Cadence Design Systems vs Zoom Communications
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The short version
- Cadence Design Systems is the larger business, with $5.3B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $4.9B for Zoom Communications.
- Cadence Design Systems grew revenue faster (14.1%, against 4.4%).
- Cadence Design Systems kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (28.2% operating margin, against 23.1%).
- Zoom Communications turned more of its sales into free cash flow (39.5% FCF margin, against 30.0%).
- Zoom Communications earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (56.2%, against 23.7%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Cadence Design Systems’s earnings: a P/E of 73.8x against 8.9x for Zoom Communications.
| Latest fiscal year | CDNS · FY25 | ZM · FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $86.6B | $28.7B |
| Revenue | $5.3B | $4.9B |
| Free cash flow | $1.6B | $1.9B |
| Net income | $1.1B | $1.9B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 14.1% | 4.4% |
| 5-year growth | 14.6% | 12.9% |
| Share count change | −0.2% | −2.5% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | 77.0% |
| Operating margin | 28.2% | 23.1% |
| Net margin | 20.9% | 39.0% |
| FCF margin | 30.0% | 39.5% |
| Return on capital | 23.7% | 56.2% |
| Return on equity | 21.9% | 20.3% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$675M | −$7.8B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −0.4x | −6.2x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $925M | $1.6B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 73.8x | 8.9x |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 | 6 |
Revenue
FY17
CDNS $1.9B
ZM —
FY18
CDNS $2.1B
ZM $152M
FY19
CDNS $2.3B
ZM $331M
FY20
CDNS $2.7B
ZM $623M
FY21
CDNS $3.0B
ZM $2.7B
FY22
CDNS $3.6B
ZM $4.1B
FY23
CDNS $4.1B
ZM $4.4B
FY24
CDNS $4.6B
ZM $4.5B
FY25
CDNS $5.3B
ZM $4.7B
FY26
CDNS —
ZM $4.9B
CDNS
ZM
Operating margin
FY17
CDNS 16.7%
ZM —
FY18
CDNS 18.5%
ZM −3.2%
FY19
CDNS 21.1%
ZM 1.9%
FY20
CDNS 24.1%
ZM 2.0%
FY21
CDNS 26.1%
ZM 24.9%
FY22
CDNS 30.2%
ZM 25.9%
FY23
CDNS 30.6%
ZM 5.6%
FY24
CDNS 29.1%
ZM 11.6%
FY25
CDNS 28.2%
ZM 17.4%
FY26
CDNS —
ZM 23.1%
CDNS
ZM
Free cash flow
FY17
CDNS $413M
ZM —
FY18
CDNS $543M
ZM $9.7M
FY19
CDNS $655M
ZM $22.9M
FY20
CDNS $810M
ZM $114M
FY21
CDNS $1.0B
ZM $1.4B
FY22
CDNS $1.1B
ZM $1.5B
FY23
CDNS $1.2B
ZM $1.2B
FY24
CDNS $1.1B
ZM $1.5B
FY25
CDNS $1.6B
ZM $1.8B
FY26
CDNS —
ZM $1.9B
CDNS
ZM
Return on capital
FY17
CDNS 22.6%
ZM —
FY18
CDNS 35.7%
ZM —
FY19
CDNS 34.6%
ZM —
FY20
CDNS 33.0%
ZM —
FY21
CDNS 36.1%
ZM —
FY22
CDNS 38.7%
ZM —
FY23
CDNS 37.5%
ZM —
FY24
CDNS 28.1%
ZM 43.5%
FY25
CDNS 23.7%
ZM 56.8%
FY26
CDNS —
ZM 56.2%
CDNS
ZM
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.