AAPL
Apple Inc.
AAPL has slightly lower modeled downside risk, despite its lower overall score.
CDNS
Cadence Design Systems, Inc.
CDNS has the edge over AAPL overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger modeled upside.
AAPL Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
AAPL's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
CDNS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
CDNS's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
AAPL PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 26x | $230 | -35% |
| Fair | 31x | $279 | -21% |
| Expensive | 37x | $328 | -7.5% |
| Forward | 38x | $355 | — |
| Current | 40x | $355 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
AAPL has the edge over CDNS in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
CDNS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 35x | $333 | — |
| Cheap | 47x | $238 | -29% |
| Current | 66x | $333 | — |
| Fair | 67x | $337 | +1.2% |
| Expensive | 80x | $403 | +21% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CDNS's PE is in its fair range at 66x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 35x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
AAPL Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for AAPL, but weaker profitability.
CDNS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
CDNS has the edge over AAPL on the outlook, with more favorable valuation and profitability expectations.
AAPL Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $9.28 | +3.3% |
| Q3 2026 | $8.98 | +20% |
| Q2 2026 | $8.71 | +32% |
| Q1 2026 | $8.26 | +29% |
| Q4 2025 | $7.90 | +25% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.46 | +23% |
| Q2 2025 | $6.59 | +0.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $6.42 | -0.3% |
| Q4 2024 | $6.30 | -2% |
AAPL earned $8.98 per share over the past year, up 20% from the year before.
CDNS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $9.42 | +87% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.03 | +30% |
| Q2 2026 | $5.03 | +36% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.29 | +8.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.06 | +5.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.87 | +1.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.69 | -4.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.94 | +2.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.85 | +0.8% |
CDNS earned $5.03 per share over the past year, up 30% from the year before.
AAPL Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $114.5B | +12% |
| Q2 2026 | $109.4B | +16% |
| Q1 2026 | $111.2B | +17% |
| Q4 2025 | $143.8B | +16% |
| Q3 2025 | $102.5B | +7.9% |
| Q2 2025 | $94B | +9.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $95.4B | +5.1% |
| Q4 2024 | $124.3B | +4% |
AAPL's revenue has grown year over year for 10 quarters in a row: $114B last quarter, up 12% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 31% | -0.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 33% | +2.6 points |
| Q1 2026 | 32% | +1.3 points |
| Q4 2025 | 35% | +0.9 points |
| Q3 2025 | 32% | +0.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 30% | +0.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | 31% | +0.3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 34% | +0.7 points |
AAPL has the edge over CDNS on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
CDNS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.6B | +22% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.6B | +24% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.5B | +19% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.4B | +6.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.3B | +10% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.3B | +20% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.2B | +23% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.4B | +27% |
CDNS has the edge over AAPL on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 26% | -5.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 28% | +9.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 29% | +0.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 32% | -1.5 points |
| Q3 2025 | 32% | +3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 19% | -8.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 29% | +4.3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 34% | +2.2 points |
CDNS's operating margin was 26% last quarter, down 5.5 points from the same quarter a year ago.
AAPL Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $25.9B | -2.4% |
| Q2 2026 | $31.9B | +31% |
| Q1 2026 | $26.7B | +28% |
| Q4 2025 | $51.6B | +91% |
| Q3 2025 | $26.5B | +11% |
| Q2 2025 | $24.4B | -8.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $20.9B | +0.9% |
| Q4 2024 | $27B | -28% |
AAPL's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $136B over the past year, up 38% from the year before.
CDNS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $361.9M | +31% |
| Q2 2026 | $582.3M | +75% |
| Q1 2026 | $307M | -34% |
| Q4 2025 | $512.5M | +27% |
| Q3 2025 | $277M | -28% |
| Q2 2025 | $333.5M | +163% |
| Q1 2025 | $464M | +128% |
| Q4 2024 | $404.2M | +70% |
CDNS has the edge over AAPL on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
AAPL Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | 0% | +5.6M shares |
| 1 year | -1.9% | -284M shares |
| 3 years | -6.9% | -1.1B shares |
| 5 years | -13% | -2.1B shares |
| Available history | -17% | -3.1B shares |
AAPL has the edge over CDNS on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $24.3B |
| Q2 2026 | $25.1B |
| Q1 2026 | $12.3B |
| Q4 2025 | $24.7B |
| Q3 2025 | $20.1B |
| Q2 2025 | $21.1B |
| Q1 2025 | $25.9B |
| Q4 2024 | $23.6B |
AAPL spent $86.4B buying back its own shares over the past year, down 4.8% from the year before.
CDNS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.3% | -885K shares |
| 1 year | +0.5% | +1.5M shares |
| 3 years | +1% | +2.9M shares |
| 5 years | -1.1% | -3M shares |
| Available history | -1.9% | -5.2M shares |
CDNS has 275M diluted shares, up 0.5% from a year ago, despite $1B in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $400M |
| Q2 2026 | $200M |
| Q1 2026 | $200M |
| Q4 2025 | $200M |
| Q3 2025 | $200M |
| Q2 2025 | $175M |
| Q1 2025 | $350M |
| Q4 2024 | $150M |
CDNS spent $1B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 14% from the year before.
AAPL Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.4x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.5x | Very low |
AAPL has the edge over CDNS on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
CDNS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.7x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -1.7x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -1.7x | Net Cash |
CDNS's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA), after holding more cash than debt a year ago.
AAPL Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 68.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 85.0 | Overbought |
AAPL's weekly RSI is 68 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 85 (overbought).
CDNS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 51.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 60.8 | Neutral |
CDNS's weekly RSI is 51 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 61 (neutral).
AAPL PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | AAPL | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 40x | 28x | 42% above |
| PE % | 96 | 35 | 61 pts above |
AAPL has the edge over CDNS on valuation relative to its sector.
CDNS PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | CDNS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 66x | 28x | 138% above |
| PE % | 46 | 35 | 11 pts above |
CDNS is trading at 66x earnings, a 138% premium to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
AAPL Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $343.1 | 3.4% above |
| 20 week MA | $329.0 | 7.9% above |
| 50 week MA | $295.6 | 20% above |
| 100 week MA | $262.4 | 35% above |
| 200 week MA | $226.3 | 57% above |
AAPL is in an uptrend: it's above all five of its weekly moving averages, and 57% above its 200-week average.
CDNS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $330.9 | 0.7% above |
| 20 week MA | $329.5 | 1.2% above |
| 50 week MA | $325.8 | 2.3% above |
| 100 week MA | $317.2 | 5.1% above |
| 200 week MA | $287.9 | 16% above |
CDNS is in an uptrend: it's above all five of its weekly moving averages, and 16% above its 200-week average.
AAPL Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $72.5 | $132.0 | +82% |
| 2021 | $132.0 | $176.3 | +34% |
| 2022 | $176.3 | $131.9 | -25% |
| 2023 | $131.9 | $192.5 | +46% |
| 2024 | $192.5 | $255.6 | +33% |
| 2025 | $255.6 | $273.4 | +7% |
| 2026 YTD | $273.4 | $354.9 | +30% |
AAPL has the edge over CDNS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
CDNS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $70.3 | $134.0 | +91% |
| 2021 | $134.0 | $187.5 | +40% |
| 2022 | $187.5 | $161.5 | -14% |
| 2023 | $161.5 | $272.4 | +69% |
| 2024 | $272.4 | $305.0 | +12% |
| 2025 | $305.0 | $318.9 | +4.5% |
| 2026 YTD | $318.9 | $333.3 | +4.5% |
CDNS has finished higher in five of the last six years, two of them by more than 50%. It's up 4.5% so far in 2026.