DSGX vs ESTC vs KARO Stock Comparison

Descartes Systems, Elastic and Karooooo Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ESTC Elastic N.V.
$106.60 +21.2% 1M +22.2% 1Y
Market cap
$10.71B
P/E
28.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.80B
Div. yield
–
Data Infrastructure Technology
3 wins
KARO Karooooo Ltd.
$65.44 +7.6% 1M +44.5% 1Y
Market cap
$2.02B
P/E
31.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$364.50M
Div. yield
–
Supply Chain Software Technology
6 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Karooooo leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Karooooo 6, Elastic 3, Descartes Systems 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionDSGXESTCKAROLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $7.83B $10.71B $2.02B ESTC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 41.6x 28.5x 31.6x ESTC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 42.0x 30.4x 26.6x KARO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +13.2% +16.2% +31.4% KARO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 24.3% 20.8% 17.6% DSGX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 0.0% 34.9% KARO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -10.8x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -4.4% +22.2% +44.5% KARO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.5%/yr -9.3%/yr +13.2%/yr KARO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 41.4% 58.1% 36.5% KARO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 67/100 71/100 69/100 ESTC

Percentile Scorecard

DSGXESTCKARO

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

AxisDSGXESTCKARO
Valuation 43 #51 of 89 67 #42 of 124 58 #38 of 89
Growth 65 #29 of 81 81 #22 of 113 81 #16 of 81
Profitability 97 #3 of 76 67 #37 of 109 100 #1 of 76
Financial Health 85 #15 of 94 54 #59 of 127 56 #42 of 94
Shareholder Returns 45 #29 of 52 87 #9 of 63 49 #27 of 52
Overall 67 71 69
  • DSGX ranked among 98 companies in Vertical Software
  • ESTC ranked among 137 companies in Infrastructure Software
  • KARO ranked among 98 companies in Vertical Software

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodDSGXESTCKAROSPY
1 month +17.1%+21.2%+7.6% +0.9%
3 months +18.4%+65.3%+1.5% +5.9%
6 months +27.7%+124.9%+31.9% +8.5%
Year to date +5.4%+41.3%+43.8% +13.3%
1 year -4.4%+22.2%+44.5% +12.4%
3 years +32.3%+41.2%+197.9% +88.1%
3 years, per year +9.8%+12.2%+43.9% +23.5%
5 years +13.0%-38.6%+85.9% +68.2%
5 years, per year +2.5%-9.3%+13.2% +11.0%
10 years +341.9%—— +263.4%
10 years, per year +16.0%—— +13.8%

Risk

MeasureDSGXESTCKAROSPY
Volatility, 1Y 41.4%58.1%36.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 38.5%59.3%32.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.331.140.92 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.110.381.22 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -48.7%-76.8%-54.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.4%0.0%-4.8% -0.9%
52-week high $96.58$106.60$68.71 $779.14
52-week low $62.82$43.30$41.60 $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.

MultipleDSGXESTCKARO
P/E now vs peer median 42.2xmedian 40.6x 29.7xmedian 37.9x 31.5xmedian 40.6x
P/S now vs peer median 10.2xmedian 2.4x 6.2xmedian 4.4x 5.5xmedian 2.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 23.1xmedian 18.3x 124.7xmedian 34.5x —median 18.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.7xmedian 20.5x 32.1xmedian 26.6x 15.6xmedian 20.5x
P/B now vs peer median 4.8xmedian 1.8x 8.6xmedian 3.4x 10.5xmedian 1.8x
PEG now vs peer median 2.40median 1.74 0.55median 1.24 —median 1.74

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 monthsDSGXESTCKARO
Revenue $775.17M $1.80B $364.50M
Gross profit $601.59M $1.36B $245.35M
Operating income $243.60M -$47.61M $92.48M
Net income $188.01M $375.64M $65.09M
Free cash flow $297.47M $349.04M $129.31M
R&D $109.17M $455.30M $16.89M
EPS (diluted) $2.15 $3.59 –
Cash & equivalents $401.06M $879.87M $40.11M
Total debt – $571.20M $171.74M
Shares (diluted) 87.58M 104.64M –
Enterprise value $6.42B $5.23B $1.68B

