CDNS
ACCE-researchedOverview
ACCE thesis
Cadence sells EDA software and IP that chip designers cannot build without - every advanced semiconductor from AI accelerators to automotive SoCs runs through Cadence tools at some point in the design flow. The switching costs are brutal; design teams spend years embedding Cadence workflows into their processes, and ripping out a core tool mid-project is career-ending for an engineering lead. The AI silicon buildout is the real engine here: hyperscalers designing custom ASICs and startups chasing inference efficiency are all adding headcount and tool licenses, directly expanding Cadence's addressable seat count. Revenue grew 18.7% and the gap between the trailing PE of 80.6 and forward PE of 37.0 tells you the market expects a significant earnings ramp - that compression only works if the backlog converts, which historically it does given Cadence's subscription model. The question worth digging into is whether the System Design & Analysis segment, which Cadence has been building through acquisitions like BETA CAE, can add a second durable growth vector beyond core EDA before the AI capex cycle peaks.
- highExtreme insider sellingLast 10 transactions show $54.87M in sales, zero buys. Significant insider distribution at current price levels.
- highStretched trailing valuationP/E of 88.1x and EV/EBITDA of 54.4x leave minimal margin of safety; any growth miss could trigger sharp de-rating.
- moderateQoQ revenue decelerationSequential revenue growth of only 2.4% despite strong 18.7% YoY; momentum may be plateauing quarter-to-quarter.
- moderateScore collapsed then recoveredACCE score swung from 37 to 70 in 90 days (+33), suggesting recent instability in underlying quality/momentum signals.
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Price
Valuation
INVESTORSix independent models converge on one confidence-weighted fair value, with full methodology and editable assumptions.
- +All six models: DCF, P/E and EV/EBITDA comps, Graham, dividend discount, residual income
- +Scenario bands, sensitivity tornado, and the 5-year historical valuation range
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Quality
INVESTORThe full quality picture: conviction breakdown, earnings quality, score history, and backtested returns.
- +Conviction score breakdown and earnings-quality grade
- +Growth / value / quality / momentum component scores
- +90-day score history and score-threshold backtests
Analysts
Wall Street consensus
The full analyst picture: the price-target distribution against the current price, forward consensus estimates, and how ACCE's own models compare.
- +Price-target low / average / high vs the current price, with implied upside
- +Forward revenue and EPS consensus by fiscal year
- +ACCE fair-value models lined up against the Street
Smart Money
PROFollow the institutions: 13F position changes, insider trades, and active 13D activist filings.
- +Quarter-over-quarter institutional position changes
- +Recent open-market insider transactions
- +Active 13D activist filings and top holders
Compare
Where it sits vs peers
Algorithmic peers (6)
| Ticker | Company | Mcap | P/E | ROE | D/E | Yield | Quality | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INTU | Intuit Inc. Common Stock | $81.0B | 18.4 | 23.6% | 0.40 | 1.5% | - | Compare |
| DDOG | Datadog Inc. Class A Common Stock | $82.6B | 450.8 | 4.7% | 0.27 | 0.0% | - | Compare |
| ADBE | Adobe Inc. Common Stock | $98.9B | 13.9 | 61.9% | 0.54 | 0.0% | - | Compare |
| MSTR | Strategy Inc Common Stock Class A | $61.1B | - | -63.6% | 0.16 | 0.0% | - | Compare |
| ADP | Automatic Data Processing Inc. Common Stock | $107.7B | 24.8 | 72.2% | 0.82 | 2.4% | - | Compare |
| SNOW | Snowflake Inc. Common Stock | $117.3B | - | -48.1% | 1.21 | 0.0% | - | Compare |
Sector report card
Where CDNS ranks against its sector peers on each metric.
News and Record
Press releases mentioning this company
- Business Wire•Sep 15, 2026Cadence Tensilica IP Powers Analog Devices’ Next-Generation DSP Architecture
- Business Wire•Sep 2, 2026Cadence’s Anirudh Devgan to Present at Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference
- Business Wire•Sep 1, 2026Cadence Subsystem for PCIe 6.0 Architecture Achieves First-Pass PCI Express Specification Compliance
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Recent performance
SEC filings
Recent ACCE blog coverage
- $CDNS Posts 24.8% EPS Growth in Quarter Reported April 27Cadence Design Systems reported EPS of $1.96 vs $1.57 a year ago, with revenue up 18.7% YoY. ACCE score sits at 63. Here's what the numbers show.2026-07-27