PDFS vs CDNS vs ADEA Stock Comparison

Pdf Solutions, Cadence Design Systems and Adeia Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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PDFS Pdf Solutions Inc
$44.23 -10.7% 1M +54.0% 1Y
Market cap
$1.86B
P/E
180.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$241.18M
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor EDA Software Technology
2 wins
CDNS Cadence Design Systems Inc
$343.08 +5.2% 1M -2.4% 1Y
Market cap
$93.39B
P/E
67.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.13B
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor EDA Software Technology
2 wins
ADEA Adeia Inc.
$22.70 -10.9% 1M +28.7% 1Y
Market cap
$2.49B
P/E
20.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$470.87M
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor EDA Software Technology
7 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Adeia leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Adeia 7, Cadence Design Systems 2, Pdf Solutions 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPDFSCDNSADEALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.86B $93.39B $2.49B CDNS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 180.4x 67.6x 20.3x ADEA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 32.5x 38.8x 16.8x ADEA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +23.0% +17.6% +24.3% ADEA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.3% — 26.1% ADEA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.1% — 16.8% ADEA
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -1.3x — 0.7x PDFS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +54.0% -2.4% +28.7% PDFS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +13.9%/yr +15.2%/yr +24.2%/yr ADEA
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 69.4% 41.4% 67.0% CDNS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 48/100 49/100 71/100 ADEA

Percentile Scorecard

PDFSCDNSADEA

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

AxisPDFSCDNSADEA
Valuation 40 #57 of 94 27 #69 of 94 85 #15 of 94
Growth 86 #14 of 92 65 #33 of 92 69 #29 of 92
Profitability 43 #52 of 90 54 #42 of 90 90 #10 of 90
Financial Health 54 #46 of 99 – 29 #71 of 99
Shareholder Returns 15 #62 of 73 – 82 #14 of 73
Overall 48 49 71
  • PDFS ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors
  • CDNS ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors
  • ADEA ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodPDFSCDNSADEASPY
1 month -10.7%+5.2%-10.9% -0.2%
3 months -0.8%-0.5%-9.7% +3.9%
6 months +10.3%+5.5%-24.9% +8.2%
Year to date +55.0%+9.8%+31.6% +12.9%
1 year +54.0%-2.4%+28.7% +12.3%
3 years +62.1%+48.6%+174.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year +17.5%+14.1%+40.0% +23.3%
5 years +91.6%+103.1%+195.2% +67.9%
5 years, per year +13.9%+15.2%+24.2% +10.9%
10 years +129.8%+1,252.8%+40.9% +261.1%
10 years, per year +8.7%+29.8%+3.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasurePDFSCDNSADEASPY
Volatility, 1Y 69.4%41.4%67.0% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 71.6%41.0%65.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.081.622.55 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.78-0.060.43 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -65.5%-33.0%-39.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -37.5%-17.6%-32.5% -1.2%
52-week high $70.79$416.39$33.63 $779.14
52-week low $23.97$265.66$11.74 $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.

MultiplePDFSCDNSADEA
P/E now vs peer median 175.6xmedian 45.6x 68.1xmedian 45.6x 20.4xmedian 45.6x
P/S now vs peer median 7.7xmedian 7.7x 15.4xmedian 7.7x 5.3xmedian 7.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 48.3xmedian 29.0x —median 29.0x 10.3xmedian 29.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median -1,026xmedian 40.6x 53.2xmedian 40.6x 13.3xmedian 40.6x
P/B now vs peer median 5.0xmedian 4.6x 13.7xmedian 4.6x 5.2xmedian 4.6x
PEG now vs peer median 83.48median 2.28 5.47median 2.28 0.59median 2.28

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 monthsPDFSCDNSADEA
Revenue $241.18M $6.13B $470.87M
Gross profit $172.35M – –
Operating income $19.66M $1.77B $195.97M
Net income $10.31M $1.38B $122.68M
Free cash flow -$1.81M – $188.57M
R&D $70.34M $2.04B $71.74M
EPS (diluted) $0.25 $5.00 $1.07
Cash & equivalents $114.88M $1.45B $137.10M
Total debt $66.52M – $386.02M
Shares (diluted) 41.78M 276.16M 114.40M
Enterprise value $1.64B $93.39B $1.74B

