Cadence Design Systems Inc.

CDNS
Financial Analysis · Updated May 12, 2026 · Coverage 2026-Q2
Latest Q Revenue
$1.5B
Q4 2025 · +13% YoY
TTM ROIC
40%
FY2025 · Non-GAAP NOPAT / Invested Capital (Equity + Debt - Cash) · WACC ~8.5% · Moat spread +31.5pp

Financial Snapshot


ticker: CDNS step: 04 generated: 2026-05-12 source: quick-research

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) — Financial Snapshot

Income Statement Summary

Metric FY2022 FY2023 FY2024 FY2025 YoY (25)
Revenue $3.56B $4.09B $4.64B $5.29B +14%
Gross Margin 89.5% 89.4% 86.4% 86.1%
Non-GAAP Op Margin 42.0% 42.4% 42.5% 44.6%
Net Income (GAAP) $0.85B $1.04B $1.06B $1.30B
Diluted EPS (GAAP) $3.06 $3.78 $3.85 $4.71
Adjusted EPS $4.13 $5.15 $5.81 $6.95 +20%

Cadence delivered 14% revenue growth in 2025 with a 44.6% non-GAAP operating margin — best-in-class profitability for software. Record $7.8B exiting backlog.

Cash Flow & Balance Sheet (FY2024)

Metric Value
Operating Cash Flow ~$1.25B
Free Cash Flow ~$1.12B
FCF Margin ~24%
Cash & Equivalents ~$2.6B
Total Debt ~$2.5B (post 2024 debt issue)
Stock-based Comp ~$350M

Key Ratios (approximate)

  • P/E: ~75x GAAP / ~50x Adj | EV/EBITDA: ~38x | FCF Yield: ~1.2%
  • Revenue Growth (TTM): ~14% | Op Margin: ~45%
  • Forward P/E: ~40x | EV/Revenue: ~15x

Growth Profile

Cadence has compounded revenue at 12-15% annually over the past decade. The AI inflection (chiplet design + HBM4/PCIe IP + agentic AI workflows) is structural — every leading AI chip uses Cadence tools. Backlog $7.8B provides ~1.5 years revenue visibility. Hardware (Palladium emulation) demand is structurally accelerating with AI chip verification complexity.

Forward Estimates

  • FY 2026 (raised): Revenue $6.13-6.23B (~16% growth); GAAP diluted EPS $4.39-4.49; non-GAAP EPS ~$8.05-8.15
  • FY 2027: Consensus ~$7.0B+ revenue; adj EPS ~$9.50
  • AI design tailwind + IP segment +20% drive multi-year outlook

Deeper Financial Analysis

The fundamental tier adds 9 additional research dimensions for $CDNS.

Revenue Breakdown
Segment revenue, geographic mix, product-line contribution margins, and cohort dynamics.
Financial Trends
Quarter-over-quarter momentum, leading indicators, and inflection point analysis.
Balance Sheet
Debt structure, liquidity runway, dilution risk, and working capital dynamics.
Capital Allocation
Buyback cadence, M&A appetite, dividend policy, and reinvestment priorities.
Returns on Capital (ROIC)
Multi-year ROIC vs. WACC, marginal returns on reinvestment, sales-to-invested-capital efficiency, and moat spread.
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