DLB vs ARM vs CDNS Stock Comparison

Dolby Laboratories, Arm Holdings and Cadence Design Systems Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
DLB Dolby Laboratories, Inc.
$63.13 +7.7% 1M -6.3% 1Y
Market cap
$5.93B
P/E
26.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.35B
Div. yield
0.02%
Semiconductor EDA Software Technology
4 wins
ARM Arm Holdings Plc /Uk
$223.35 -28.0% 1M +30.9% 1Y
Market cap
$240.26B
P/E
230.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.16B
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor Design Technology
4 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Arm Holdings leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Arm Holdings 4, Dolby Laboratories 4, Cadence Design Systems 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionDLBARMCDNSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.93B $240.26B $93.50B ARM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.2x 230.1x 67.7x DLB
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 14.1x 107.9x 36.4x DLB
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +0.6% +25.1% +17.6% ARM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 16.7% 20.2% — ARM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -6.3% +30.9% -6.6% ARM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -6.4%/yr — +14.3%/yr CDNS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.3% 79.0% 41.0% DLB
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 66/100 62/100 49/100 DLB

Percentile Scorecard

DLBARMCDNS

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

AxisDLBARMCDNS
Valuation 86 #14 of 95 7 #88 of 95 30 #67 of 95
Growth 27 #68 of 93 88 #12 of 93 64 #34 of 93
Profitability 71 #27 of 91 77 #22 of 91 53 #43 of 91
Financial Health 62 #39 of 101 77 #24 of 101 –
Shareholder Returns 84 #13 of 75 – –
Overall 66 62 49
  • DLB ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors
  • ARM ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors
  • CDNS ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodDLBARMCDNSSPY
1 month +7.7%-28.0%-1.2% -0.8%
3 months +23.1%-16.1%-4.9% +3.5%
6 months -0.8%+3.5%-4.3% +7.0%
Year to date -1.7%+104.3%+3.1% +12.2%
1 year -6.3%+30.9%-6.6% +13.0%
3 years -19.7%+355.0%+39.5% +86.3%
3 years, per year -7.1%+65.8%+11.8% +23.1%
5 years -28.0%—+95.1% +68.6%
5 years, per year -6.4%—+14.3% +11.0%
10 years +26.6%—+1,162.4% +258.0%
10 years, per year +2.4%—+28.9% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureDLBARMCDNSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.3%79.0%41.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.6%71.2%41.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.543.471.61 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.210.39-0.16 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.6%-54.0%-33.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -8.6%-49.2%-22.6% -1.8%
52-week high $69.09$439.46$416.39 $779.14
52-week low $48.50$104.55$265.66 $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.

MultipleDLBARMCDNS
P/E now vs peer median 26.3xmedian 42.1x 227.0xmedian 42.1x 63.9xmedian 42.1x
P/S now vs peer median 4.4xmedian 7.1x 46.0xmedian 7.1x 14.5xmedian 7.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.9xmedian 27.5x 201.3xmedian 27.5x —median 27.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 15.2xmedian 37.2x 117.8xmedian 37.2x 53.2xmedian 37.2x
P/B now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 4.2x 27.5xmedian 4.2x 12.9xmedian 4.2x
PEG now vs peer median 12.63median 2.23 6.40median 2.23 5.13median 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 monthsDLBARMCDNS
Revenue $1.35B $5.16B $6.13B
Gross profit $1.19B $5.03B –
Operating income $239.10M $877.00M $1.77B
Net income $228.00M $1.04B $1.38B
Free cash flow $392.67M $2.01B –
R&D $265.94M $2.96B $2.04B
EPS (diluted) $2.39 $0.98 $5.00
Cash & equivalents $669.39M $3.06B $1.45B
Shares (diluted) 94.52M 1.07B 276.16M
Enterprise value $3.32B $225.97B $93.50B

