DLB vs QCOM vs CDNS Stock Comparison

Dolby Laboratories, Qualcomm and Cadence Design Systems Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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DLB Dolby Laboratories, Inc.
$61.68 +6.0% 1M -7.3% 1Y
Market cap
$5.81B
P/E
25.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.35B
Div. yield
2.33%
Semiconductor EDA Software Technology
4 wins
QCOM Qualcomm Inc/De
$182.97 -2.4% 1M +1.1% 1Y
Market cap
$193.40B
P/E
20.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$44.07B
Div. yield
1.98%
Semiconductor Design Technology
4 wins
CDNS Cadence Design Systems Inc
$342.46 +4.8% 1M +0.3% 1Y
Market cap
$94.31B
P/E
68.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.13B
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor EDA Software Technology
2 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

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

QuestionDLBQCOMCDNSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.81B $193.40B $94.31B QCOM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.7x 20.9x 68.0x QCOM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.7x 17.0x 38.7x DLB
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +0.6% +1.9% +17.6% CDNS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 16.7% 21.0% — QCOM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 20.5% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.4x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 2.33% 1.98% — DLB
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -7.3% +1.1% +0.3% QCOM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -6.9%/yr +6.6%/yr +14.6%/yr CDNS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.2% 52.9% 41.3% DLB
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 66/100 62/100 47/100 DLB

Percentile Scorecard

DLBQCOMCDNS

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

AxisDLBQCOMCDNS
Valuation 89 #11 of 94 80 #20 of 94 26 #70 of 94
Growth 25 #69 of 92 32 #63 of 92 62 #36 of 92
Profitability 71 #27 of 90 87 #13 of 90 54 #42 of 90
Financial Health 60 #40 of 99 29 #71 of 99 –
Shareholder Returns 86 #11 of 73 82 #14 of 73 –
Overall 66 62 47
  • DLB ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors
  • QCOM ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors
  • CDNS ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodDLBQCOMCDNSSPY
1 month +6.0%-2.4%+4.8% +0.9%
3 months +17.4%+17.5%+2.9% +5.9%
6 months -2.5%+17.3%+3.8% +8.5%
Year to date -4.0%+7.0%+9.6% +13.3%
1 year -7.3%+1.1%+0.3% +12.4%
3 years -21.6%+71.9%+48.3% +88.1%
3 years, per year -7.8%+19.8%+14.1% +23.5%
5 years -30.2%+37.5%+97.8% +68.2%
5 years, per year -6.9%+6.6%+14.6% +11.0%
10 years +29.7%+167.5%+1,249.3% +263.4%
10 years, per year +2.6%+10.3%+29.7% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureDLBQCOMCDNSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.2%52.9%41.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.5%52.3%40.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.542.081.63 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.240.020.01 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.6%-45.6%-33.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -10.7%-27.1%-17.8% -0.9%
52-week high $69.09$251.02$416.39 $779.14
52-week low $48.50$124.07$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.

MultipleDLBQCOMCDNS
P/E now vs peer median 25.7xmedian 46.0x 20.9xmedian 46.0x 68.0xmedian 46.0x
P/S now vs peer median 4.3xmedian 7.9x 4.4xmedian 7.9x 15.4xmedian 7.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.5xmedian 28.3x 16.8xmedian 28.3x —median 28.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 14.8xmedian 41.4x 18.6xmedian 41.4x 53.2xmedian 41.4x
P/B now vs peer median 2.2xmedian 4.6x 7.0xmedian 4.6x 13.7xmedian 4.6x
PEG now vs peer median 12.34median 2.30 5.02median 2.30 5.46median 2.30

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 monthsDLBQCOMCDNS
Revenue $1.35B $44.07B $6.13B
Gross profit $1.19B $23.90B –
Operating income $239.10M $10.22B $1.77B
Net income $228.00M $9.26B $1.38B
Free cash flow $392.67M $10.42B –
R&D $265.94M $9.89B $2.04B
EPS (diluted) $2.39 $8.66 $5.00
Cash & equivalents $669.39M $4.53B $1.45B
Total debt – $12.78B –
Shares (diluted) 94.52M 1.07B 276.16M
Enterprise value $3.21B $153.32B $94.31B

