NIQ vs MSTR vs CGNT Stock Comparison

NIQ Global Intelligence, Strategy and Cognyte Software Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MSTR Strategy Inc
$145.16 -7.6% 1M -49.0% 1Y
Market cap
$50.87B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$498.35M
Div. yield
–
Analytics and BI Technology
3 wins
CGNT Cognyte Software Ltd.
$9.95 +16.6% 1M +17.1% 1Y
Market cap
$718.38M
P/E
205.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$421.71M
Div. yield
–
Analytics and BI Technology
4 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Cognyte Software leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Cognyte Software 4, Strategy 3, NIQ Global Intelligence 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNIQMSTRCGNTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.96B $50.87B $718.38M MSTR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -22.6x -1.6x 205.9x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 18.1x — 20.7x NIQ
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.5% +7.8% +12.0% CGNT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -6.1% -6,294.3% 0.8% CGNT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 2.8% -73.9% — NIQ
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 4.0x -0.1x — MSTR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +52.5% -49.0% +17.1% NIQ
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — +15.2%/yr -13.0%/yr MSTR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 67.1% 81.1% 52.2% CGNT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 21/100 56/100 CGNT

Percentile Scorecard

NIQMSTRCGNT

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

AxisNIQMSTRCGNT
Valuation 71 #30 of 101 8 #93 of 101 58 #43 of 101
Growth 73 #27 of 97 7 #90 of 97 89 #12 of 97
Profitability 45 #52 of 94 8 #87 of 94 61 #37 of 94
Financial Health 24 #82 of 108 81 #21 of 108 59 #45 of 108
Shareholder Returns – 3 #62 of 64 14 #55 of 64
Overall 53 21 56
  • NIQ ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • MSTR ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications
  • CGNT ranked among 114 companies in Business Applications

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodNIQMSTRCGNTSPY
1 month +14.3%-7.6%+16.6% +0.9%
3 months +67.9%+55.5%+12.0% +5.9%
6 months +76.9%-8.2%+4.8% +8.5%
Year to date +21.9%-4.5%+5.9% +13.3%
1 year +52.5%-49.0%+17.1% +12.4%
3 years —+256.8%+147.5% +88.1%
3 years, per year —+52.9%+35.3% +23.5%
5 years —+103.0%-50.0% +68.2%
5 years, per year —+15.2%-13.0% +11.0%
10 years —+658.0%— +263.4%
10 years, per year —+22.5%— +13.8%

Risk

MeasureNIQMSTRCGNTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 67.1%81.1%52.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 62.7%74.7%56.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.453.151.31 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.78-0.600.33 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -59.6%-84.1%-89.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high 0.0%-49.0%-18.7% -0.9%
52-week high $20.10$284.64$12.24 $779.14
52-week low $7.97$82.31$6.34 $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.

MultipleNIQMSTRCGNT
P/E now vs peer median -22.5xmedian 27.6x -1.6xmedian 27.6x 207.9xmedian 27.6x
P/S now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 2.7x 102.5xmedian 2.7x 1.7xmedian 2.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.4xmedian 17.4x -1.5xmedian 17.4x 21.2xmedian 17.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 15.8x -1,951xmedian 15.8x 25.1xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median 5.2xmedian 3.2x 1.7xmedian 3.2x 3.3xmedian 3.2x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.84 0.01median 0.84 7.72median 0.84

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 monthsNIQMSTRCGNT
Revenue $4.36B $498.35M $421.71M
Gross profit $2.43B $336.89M $307.70M
Operating income $135.00M -$36.36B $17.43M
Net income -$264.00M -$30.41B $4.85M
Free cash flow – -$26.19M $28.96M
R&D – $93.13M $127.59M
EPS (diluted) $-0.89 $-88.98 $0.05
Cash & equivalents $416.60M $1.71B $102.17M
Total debt $3.55B $6.71B –
Shares (diluted) 295.06M 352.53M 72.91M
Enterprise value $4.32B $43.86B $283.56M

