SNPS vs CDNS vs DLB Stock Comparison

Synopsys, Cadence Design Systems and Dolby Laboratories Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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SNPS Synopsys Inc
$490.19 +18.1% 1M +7.7% 1Y
Market cap
$93.92B
P/E
72.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$8.88B
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor EDA Software Technology
2 wins
CDNS Cadence Design Systems Inc
$342.75 +5.7% 1M +0.4% 1Y
Market cap
$94.04B
P/E
68.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.13B
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor EDA Software Technology
5 wins
DLB Dolby Laboratories, Inc.
$62.91 +8.6% 1M -3.1% 1Y
Market cap
$5.93B
P/E
26.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.35B
Div. yield
2.29%
Semiconductor EDA Software Technology
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Cadence Design Systems leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Cadence Design Systems 5, Dolby Laboratories 4, Synopsys 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSNPSCDNSDLBLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $93.92B $94.04B $5.93B CDNS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 72.1x 68.0x 26.2x DLB
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 33.7x 38.8x 14.0x DLB
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +38.0% +17.6% +0.6% SNPS
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.7% 22.5% 16.7% CDNS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 1.8% 14.1% — CDNS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 2.8x 0.5x — CDNS
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — 2.29% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +7.7% +0.4% -3.1% SNPS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +8.0%/yr +14.6%/yr -6.6%/yr CDNS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 44.8% 41.3% 30.2% DLB
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 37/100 58/100 66/100 DLB

Percentile Scorecard

SNPSCDNSDLB

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

AxisSNPSCDNSDLB
Valuation 40 #57 of 94 34 #62 of 94 85 #15 of 94
Growth 47 #49 of 92 64 #34 of 92 28 #67 of 92
Profitability 43 #51 of 88 85 #14 of 88 70 #27 of 88
Financial Health 18 #79 of 96 32 #66 of 96 61 #38 of 96
Shareholder Returns – 76 #18 of 72 85 #12 of 72
Overall 37 58 66
  • SNPS ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors
  • CDNS ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors
  • DLB ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodSNPSCDNSDLBSPY
1 month +18.1%+5.7%+8.6% +0.7%
3 months +31.7%+3.0%+21.7% +3.7%
6 months +1.6%+4.0%-1.9% +7.1%
Year to date +4.4%+9.7%-2.0% +12.8%
1 year +7.7%+0.4%-3.1% +11.9%
3 years +6.3%+46.6%-20.8% +85.2%
3 years, per year +2.1%+13.6%-7.5% +22.8%
5 years +47.1%+98.0%-28.8% +67.6%
5 years, per year +8.0%+14.6%-6.6% +10.9%
10 years +739.8%+1,250.5%+32.2% +262.0%
10 years, per year +23.7%+29.7%+2.8% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureSNPSCDNSDLBSPY
Volatility, 1Y 44.8%41.3%30.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 42.9%40.8%31.5% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.681.630.53 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.170.01-0.10 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -42.3%-33.0%-49.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -8.3%-17.7%-8.9% -1.2%
52-week high $534.56$416.39$69.09 $779.14
52-week low $372.33$265.66$48.50 $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.

MultipleSNPSCDNSDLB
P/E now vs peer median 72.1xmedian 46.4x 68.0xmedian 46.4x 26.2xmedian 46.4x
P/S now vs peer median 10.6xmedian 7.8x 15.3xmedian 7.8x 4.4xmedian 7.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 43.4xmedian 27.5x 44.1xmedian 27.5x 15.8xmedian 27.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 40.1x 53.3xmedian 40.1x 15.1xmedian 40.1x
P/B now vs peer median 3.0xmedian 4.7x 13.7xmedian 4.7x 2.3xmedian 4.7x
PEG now vs peer median 152.27median 2.10 5.40median 2.10 12.58median 2.10

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 monthsSNPSCDNSDLB
Revenue $8.88B $6.13B $1.35B
Gross profit $6.53B $5.25B $1.19B
Operating income $847.20M $1.77B $239.10M
Net income $1.30B $1.38B $228.00M
Free cash flow – $1.76B $392.67M
R&D $2.81B $2.04B $265.94M
EPS (diluted) $6.77 $5.02 $2.39
Cash & equivalents $3.61B $1.45B $669.39M
Total debt $10.04B $2.63B –
Shares (diluted) 192.32M 275.28M 94.52M
Enterprise value $90.31B $86.74B $3.33B

