CDNS
Cadence Design Systems, Inc.
CDNS offers stronger fundamentals, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
MSFT
Microsoft Corporation
MSFT has the edge over CDNS overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger modeled upside.
CDNS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
CDNS's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
MSFT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Strong |
MSFT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
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.
MSFT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 25x | $523 | — |
| Cheap | 27x | $525 | +0.4% |
| Current | 27x | $523 | — |
| Fair | 34x | $652 | +25% |
| Expensive | 37x | $711 | +36% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MSFT has the edge over CDNS in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
CDNS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
CDNS has the edge over MSFT on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
MSFT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Stable | |
| Moderate | |
| High |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for MSFT, with profitability holding steady.
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.
MSFT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $20.79 | +8.6% |
| Q3 2026 | $19.15 | +36% |
| Q2 2026 | $17.95 | +32% |
| Q1 2026 | $16.80 | +30% |
| Q4 2025 | $15.99 | +29% |
| Q3 2025 | $14.06 | +16% |
| Q2 2025 | $13.64 | +16% |
| Q1 2025 | $12.93 | +12% |
| Q4 2024 | $12.41 | +12% |
MSFT has the edge over CDNS on earnings, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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 MSFT 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.
MSFT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $92.3B | +19% |
| Q2 2026 | $90B | +18% |
| Q1 2026 | $82.9B | +18% |
| Q4 2025 | $81.3B | +17% |
| Q3 2025 | $77.7B | +18% |
| Q2 2025 | $76.4B | +18% |
| Q1 2025 | $70.1B | +13% |
| Q4 2024 | $69.6B | +12% |
MSFT's revenue has grown year over year every quarter since late 2020: $92.3B last quarter, up 19% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 50% | +0.9 points |
| Q2 2026 | 45% | +0.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 46% | +0.7 points |
| Q4 2025 | 47% | +1.6 points |
| Q3 2025 | 49% | +2.3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 45% | +1.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 46% | +1.1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 45% | +1.9 points |
MSFT has the edge over CDNS on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
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 MSFT on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
MSFT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $18.6B | -27% |
| Q2 2026 | $19.6B | -23% |
| Q1 2026 | $15.8B | -22% |
| Q4 2025 | $5.9B | -9.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $25.7B | +33% |
| Q2 2025 | $25.6B | +9.6% |
| Q1 2025 | $20.3B | -3.2% |
| Q4 2024 | $6.5B | -29% |
MSFT's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $60B over the past year, down 23% 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.
MSFT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.1% | -7M shares |
| 1 year | -0.3% | -20M shares |
| 3 years | -0.2% | -16M shares |
| 5 years | -1.6% | -121M shares |
| Available history | -3.2% | -245M shares |
MSFT has the edge over CDNS on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.4B |
| Q2 2026 | $4.6B |
| Q1 2026 | $4.6B |
| Q4 2025 | $7.4B |
| Q3 2025 | $5.7B |
| Q2 2025 | $4.5B |
| Q1 2025 | $4.8B |
| Q4 2024 | $5B |
MSFT spent $21B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 5.2% from the year before.
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.
MSFT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
MSFT has the edge over CDNS on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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).
MSFT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 62.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 68.0 | Neutral |
MSFT's weekly RSI is 62 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 68 (neutral).
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.
MSFT PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | MSFT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 27x | 28x | 2% below |
| PE % | 16 | 35 | 19 pts below |
MSFT has the edge over CDNS on valuation relative to its sector.
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 has the edge over MSFT on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
MSFT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $524.7 | 0.3% below |
| 20 week MA | $484.8 | 7.9% above |
| 50 week MA | $446.9 | 17% above |
| 100 week MA | $453.8 | 15% above |
| 200 week MA | $411.5 | 27% above |
MSFT's trend is up, with a small recent dip: it's below only its 8-week average, and 27% above its 200-week average.
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.
MSFT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $159.0 | $222.8 | +40% |
| 2021 | $222.8 | $334.7 | +50% |
| 2022 | $334.7 | $238.7 | -29% |
| 2023 | $238.7 | $376.0 | +58% |
| 2024 | $376.0 | $430.5 | +14% |
| 2025 | $430.5 | $487.7 | +13% |
| 2026 YTD | $487.7 | $523.0 | +7.2% |
MSFT has the edge over CDNS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.