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
MetricNIQMSTRCGNT
P/E -22.5x -1.6x 207.9x
P/FCF – -1,951x 25.1x
P/Operating cash flow – -2,543x 17.6x
P/S 1.4x 102.5x 1.7x
P/B 5.2x 1.7x 3.3x
P/Tangible book -6.8x -2.7x 3.4x
EV/EBITDA 11.4x -1.5x 21.2x
EV/EBIT 67.1x -1.5x 35.9x
EV/Revenue 2.1x 111.1x 1.5x
EV/FCF – -2,114x 21.6x
EV/Operating cash flow – -2,755x 15.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 0.01 7.72

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNIQMSTRCGNT
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.5% 7.8% 12.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – -0.1% 12.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 6.6% 4.0% 15.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – -5.0% 17.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) 577.0% -645.8% 406.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – -437.1% 31.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 55.3% -734.6% 202.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – -430.3% 27.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 62.2% -676.7% 201.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – -314.6% 26.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 79.0% 56.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -202.3% 38.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 74.1% 53.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -109.9% 66.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNIQMSTRCGNT
Gross margin 55.7% 67.6% 73.0%
EBITDA margin 18.2% -7,284% 7.0%
Operating margin 3.1% -7,295% 4.1%
Pretax margin -2.4% -7,280% 3.1%
Net margin -6.1% -6,294% 0.8%
FCF margin – -5.3% 6.9%
Operating cash flow margin – -4.0% 9.8%
Return on equity -21.5% -90.1% 2.2%
Return on assets -3.8% -56.9% 0.9%
Return on invested capital 2.8% -73.9% –
Return on capital employed 2.6% -68.7% 5.9%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.0x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 0.0x 8.5x
Stock comp / revenue – 10.7% 5.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNIQMSTRCGNT
Debt / assets 52.5% 12.8% –
Debt / equity 3.1x 0.2x –
Net debt / EBITDA 4.0x -0.1x –
Debt / FCF – -256.2x –
Liabilities / assets 83.0% 41.2% 56.6%
Equity / assets 17.0% 58.8% 43.4%
Interest coverage – – 113.9x
Current ratio 1.1x 5.4x 1.3x
Quick ratio 1.0x 5.2x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.3x 4.9x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 0.89 -1.21 2.21

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNIQMSTRCGNT
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield – -51.9% -2.8%
Shareholder yield 0.0% -51.9% -2.8%
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.

ConsensusNIQMSTRCGNT
Forward P/E 18.1xFY2026 – 20.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.11FY2026 $-18.79FY2026 $0.48FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +382.6%FY2026 – +71.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +19.8% – +68.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.21BFY2026 $465.93MFY2026 $426.78MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.2%FY2026 -2.4%FY2026 +6.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +18.6% +14.2% +18.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNIQMSTRCGNT
Held by institutions 84.4% 59.5% 67.2%
Institutions holding 162 850 133
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.0% +9.6% -2.8%
Institutions buying 101 473 75
Institutions selling 51 264 33
Buyers to sellers 1.98 1.79 2.27

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.

NIQMSTRCGNT
NIQ 1.00 0.04 0.23
MSTR 0.04 1.00 0.34
CGNT 0.23 0.34 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NIQ, MSTR and CGNT?

Strategy (MSTR) is the largest by market capitalisation: NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) $5.96B, Strategy (MSTR) $50.87B, Cognyte Software (CGNT) $718.38M.

Which company is growing faster?

Cognyte Software (CGNT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) +7.5%, Strategy (MSTR) +7.8%, Cognyte Software (CGNT) +12.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cognyte Software (CGNT) has the highest net margin (NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) -6.1%, Strategy (MSTR) -6,294.3%, Cognyte Software (CGNT) 0.8%). On return on invested capital, NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) leads (NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) 2.8%, Strategy (MSTR) -73.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) returned the most: NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) +52.5%, Strategy (MSTR) -49.0%, Cognyte Software (CGNT) +17.1%. Over five years, Strategy (MSTR) compounded fastest (Strategy (MSTR) +15.2%/yr, Cognyte Software (CGNT) -13.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cognyte Software (CGNT) has been the steadiest (NIQ Global Intelligence (NIQ) 67.1%, Strategy (MSTR) 81.1%, Cognyte Software (CGNT) 52.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NIQ, MSTR and CGNT?

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