ACN vs. CDNS: Accenture vs. Cadence Design Systems Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Accenture (ACN) and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Accenture (ACN) and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) both fall under the Software & Services industry group, but ACN is classified in IT Services while CDNS is classified in Software.

Company profile comparison for Accenture (ACN) and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS)
Profile Item	ACN	CDNS
Name	Accenture plc	Cadence Design Systems, Inc.
Country/Region	Ireland	United States
GICS Sector	Information Technology	Information Technology
GICS Industry Group	Software & Services	Software & Services
GICS Industry	IT Services	Software
GICS Sub-Industry	IT Consulting & Other Services	Application Software
Market Capitalization	153.89 billion USD	87.78 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	July 19, 2001	June 10, 1987
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

ACN

CDNS

GSPC

Accenture (ACN) vs. Cadence Design Systems (CDNS), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Accenture (ACN) and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Accenture (ACN) and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Accenture (ACN) and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS)
Metric	ACN	CDNS
Total Return (1Y)	7.87%	3.07%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	-4.56%	9.32%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-5.20%	12.93%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

ACN

CDNS

GSPC

Accenture (ACN) vs. Cadence Design Systems (CDNS), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Accenture (ACN) and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Accenture (ACN) and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS)
Metric	ACN	CDNS
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	50.02%	42.21%
Beta (5Y)	1.00	1.09
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-68.17%	-34.21%
Avg. Volume (3M)	6.18M	2.41M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

ACN and CDNS are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Accenture (ACN) and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS)
Metric	ACN	CDNS
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.07	-0.03
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.10	-0.04

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Accenture (ACN) at 26.03% and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) at 22.87% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

ACN

Software & Services industry group

26.03%

Max: 53.85%
ACN: 26.03%
Q3: 17.90%
Median: 6.59%
Q1: -9.59%
Min: -50.52%

CDNS

Software & Services industry group

22.87%

Max: 53.85%
CDNS: 22.87%
Q3: 17.90%
Median: 6.59%
Q1: -9.59%
Min: -50.52%

Accenture (ACN) vs. Cadence Design Systems (CDNS): A comparison of their ROE against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) at 22.52% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Accenture (ACN) at 11.28%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

ACN

Software & Services industry group

11.28%

Max: 41.17%
Q3: 15.28%
ACN: 11.28%
Median: 4.63%
Q1: -5.42%
Min: -33.17%

CDNS

Software & Services industry group

22.52%

Max: 41.17%
CDNS: 22.52%
Q3: 15.28%
Median: 4.63%
Q1: -5.42%
Min: -33.17%

Accenture (ACN) vs. Cadence Design Systems (CDNS): A comparison of their net margin against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Accenture (ACN) at 17.83% and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) at 28.93% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

ACN

Software & Services industry group

17.83%

Max: 46.89%
ACN: 17.83%
Q3: 17.64%
Median: 8.73%
Q1: -2.13%
Min: -30.45%

CDNS

Software & Services industry group

28.93%

Max: 46.89%
CDNS: 28.93%
Q3: 17.64%
Median: 8.73%
Q1: -2.13%
Min: -30.45%

Accenture (ACN) vs. Cadence Design Systems (CDNS): A comparison of their operating margin against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Accenture (ACN) and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS)
Metric	ACN	CDNS
ROE (TTM)	26.03%	22.87%
ROA (TTM)	10.95%	10.52%
Net Margin (TTM)	11.28%	22.52%
Operating Margin (TTM)	17.83%	28.93%
Gross Margin (TTM)	32.05%	85.68%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) at 14.12% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Accenture (ACN) at 6.47% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

Accenture (ACN) vs. Cadence Design Systems (CDNS): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Accenture (ACN) at 11.60% and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) at 5.45% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Accenture (ACN) vs. Cadence Design Systems (CDNS): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Accenture (ACN) and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS)
Metric	ACN	CDNS
Revenue Growth (YoY)	6.47%	14.12%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	4.98%	14.14%
EPS Growth (YoY)	11.60%	5.45%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	7.98%	9.53%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Accenture (ACN) at 1.43 and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) at 1.36 carry current ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges, suggesting balanced short-term liquidity relative to peers.