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
MetricSNPSCDNSDLB
P/E 72.1x 68.0x 26.2x
P/FCF – 53.3x 15.1x
P/Operating cash flow – 47.8x 13.5x
P/S 10.6x 15.3x 4.4x
P/B 3.0x 13.7x 2.3x
P/Tangible book 4.8x 18.5x 2.7x
EV/EBITDA 43.4x 44.1x 15.8x
EV/EBIT 118.5x 53.7x 22.0x
EV/Revenue 11.3x 15.5x 3.9x
EV/FCF – 54.0x 13.4x
EV/Operating cash flow – 48.4x 12.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 152.27 5.40 12.58

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSNPSCDNSDLB
Revenue growth (1Y) 38.0% 17.6% 0.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 22.8% 16.1% 1.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 28.2% 17.8% -0.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 18.9% 14.5% 1.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) -23.3% 19.4% -15.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -7.0% 16.4% -1.0%
Net income growth (1Y) -34.9% 30.1% -14.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 8.0% 13.0% 1.3%
EPS growth (1Y) -45.2% 29.4% -12.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 0.5% 12.6% 2.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 21.7% -6.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 13.6% 9.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 19.3% -10.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 12.6% 9.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSNPSCDNSDLB
Gross margin 73.5% 85.7% 87.6%
EBITDA margin 26.0% 35.2% 24.5%
Operating margin 9.5% 28.9% 17.7%
Pretax margin 16.5% 30.0% 20.4%
Net margin 14.7% 22.5% 16.7%
FCF margin – 28.8% 29.0%
Operating cash flow margin – 32.1% 32.3%
Return on equity 4.2% 20.1% 8.7%
Return on assets 2.7% 11.4% 7.1%
Return on invested capital 1.8% 14.1% –
Return on capital employed 2.0% 18.3% 8.6%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.5x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 1.4x 1.9x
Stock comp / revenue – 8.9% 9.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSNPSCDNSDLB
Debt / assets 21.0% 21.5% –
Debt / equity 0.3x 0.4x –
Net debt / EBITDA 2.8x 0.5x –
Debt / FCF – 1.5x –
Liabilities / assets 34.7% 43.8% 17.9%
Equity / assets 65.3% 56.2% 82.1%
Interest coverage 1.3x 14.0x –
Current ratio 1.3x 1.4x 3.2x
Quick ratio 1.0x 1.3x 3.1x
Cash ratio 0.7x 0.6x 1.6x
Altman Z-score 4.01 12.54 8.49

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSNPSCDNSDLB
Dividend yield – – 2.3%
Net buyback yield – 0.9% 3.5%
Shareholder yield – 0.9% 5.8%
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.

ConsensusSNPSCDNSDLB
Forward P/E 33.7xFY2026 38.8xFY2026 14.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $14.56FY2026 $8.84FY2026 $4.49FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +12.8%FY2026 +23.8%FY2026 +5.9%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +21.4% +14.6% +4.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $10.20BFY2026 $6.79BFY2026 $1.50BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +44.6%FY2026 +28.2%FY2026 +11.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +12.8% +13.9% -7.7%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSNPSCDNSDLB
Held by institutions 92.3% 88.2% 100.0%
Institutions holding 1,442 1,501 390
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.6% +5.4% +5.8%
Institutions buying 773 834 195
Institutions selling 494 518 148
Buyers to sellers 1.56 1.61 1.32

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.

SNPSCDNSDLB
SNPS 1.00 0.76 0.20
CDNS 0.76 1.00 0.23
DLB 0.20 0.23 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SNPS, CDNS and DLB?

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Synopsys (SNPS) $93.92B, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) $94.04B, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) $5.93B.

Which stock is cheaper, SNPS, CDNS and DLB?

Dolby Laboratories (DLB) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Synopsys (SNPS) 72.1x, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 68.0x, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 26.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) is cheapest (Synopsys (SNPS) 33.7x, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 38.8x, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 14.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Synopsys (SNPS) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Synopsys (SNPS) +38.0%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) +17.6%, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) +0.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) has the highest net margin (Synopsys (SNPS) 14.7%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 22.5%, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 16.7%). On return on invested capital, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) leads (Synopsys (SNPS) 1.8%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 14.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Synopsys (SNPS) returned the most: Synopsys (SNPS) +7.7%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) +0.4%, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) -3.1%. Over five years, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) compounded fastest (Synopsys (SNPS) +8.0%/yr, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) +14.6%/yr, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) -6.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 2.29%. Synopsys (SNPS) 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 (Synopsys (SNPS) 44.8%, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) 41.3%, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 30.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) leads on 5. 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.