CDNS
Cadence Design Systems, Inc.
CDNS's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
NVDA
NVIDIA Corporation
NVDA 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.
NVDA Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
NVDA's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
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.
NVDA PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 12x | $166 | — |
| Current | 21x | $166 | — |
| Cheap | 44x | $345 | +108% |
| Fair | 65x | $511 | +207% |
| Expensive | 93x | $734 | +342% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
NVDA 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 NVDA on the outlook, with more favorable profitability expectations.
NVDA Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Weakening | |
| Broad | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for NVDA, but weaker profitability.
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.
NVDA Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $13.77 | +74% |
| Q3 2026 | $7.91 | +125% |
| Q2 2026 | $6.53 | +111% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.90 | +67% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.03 | +59% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.51 | +65% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.10 | +81% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.94 | +147% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.54 | +234% |
NVDA 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's revenue has grown year over year for 10 quarters in a row: $1.6B last quarter, up 22% from the same quarter a year ago.
| 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.
NVDA Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $96.2B | +106% |
| Q2 2026 | $81.6B | +85% |
| Q1 2026 | $68.1B | +73% |
| Q4 2025 | $57B | +62% |
| Q3 2025 | $46.7B | +56% |
| Q2 2025 | $44.1B | +69% |
| Q1 2025 | $39.3B | +78% |
| Q4 2024 | $35.1B | +94% |
NVDA has the edge over CDNS on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 66% | +5.4 points |
| Q2 2026 | 66% | +17 points |
| Q1 2026 | 65% | +3.9 points |
| Q4 2025 | 63% | +0.8 points |
| Q3 2025 | 61% | -1.2 points |
| Q2 2025 | 49% | -16 points |
| Q1 2025 | 61% | -0.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 62% | +4.9 points |
NVDA 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's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $1.8B over the past year, up 19% from the year before.
NVDA Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $21.4B | +59% |
| Q2 2026 | $48.6B | +86% |
| Q1 2026 | $34.9B | +124% |
| Q4 2025 | $22.1B | +32% |
| Q3 2025 | $13.5B | -0.3% |
| Q2 2025 | $26.2B | +75% |
| Q1 2025 | $15.6B | +38% |
| Q3 2024 | $13.5B | +113% |
NVDA has the edge over CDNS on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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.
NVDA Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.4% | -106M shares |
| 1 year | -1% | -247M shares |
| 3 years | -2.8% | -705M shares |
| 5 years | -4.1% | -1B shares |
| Available history | -1.8% | -435M shares |
NVDA has the edge over CDNS on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $19.7B |
| Q2 2026 | $19.3B |
| Q1 2026 | $3.8B |
| Q4 2025 | $12.5B |
| Q3 2025 | $9.7B |
| Q2 2025 | $14.1B |
| Q1 2025 | $7.8B |
| Q4 2024 | $11B |
NVDA spent $55.3B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 30% 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.
NVDA Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -0.0x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | -0.0x | Net Cash |
NVDA 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).
NVDA Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 33.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 18.1 | Oversold |
NVDA's weekly RSI is 33 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 18 (oversold).
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.
NVDA PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | NVDA | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 21x | 28x | 25% below |
| PE % | 0 | 35 | 35 pts below |
NVDA 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 NVDA on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
NVDA Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $208.9 | 20% below |
| 20 week MA | $212.0 | 22% below |
| 50 week MA | $199.9 | 17% below |
| 100 week MA | $175.1 | 5.1% below |
| 200 week MA | $123.6 | 34% above |
NVDA has fallen below most of its moving averages, though it's still 34% 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 the edge over NVDA on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
NVDA Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $5.92 | $13.0 | +119% |
| 2021 | $13.0 | $29.6 | +128% |
| 2022 | $29.6 | $15.2 | -49% |
| 2023 | $15.2 | $49.5 | +226% |
| 2024 | $49.5 | $137.0 | +177% |
| 2025 | $137.0 | $190.5 | +39% |
| 2026 YTD | $190.5 | $166.2 | -13% |
NVDA's yearly returns have swung widely, from +226% in 2023 to −49% in 2022. It's down 13% so far in 2026.