35 of 93 51 #46 of 93 27 #68 of 93
Profitability 84 #15 of 91 48 #48 of 91 70 #28 of 91
Financial Health 36 #66 of 102 19 #83 of 102 62 #39 of 102
Shareholder Returns 68 #25 of 76 – 85 #12 of 76
Overall 58 41 66
  • CDNS ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors
  • SNPS ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors
  • DLB ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCDNSSNPSDLBSPY
1 month +2.4%+4.1%+8.3% -1.0%
3 months -3.0%+15.2%+26.1% +2.9%
6 months -4.9%-14.1%-1.9% +6.4%
Year to date +1.3%-8.4%-2.1% +11.4%
1 year -6.2%-5.7%-7.0% +13.1%
3 years +33.3%-8.1%-22.0% +79.4%
3 years, per year +10.1%-2.8%-8.0% +21.5%
5 years +89.8%+33.9%-31.6% +67.7%
5 years, per year +13.7%+6.0%-7.3% +10.9%
10 years +1,131.0%+627.4%+26.1% +255.2%
10 years, per year +28.5%+22.0%+2.3% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureCDNSSNPSDLBSPY
Volatility, 1Y 41.0%44.2%30.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 41.0%42.7%31.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.611.640.54 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.15-0.13-0.23 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -33.0%-42.3%-49.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -24.0%-19.5%-9.0% -2.5%
52-week high $416.39$534.56$69.09 $779.14
52-week low $265.66$372.33$48.50 $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.

MultipleCDNSSNPSDLB
P/E now vs peer median 62.9xmedian 41.5x 63.3xmedian 41.5x 26.2xmedian 41.5x
P/S now vs peer median 14.9xmedian 6.9x 9.3xmedian 6.9x 4.4xmedian 6.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 42.1xmedian 27.3x 38.4xmedian 27.3x 15.8xmedian 27.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 51.9xmedian 35.6x 31.3xmedian 35.6x 15.1xmedian 35.6x
P/B now vs peer median 12.7xmedian 4.2x 2.6xmedian 4.2x 2.3xmedian 4.2x
PEG now vs peer median 4.12median 2.31 133.61median 2.31 12.57median 2.31

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 monthsCDNSSNPSDLB
Revenue $5.84B $8.88B $1.35B
Gross profit $5.01B $6.53B $1.19B
Operating income $1.77B $847.20M $239.10M
Net income $1.38B $1.30B $228.00M
Free cash flow $1.68B – $392.67M
R&D $1.93B $2.81B $265.94M
EPS (diluted) $4.99 $6.77 $2.39
Cash & equivalents $1.44B $3.61B $669.39M
Total debt $10.35B $10.04B –
Shares (diluted) 276.16M 192.32M 94.52M
Enterprise value $81.15B $83.64B $3.28B

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
MetricCDNSSNPSDLB
P/E 62.9x 63.3x 26.2x
P/FCF 51.9x 31.3x 15.1x
P/Operating cash flow 47.0x – 13.5x
P/S 14.9x 9.3x 4.4x
P/B 12.7x 2.6x 2.3x
P/Tangible book 17.5x 4.2x 2.7x
EV/EBITDA 42.1x 38.4x 15.8x
EV/EBIT 49.8x 104.9x 22.0x
EV/Revenue 15.1x 10.0x 3.9x
EV/FCF 52.5x – 13.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 47.6x – 12.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 4.12 133.61 12.57

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCDNSSNPSDLB
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.7% 38.0% 0.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 15.4% 22.8% 1.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 15.1% 28.2% -0.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 13.8% 18.9% 1.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 25.5% -23.3% -15.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 17.4% -7.0% -1.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 36.2% -34.9% -14.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 15.7% 8.0% 1.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 34.6% -45.2% -12.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 15.3% 0.5% 2.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 8.1% – -6.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.7% – 9.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 5.9% – -10.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.0% – 9.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCDNSSNPSDLB
Gross margin 85.9% 73.5% 87.6%
EBITDA margin 35.9% 26.0% 24.5%
Operating margin 30.3% 9.5% 17.7%
Pretax margin 31.2% 16.5% 20.4%
Net margin 23.6% 14.7% 16.7%
FCF margin 28.8% – 29.0%
Operating cash flow margin 31.8% – 32.3%
Return on equity 20.5% 4.2% 8.7%
Return on assets 11.4% 2.7% 7.1%
Return on invested capital 14.2% 1.8% –
Return on capital employed 17.3% 2.0% 8.6%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.2x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x – 1.9x
Stock comp / revenue 8.8% – 9.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCDNSSNPSDLB
Debt / assets 20.5% 21.0% –
Debt / equity 0.4x 0.3x –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.5x 2.8x –
Debt / FCF 1.5x – –
Liabilities / assets 43.2% 34.7% 17.9%
Equity / assets 56.8% 65.3% 82.1%
Interest coverage 14.1x 1.3x –
Current ratio 1.7x 1.3x 3.2x
Quick ratio 1.7x 1.0x 3.1x
Cash ratio 0.8x 0.7x 1.6x
Altman Z-score 12.02 3.59 8.48

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCDNSSNPSDLB
Dividend yield – – 2.3%
Net buyback yield 0.7% – 3.5%
Shareholder yield 0.7% – 5.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 58.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 34.2%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 8.6%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 9.6%

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.

ConsensusCDNSSNPSDLB
Forward P/E 36.5xFY2026 29.6xFY2026 14.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $8.68FY2026 $14.55FY2026 $4.49FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +21.6%FY2026 +12.7%FY2026 +5.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +14.5% +21.2% +4.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $6.74BFY2026 $10.20BFY2026 $1.50BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +27.2%FY2026 +44.6%FY2026 +11.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +13.3% +12.7% -7.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCDNSSNPSDLB
Held by institutions 88.2% 92.3% 65.4%
Institutions holding 1,498 1,440 389
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.4% +5.6% +5.8%
Institutions buying 831 772 195
Institutions selling 518 493 148
Buyers to sellers 1.60 1.57 1.32

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.

CDNSSNPSDLB
CDNS 1.00 0.76 0.23
SNPS 0.76 1.00 0.20
DLB 0.23 0.20 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CDNS, SNPS and DLB?

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) $89.75B, Synopsys (SNPS) $87.25B, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) $5.89B.

Which stock is cheaper, CDNS, SNPS and DLB?

Dolby Laboratories (DLB) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 65.1x, Synopsys (SNPS) 67.0x, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 26.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) is cheapest (Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 36.5x, Synopsys (SNPS) 29.6x, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 14.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Synopsys (SNPS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) +14.7%, Synopsys (SNPS) +38.0%, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) +0.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) has the highest net margin (Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 23.6%, Synopsys (SNPS) 14.7%, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 16.7%). On return on invested capital, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) leads (Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 14.2%, Synopsys (SNPS) 1.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Synopsys (SNPS) returned the most: Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) -6.2%, Synopsys (SNPS) -5.7%, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) -7.0%. Over five years, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) compounded fastest (Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) +13.7%/yr, Synopsys (SNPS) +6.0%/yr, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) -7.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 0.00%, Synopsys (SNPS) 0.00%, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 0.02%. Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) and Synopsys (SNPS) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) has been the steadiest (Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 41.0%, Synopsys (SNPS) 44.2%, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 30.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, CDNS, SNPS and DLB?

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