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
MetricDSGXESTCKARO
P/E 42.2x 29.7x 31.5x
P/FCF 26.7x 32.1x 15.6x
P/Operating cash flow 26.0x 31.6x 15.6x
P/S 10.2x 6.2x 5.5x
P/B 4.8x 8.6x 10.5x
P/Tangible book 6.1x 8.7x 10.5x
EV/EBITDA 23.1x 124.7x –
EV/EBIT 31.0x -216.7x 21.8x
EV/Revenue 9.7x 5.7x 5.5x
EV/FCF 25.4x 29.6x 15.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.7x 29.1x 15.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.40 0.55 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricDSGXESTCKARO
Revenue growth (1Y) 13.2% 16.2% 31.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 13.8% 17.4% 19.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 15.5% 16.7% 27.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 14.4% 18.8% 21.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 30.1% -56.0% 17.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 19.8% 37.5% 21.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 26.9% 549.9% 15.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 18.3% 55.3% 22.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 26.4% 555.6% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 17.6% 53.7% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 28.6% 11.3% 45.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.7% 62.1% 24.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 30.3% 11.2% 45.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 15.7% 63.2% 31.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricDSGXESTCKARO
Gross margin 77.6% 75.5% 67.3%
EBITDA margin 42.1% 4.6% –
Operating margin 31.4% -2.6% 25.4%
Pretax margin 32.7% -1.1% 24.2%
Net margin 24.3% 20.8% 17.6%
FCF margin 38.4% 19.4% 35.5%
Operating cash flow margin 39.4% 19.6% 35.5%
Return on equity 11.4% 29.2% 31.3%
Return on assets – 12.2% 16.8%
Return on invested capital – 0.0% 34.9%
Return on capital employed – -2.3% 38.5%
Asset turnover – 0.6x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.6x 0.9x 2.0x
Stock comp / revenue 3.5% 16.8% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricDSGXESTCKARO
Debt / assets – 19.0% 17.4%
Debt / equity – 0.4x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA – -10.8x –
Debt / FCF – 1.6x 0.5x
Liabilities / assets 15.9% 56.8% 50.2%
Equity / assets 84.1% 43.2% 49.8%
Interest coverage 168.0x -1.9x 14.9x
Current ratio 2.0x 1.8x 0.6x
Quick ratio 1.9x 1.6x 0.9x
Cash ratio 1.5x 1.4x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 16.63 4.48 8.30

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricDSGXESTCKARO
Dividend yield – – 2.3%
Net buyback yield 0.2% 3.1% –
Shareholder yield 0.2% 3.1% 2.3%
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.

ConsensusDSGXESTCKARO
Forward P/E 42.0xFY2026 30.4xFY2026 26.6xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.20FY2026 $3.51FY2026 $2.46FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +17.6%FY2026 +36.6%FY2026 +21.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +18.2% +19.4% +16.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $889.11MFY2026 $1.88BFY2026 $418.13MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +22.0%FY2026 +8.2%FY2026 +22.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.6% +18.3% +3.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersDSGXESTCKARO
Held by institutions 82.0% 86.4% 14.4%
Institutions holding 341 371 83
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.7% +1.7% +18.4%
Institutions buying 167 199 54
Institutions selling 139 129 13
Buyers to sellers 1.20 1.54 4.15

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.

DSGXESTCKARO
DSGX 1.00 0.48 0.30
ESTC 0.48 1.00 0.26
KARO 0.30 0.26 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, DSGX, ESTC and KARO?

Elastic (ESTC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Descartes Systems (DSGX) $7.83B, Elastic (ESTC) $10.71B, Karooooo (KARO) $2.02B.

Which stock is cheaper, DSGX, ESTC and KARO?

Elastic (ESTC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Descartes Systems (DSGX) 41.6x, Elastic (ESTC) 28.5x, Karooooo (KARO) 31.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Karooooo (KARO) is cheapest (Descartes Systems (DSGX) 42.0x, Elastic (ESTC) 30.4x, Karooooo (KARO) 26.6x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Karooooo (KARO) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Descartes Systems (DSGX) +13.2%, Elastic (ESTC) +16.2%, Karooooo (KARO) +31.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Descartes Systems (DSGX) has the highest net margin (Descartes Systems (DSGX) 24.3%, Elastic (ESTC) 20.8%, Karooooo (KARO) 17.6%). On return on invested capital, Karooooo (KARO) leads (Elastic (ESTC) 0.0%, Karooooo (KARO) 34.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Karooooo (KARO) returned the most: Descartes Systems (DSGX) -4.4%, Elastic (ESTC) +22.2%, Karooooo (KARO) +44.5%. Over five years, Karooooo (KARO) compounded fastest (Descartes Systems (DSGX) +2.5%/yr, Elastic (ESTC) -9.3%/yr, Karooooo (KARO) +13.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Karooooo (KARO) has been the steadiest (Descartes Systems (DSGX) 41.4%, Elastic (ESTC) 58.1%, Karooooo (KARO) 36.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, DSGX, ESTC and KARO?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Karooooo (KARO) leads on 6. 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.