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
MetricPDFSCDNSADEA
P/E 175.6x 68.1x 20.4x
P/FCF -1,026x 53.2x 13.3x
P/Operating cash flow 47.9x 48.0x 13.1x
P/S 7.7x 15.4x 5.3x
P/B 5.0x 13.7x 5.2x
P/Tangible book 5.7x 18.6x 13.3x
EV/EBITDA 48.3x – 10.3x
EV/EBIT 91.8x – 13.7x
EV/Revenue 7.5x 15.4x 5.7x
EV/FCF -999.7x – 14.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 46.6x 48.0x 14.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 83.48 5.47 0.59

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPDFSCDNSADEA
Revenue growth (1Y) 23.0% 17.6% 24.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.0% 16.1% 6.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 23.3% – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 14.7% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 10,088% 19.4% 57.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 57.7% 16.4% 17.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 1,100% 30.1% 46.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 4.4% 13.0% 34.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 1,028% 29.0% 43.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 2.1% 12.5% 34.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 170.5% 21.7% -5.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 26.6% 13.6% 0.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 85.2% – -6.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -29.8% – 1.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPDFSCDNSADEA
Gross margin 71.5% – –
EBITDA margin 15.5% – 55.6%
Operating margin 8.2% – 41.6%
Pretax margin 6.9% – 35.3%
Net margin 4.3% – 26.1%
FCF margin -0.7% – 40.0%
Operating cash flow margin 16.0% 32.1% 40.6%
Return on equity 3.2% – 26.0%
Return on assets 2.2% – 12.2%
Return on invested capital 3.1% – 16.8%
Return on capital employed 4.9% – 21.4%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.5x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 3.8x 1.4x 1.6x
Stock comp / revenue 10.6% 8.9% 7.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPDFSCDNSADEA
Debt / assets 12.8% – 38.1%
Debt / equity 0.2x – 0.8x
Net debt / EBITDA -1.3x – 0.7x
Debt / FCF -36.9x – 2.0x
Liabilities / assets 28.3% – 52.9%
Equity / assets 71.7% 56.2% 47.1%
Interest coverage 4.3x – 5.4x
Current ratio 3.4x 1.4x 3.2x
Quick ratio 3.4x – 3.8x
Cash ratio 1.6x – 2.2x
Altman Z-score 8.35 – 4.31

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPDFSCDNSADEA
Dividend yield – – 0.9%
Net buyback yield -4.6% – 1.1%
Shareholder yield -4.6% – 2.0%
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.

ConsensusPDFSCDNSADEA
Forward P/E 32.5xFY2026 38.8xFY2026 16.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.36FY2026 $8.84FY2026 $1.35FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +44.7%FY2026 +23.8%FY2026 -18.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +16.9% +14.6% +11.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $273.57MFY2026 $6.79BFY2026 $427.36MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +24.9%FY2026 +28.2%FY2026 -3.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +13.8% +13.9% +10.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPDFSCDNSADEA
Held by institutions 93.0% 88.2% 100.0%
Institutions holding 283 1,499 304
Change in shares held, QoQ +20.8% +5.4% +5.6%
Institutions buying 191 832 186
Institutions selling 61 518 86
Buyers to sellers 3.13 1.61 2.16

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.

PDFSCDNSADEA
PDFS 1.00 0.44 0.55
CDNS 0.44 1.00 0.33
ADEA 0.55 0.33 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PDFS, CDNS and ADEA?

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Pdf Solutions (PDFS) $1.86B, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) $93.39B, Adeia (ADEA) $2.49B.

Which stock is cheaper, PDFS, CDNS and ADEA?

Adeia (ADEA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Pdf Solutions (PDFS) 180.4x, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 67.6x, Adeia (ADEA) 20.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Adeia (ADEA) is cheapest (Pdf Solutions (PDFS) 32.5x, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 38.8x, Adeia (ADEA) 16.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Adeia (ADEA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Pdf Solutions (PDFS) +23.0%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) +17.6%, Adeia (ADEA) +24.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Adeia (ADEA) has the highest net margin (Pdf Solutions (PDFS) 4.3%, Adeia (ADEA) 26.1%). On return on invested capital, Adeia (ADEA) leads (Pdf Solutions (PDFS) 3.1%, Adeia (ADEA) 16.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Pdf Solutions (PDFS) returned the most: Pdf Solutions (PDFS) +54.0%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) -2.4%, Adeia (ADEA) +28.7%. Over five years, Adeia (ADEA) compounded fastest (Pdf Solutions (PDFS) +13.9%/yr, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) +15.2%/yr, Adeia (ADEA) +24.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) has been the steadiest (Pdf Solutions (PDFS) 69.4%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 41.4%, Adeia (ADEA) 67.0%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, PDFS, CDNS and ADEA?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Adeia (ADEA) leads on 7. 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.