CDNS vs WDAY
Cadence Design Systems and Workday, side by side.
Prices and company dataas of yesterday's close
- CDNSBuy moresales growth, past year18%
Cadence Design Systems' sales grew 18% over the past year and analysts expect profit to grow 17% next year.
- WDAYBuy moresales growth, past year13%
Workday's sales grew 13% over the past year, but the stock fell 5.3% over the past five trading days, more than other software stocks (down 2.9%).
Percent return
- CDNS+3.38%
- WDAY−15.78%
Nov 11, 2025 to Nov 11, 2026
Where they differ
- Company size: CDNS $91.8B, WDAY $32.0B.
- Sales growth, 1 yr: CDNS +18%, WDAY +13%. CDNS is ahead.
- Price for $1 of next year's profit: CDNS $34, WDAY $16. WDAY is ahead.
- Profit per $1 of sales: CDNS 30¢, WDAY 12¢. CDNS is ahead.
- Cash minus debt: CDNS −$1.27B, WDAY −$369M. WDAY is ahead.
- Price change, 1 yr: CDNS +3.4%, WDAY −16%. CDNS is ahead. S&P 500 +12%.
- How much the price swings: CDNS 43%, WDAY 55%. CDNS is ahead.
| Measure | CDNSCadence Design Systems | WDAYWorkday |
|---|---|---|
| Price and returns | ||
| Price | $329.26 | $191.17 |
| Today | −0.72% | Best in this row: +1.21% |
| 1 month | −6.68% | Best in this row: +2.45% |
| 3 months | +0.53% | Best in this row: +5.46% |
| This year | Best in this row: +5.34% | −11.00% |
| 1 year | Best in this row: +3.38% | −15.78% |
| 5 years | Best in this row: +85.78% | −35.25% |
| From 52-week high | −20.9% | −18.2% |
| How much it swings (90 days) | Best in this row: 43% | 55% |
| Valuation | ||
| Market value | $91.8B | $32.0B |
| Price vs last year's earnings | 77.9× | Best in this row: 40.3× |
| Price vs next year's expected earnings | 34.0× | Best in this row: 16.0× |
| Price vs earnings, adjusted for growth | 2.64× | Best in this row: 0.58× |
| Price to sales | 14.3× | Best in this row: 4.6× |
| Price vs cash it brings in | 49.8× | Best in this row: 16.4× |
| Company value vs operating profit | 40.1× | Best in this row: 29.5× |
| Price vs earnings, against its own past (0 = cheapest) | – | 40 |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth, 1 year | Best in this row: +17.6% | +13.3% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 3 years | +14.1% | Best in this row: +15.4% |
| Earnings per share growth, last year | +8.5% | Best in this row: +76.3% |
| Earnings per share growth expected next year | +17.2% | Best in this row: +19.5% |
| Profitability | ||
| Kept from sales after making the product | Best in this row: 85.7% | 75.8% |
| Kept as operating profit | Best in this row: 29.9% | 12.0% |
| Kept as final profit | Best in this row: 22.5% | 12.3% |
| Kept as spare cash | Best in this row: 28.8% | 28.0% |
| Profit on shareholders' money | Best in this row: 22.9% | 16.0% |
| Profit on all money put in | 17.1% | Best in this row: 18.4% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | −$1.27B | Best in this row: −$369M |
| Debt for each $1 of shareholders' money | Best in this row: 0.41× | 0.58× |
| Short-term assets per $1 of bills due | Best in this row: 1.36× | 0.91× |
| Our readPro | ||
| Our call | Buy more | Buy more |
| Why | Cadence Design Systems' sales grew 18% over the past year and analysts expect profit to grow 17% next year. | Workday's sales grew 13% over the past year, but the stock fell 5.3% over the past five trading days, more than other software stocks (down 2.9%). |
| Where the price sits | in the full report | in the full report |
| Our overall score (out of 100) | 62 | Best in this row: 69 |
| Our value score | 21 | Best in this row: 74 |
| Our growth score | 70 | Best in this row: 82 |
| Our quality score | Best in this row: 84 | 65 |
| Our price trend score | Best in this row: 67 | 49 |
| Earnings and analysts | ||
| Next earnings | – | Nov 24AMCin 12 days |
| Analyst consensus | Buy | Hold |
| To average analyst target | Best in this row: +28.6% | +11.3% |
| Average analyst target | $423.50 | $212.82 |
| Analysts rating it a buy | Best in this row: 92% | 45% |
| Buy ratings added, 3 months | Best in this row: 0 | −5 |
| Analysts covering | 13 | 31 |
CDNS: faster sales growth and more analyst upside
Our pick of these: Cadence Design Systems
Sales growth +17.6% vs +13.3%
CDNS +17.6%, WDAY +13.3%.+28.6% to the average analyst target, vs +11.3%
CDNS +28.6%, WDAY +11.3%.Keeps 29.9% of sales as operating profit, vs 12.0%
CDNS 29.9%, WDAY 12.0%.Where it loses: WDAY has a lower P/E per point of growth, 1.20 vs 1.92
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Prices as of yesterday, 3:59 PM ET. A view, not advice.