Autodesk vs Cadence Design Systems
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The short version
- Autodesk is the larger business, with $7.2B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $5.3B for Cadence Design Systems.
- Autodesk grew revenue faster (17.5%, against 14.1%).
- Cadence Design Systems kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (28.2% operating margin, against 21.9%).
- Autodesk turned more of its sales into free cash flow (33.4% FCF margin, against 30.0%).
- Autodesk earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (37.0%, against 23.7%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Cadence Design Systems’s earnings: a P/E of 73.8x against 32.7x for Autodesk.
| Latest fiscal year | ADSK · FY26 | CDNS · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $53.2B | $86.6B |
| Revenue | $7.2B | $5.3B |
| Free cash flow | $2.4B | $1.6B |
| Net income | $1.1B | $1.1B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 17.5% | 14.1% |
| 5-year growth | 13.7% | 14.6% |
| Share count change | −0.9% | −0.2% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 91.0% | — |
| Operating margin | 21.9% | 28.2% |
| Net margin | 15.6% | 20.9% |
| FCF margin | 33.4% | 30.0% |
| Return on capital | 37.0% | 23.7% |
| Return on equity | 39.7% | 21.9% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | −$97.0M | −$675M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | −0.1x | −0.4x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.4B | $925M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 32.7x | 73.8x |
| Piotroski F-score | 8 | 5 |
Revenue
FY17
ADSK $2.0B
CDNS $1.9B
FY18
ADSK $2.1B
CDNS $2.1B
FY19
ADSK $2.6B
CDNS $2.3B
FY20
ADSK $3.3B
CDNS $2.7B
FY21
ADSK $3.8B
CDNS $3.0B
FY22
ADSK $4.4B
CDNS $3.6B
FY23
ADSK $5.0B
CDNS $4.1B
FY24
ADSK $5.5B
CDNS $4.6B
FY25
ADSK $6.1B
CDNS $5.3B
FY26
ADSK $7.2B
CDNS —
ADSK
CDNS
Operating margin
FY17
ADSK −24.6%
CDNS 16.7%
FY18
ADSK −24.8%
CDNS 18.5%
FY19
ADSK −1.0%
CDNS 21.1%
FY20
ADSK 10.5%
CDNS 24.1%
FY21
ADSK 16.6%
CDNS 26.1%
FY22
ADSK 14.1%
CDNS 30.2%
FY23
ADSK 19.8%
CDNS 30.6%
FY24
ADSK 20.5%
CDNS 29.1%
FY25
ADSK 22.1%
CDNS 28.2%
FY26
ADSK 21.9%
CDNS —
ADSK
CDNS
Free cash flow
FY17
ADSK $93.7M
CDNS $413M
FY18
ADSK −$49.8M
CDNS $543M
FY19
ADSK $310M
CDNS $655M
FY20
ADSK $1.4B
CDNS $810M
FY21
ADSK $1.3B
CDNS $1.0B
FY22
ADSK $1.5B
CDNS $1.1B
FY23
ADSK $2.0B
CDNS $1.2B
FY24
ADSK $1.3B
CDNS $1.1B
FY25
ADSK $1.6B
CDNS $1.6B
FY26
ADSK $2.4B
CDNS —
ADSK
CDNS
Return on capital
FY17
ADSK —
CDNS 22.6%
FY18
ADSK —
CDNS 35.7%
FY19
ADSK −4.3%
CDNS 34.6%
FY20
ADSK —
CDNS 33.0%
FY21
ADSK —
CDNS 36.1%
FY22
ADSK 42.2%
CDNS 38.7%
FY23
ADSK 55.4%
CDNS 37.5%
FY24
ADSK 54.8%
CDNS 28.1%
FY25
ADSK 44.0%
CDNS 23.7%
FY26
ADSK 37.0%
CDNS —
ADSK
CDNS
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.