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
MetricDLBQCOMCDNS
P/E 25.7x 20.9x 68.0x
P/FCF 14.8x 18.6x 53.2x
P/Operating cash flow 13.3x 15.6x 47.9x
P/S 4.3x 4.4x 15.4x
P/B 2.2x 7.0x 13.7x
P/Tangible book 2.6x 7.4x 18.6x
EV/EBITDA 15.5x 16.8x –
EV/EBIT 21.5x 19.4x –
EV/Revenue 3.8x 4.5x 15.4x
EV/FCF 13.1x 19.0x –
EV/Operating cash flow 11.8x 16.0x 47.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 12.34 5.02 5.46

Growth

14 metrics
MetricDLBQCOMCDNS
Revenue growth (1Y) 0.6% 1.9% 17.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 1.7% 4.5% 16.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -0.5% -0.8% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 1.5% 3.2% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -15.1% -15.0% 19.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -1.0% 0.6% 16.4%
Net income growth (1Y) -14.2% -20.0% 30.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 1.3% 2.4% 13.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -12.3% -17.8% 29.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 2.1% 4.2% 12.5%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -6.0% -2.1% 21.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.5% 12.7% 13.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -10.4% -10.4% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.3% 14.9% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricDLBQCOMCDNS
Gross margin 87.6% 54.2% –
EBITDA margin 24.5% 26.8% –
Operating margin 17.7% 23.2% –
Pretax margin 20.4% 25.4% –
Net margin 16.7% 21.0% –
FCF margin 29.0% 23.6% –
Operating cash flow margin 32.3% 28.1% 32.1%
Return on equity 8.7% 33.7% –
Return on assets 7.1% 16.2% –
Return on invested capital – 20.5% –
Return on capital employed 8.6% 22.3% –
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.8x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.9x 1.3x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 9.6% 7.4% 8.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricDLBQCOMCDNS
Debt / assets – 22.3% –
Debt / equity – 0.5x –
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.4x –
Debt / FCF – 1.2x –
Liabilities / assets 17.9% 51.8% –
Equity / assets 82.1% 48.2% 56.2%
Interest coverage – 14.8x –
Current ratio 3.2x 2.0x 1.4x
Quick ratio 3.1x 1.1x –
Cash ratio 1.6x 0.7x –
Altman Z-score 8.36 6.17 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricDLBQCOMCDNS
Dividend yield 2.3% 2.0% –
Net buyback yield 3.5% 4.6% –
Shareholder yield 5.9% 6.5% –
Payout ratio (earnings) 58.9% 41.3% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 34.2% 36.7% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 8.6% 0.8% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 9.6% 3.9% –

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.

ConsensusDLBQCOMCDNS
Forward P/E 13.7xFY2026 17.0xFY2026 38.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.49FY2026 $10.79FY2026 $8.84FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +5.9%FY2026 -10.3%FY2026 +23.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +4.7% -3.0% +14.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.50BFY2026 $45.55BFY2026 $6.79BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +11.1%FY2026 +3.2%FY2026 +28.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -7.7% -5.0% +13.9%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersDLBQCOMCDNS
Held by institutions 100.0% 79.7% 88.2%
Institutions holding 389 3,031 1,500
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.8% +2.8% +5.4%
Institutions buying 195 1,417 833
Institutions selling 148 1,333 518
Buyers to sellers 1.32 1.06 1.61

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.

DLBQCOMCDNS
DLB 1.00 0.17 0.23
QCOM 0.17 1.00 0.29
CDNS 0.23 0.29 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, DLB, QCOM and CDNS?

Qualcomm (QCOM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Dolby Laboratories (DLB) $5.81B, Qualcomm (QCOM) $193.40B, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) $94.31B.

Which stock is cheaper, DLB, QCOM and CDNS?

Qualcomm (QCOM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 25.7x, Qualcomm (QCOM) 20.9x, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 68.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) is cheapest (Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 13.7x, Qualcomm (QCOM) 17.0x, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 38.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Dolby Laboratories (DLB) +0.6%, Qualcomm (QCOM) +1.9%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) +17.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Qualcomm (QCOM) has the highest net margin (Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 16.7%, Qualcomm (QCOM) 21.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Qualcomm (QCOM) returned the most: Dolby Laboratories (DLB) -7.3%, Qualcomm (QCOM) +1.1%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) +0.3%. Over five years, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) compounded fastest (Dolby Laboratories (DLB) -6.9%/yr, Qualcomm (QCOM) +6.6%/yr, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) +14.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Dolby Laboratories (DLB) has the highest dividend yield: Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 2.33%, Qualcomm (QCOM) 1.98%. 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) 30.2%, Qualcomm (QCOM) 52.9%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 41.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, DLB, QCOM 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, Qualcomm (QCOM) 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.