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
MetricDLBARMCDNS
P/E 26.3x 227.0x 63.9x
P/FCF 15.2x 117.8x 53.2x
P/Operating cash flow 13.6x 113.2x 45.1x
P/S 4.4x 46.0x 14.5x
P/B 2.3x 27.5x 12.9x
P/Tangible book 2.7x 28.2x 17.5x
EV/EBITDA 15.9x 201.3x –
EV/EBIT 22.1x 265.8x –
EV/Revenue 3.9x 45.2x 14.5x
EV/FCF 13.4x 115.8x –
EV/Operating cash flow 12.1x 111.3x 45.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 12.63 6.40 5.13

Growth

14 metrics
MetricDLBARMCDNS
Revenue growth (1Y) 0.6% 25.1% 17.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.7% 24.7% 16.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -0.5% 25.6% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 1.5% 25.4% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -15.1% 14.9% 19.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -1.0% 21.6% 16.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -14.2% 49.4% 30.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 1.3% 37.2% 13.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -12.3% 48.7% 29.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 2.1% 35.5% 12.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -6.0% 105.5% 21.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.5% 34.7% 13.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -10.4% 121.8% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.3% 33.3% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricDLBARMCDNS
Gross margin 87.6% 97.5% –
EBITDA margin 24.5% 22.5% –
Operating margin 17.7% 17.0% –
Pretax margin 20.4% 24.5% –
Net margin 16.7% 20.2% –
FCF margin 29.0% 39.0% –
Operating cash flow margin 32.3% 40.6% 32.1%
Return on equity 8.7% 16.3% –
Return on assets 7.1% 12.6% –
Return on invested capital – – –
Return on capital employed 8.6% 9.0% –
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.5x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.9x 2.0x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 9.6% 22.4% 8.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricDLBARMCDNS
Debt / assets – – –
Debt / equity – – –
Net debt / EBITDA – – –
Debt / FCF – – –
Liabilities / assets 17.9% 22.9% –
Equity / assets 82.1% 77.1% 56.2%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 3.2x 5.3x 1.4x
Quick ratio 3.1x 4.9x –
Cash ratio 1.6x 3.2x –
Altman Z-score 8.51 57.27 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricDLBARMCDNS
Dividend yield 2.3% – –
Net buyback yield 3.5% – –
Shareholder yield 5.7% – –
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.

ConsensusDLBARMCDNS
Forward P/E 14.1xFY2026 107.9xFY2026 36.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.49FY2026 $2.07FY2026 $8.84FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +5.9%FY2026 +16.9%FY2026 +23.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +4.7% +49.8% +14.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.50BFY2026 $5.71BFY2026 $6.79BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +11.1%FY2026 +16.0%FY2026 +28.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -7.7% +38.7% +13.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersDLBARMCDNS
Held by institutions 65.4% 9.3% 88.2%
Institutions holding 389 955 1,498
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.8% +12.4% +5.4%
Institutions buying 195 593 831
Institutions selling 148 257 518
Buyers to sellers 1.32 2.31 1.60

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.

DLBARMCDNS
DLB 1.00 0.08 0.23
ARM 0.08 1.00 0.41
CDNS 0.23 0.41 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, DLB, ARM and CDNS?

Arm Holdings (ARM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Dolby Laboratories (DLB) $5.93B, Arm Holdings (ARM) $240.26B, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) $93.50B.

Which stock is cheaper, DLB, ARM and CDNS?

Dolby Laboratories (DLB) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 26.2x, Arm Holdings (ARM) 230.1x, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 67.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) is cheapest (Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 14.1x, Arm Holdings (ARM) 107.9x, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 36.4x). 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: Dolby Laboratories (DLB) +0.6%, Arm Holdings (ARM) +25.1%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) +17.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Arm Holdings (ARM) has the highest net margin (Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 16.7%, Arm Holdings (ARM) 20.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Arm Holdings (ARM) returned the most: Dolby Laboratories (DLB) -6.3%, Arm Holdings (ARM) +30.9%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) -6.6%. Over five years, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) compounded fastest (Dolby Laboratories (DLB) -6.4%/yr, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) +14.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

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

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) has been the steadiest (Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 30.3%, Arm Holdings (ARM) 79.0%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 41.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.