ACN

Software & Services industry group

1.43

Max: 5.11
Q3: 2.77
Median: 1.67
ACN: 1.43
Q1: 1.01
Min: 0.03

CDNS

Software & Services industry group

1.36

Max: 5.11
Q3: 2.77
Median: 1.67
CDNS: 1.36
Q1: 1.01
Min: 0.03

Accenture (ACN) vs. Cadence Design Systems (CDNS): A comparison of their current ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Accenture (ACN) at 0.40 and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) at 0.41 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

ACN

Software & Services industry group

0.40

Max: 2.52
Q3: 1.13
Median: 0.40
ACN: 0.40
Q1: 0.07
Min: 0.00

CDNS

Software & Services industry group

0.41

Max: 2.52
Q3: 1.13
CDNS: 0.41
Median: 0.40
Q1: 0.07
Min: 0.00

Accenture (ACN) vs. Cadence Design Systems (CDNS): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Accenture (ACN) and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS)
Metric	ACN	CDNS
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.43	1.36
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.40	0.41
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.04	0.57

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Accenture (ACN) reports a yield of 2.49%, ranking against industry peers normally.

ACN

Software & Services industry group

2.49%

ACN: 2.49%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

CDNS

Software & Services industry group

0.00%

CDNS: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Accenture (ACN) vs. Cadence Design Systems (CDNS): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Accenture (ACN) reports a payout of 48.08%, ranking against industry peers normally.

ACN

Software & Services industry group

48.08%

ACN: 48.08%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

CDNS

Software & Services industry group

0.00%

CDNS: 0.00%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Accenture (ACN) vs. Cadence Design Systems (CDNS): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Accenture (ACN) and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS)
Metric	ACN	CDNS
Dividend Yield (TTM)	2.49%	0.00%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	48.08%	0.00%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Accenture (ACN) at 19.21 is near its industry’s usual P/E ratio, while Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) at 63.60 sits in the richer quartile — CDNS needs stronger growth or earnings quality to justify the premium.

ACN

Software & Services industry group

19.21

Max: 112.94
Q3: 60.32
Median: 32.91
ACN: 19.21
Q1: 18.77
Min: 6.69

CDNS

Software & Services industry group

63.60

Max: 112.94
CDNS: 63.60
Q3: 60.32
Median: 32.91
Q1: 18.77
Min: 6.69

Accenture (ACN) vs. Cadence Design Systems (CDNS): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Accenture (ACN) at 2.07 looks cheap on sales in the lower P/S ratio quartile, while Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) at 14.31 looks rich in the upper quartile — a clear gap in price per dollar of revenue.

ACN

Software & Services industry group

2.07

Max: 17.91
Q3: 8.78
Median: 4.25
Q1: 2.23
ACN: 2.07
Min: 0.02

CDNS

Software & Services industry group

14.31

Max: 17.91
CDNS: 14.31
Q3: 8.78
Median: 4.25
Q1: 2.23
Min: 0.02

Accenture (ACN) vs. Cadence Design Systems (CDNS): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Accenture (ACN) at 4.91 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) at 12.77 carries an above-peer premium to book — CDNS is pricier on assets.

ACN

Software & Services industry group

4.91

Max: 16.63
Q3: 8.50
ACN: 4.91
Median: 4.30
Q1: 1.92
Min: -3.90

CDNS

Software & Services industry group

12.77

Max: 16.63
CDNS: 12.77
Q3: 8.50
Median: 4.30
Q1: 1.92
Min: -3.90

Accenture (ACN) vs. Cadence Design Systems (CDNS): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Software & Services industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Accenture (ACN) and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS)
Metric	ACN	CDNS
P/E Ratio (TTM)	19.21	63.60
P/S Ratio (TTM)	2.07	14.31
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	4.91	12.77
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	6.94%	1.99%