CDNS vs. GEN: Cadence Design Systems vs. Gen Digital Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) and Gen Digital (GEN) 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

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) and Gen Digital (GEN) both belong to the Software industry, though CDNS is classified under Application Software while GEN falls under Systems Software.

Company profile comparison for Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) and Gen Digital (GEN)
Profile Item	CDNS	GEN
Name	Cadence Design Systems, Inc.	Gen Digital Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Information Technology	Information Technology
GICS Industry Group	Software & Services	Software & Services
GICS Industry	Software	Software
GICS Sub-Industry	Application Software	Systems Software
Market Capitalization	87.78 billion USD	17.67 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	Nasdaq
Listing Date	June 10, 1987	June 23, 1989
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

CDNS

GEN

GSPC

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) vs. Gen Digital (GEN), 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 Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) and Gen Digital (GEN). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) and Gen Digital (GEN)
Metric	CDNS	GEN
Total Return (1Y)	3.07%	18.20%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	9.32%	18.57%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	12.93%	5.70%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

CDNS

GEN

GSPC

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) vs. Gen Digital (GEN), 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 Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) and Gen Digital (GEN). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) and Gen Digital (GEN)
Metric	CDNS	GEN
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	42.21%	43.30%
Beta (5Y)	1.09	1.23
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-34.21%	-48.41%
Avg. Volume (3M)	2.41M	8.39M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

CDNS and GEN 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 Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) and Gen Digital (GEN)
Metric	CDNS	GEN
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.03	0.32
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.04	0.50

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) at 22.87% and Gen Digital (GEN) at 46.40% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

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%

GEN

Software & Services industry group

46.40%

Max: 53.85%
GEN: 46.40%
Q3: 17.90%
Median: 6.59%
Q1: -9.59%
Min: -50.52%

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

Net Margin (TTM)

For every dollar of sales, both Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) at 22.52% and Gen Digital (GEN) at 23.07% retain more as net profit than most peers, landing in the top net margin quartile of their industries.

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%

GEN

Software & Services industry group

23.07%

Max: 41.17%
GEN: 23.07%
Q3: 15.28%
Median: 4.63%
Q1: -5.42%
Min: -33.17%

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

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) at 28.93% and Gen Digital (GEN) at 37.40% convert sales into operating profit at a top-quartile rate, pointing to tighter cost discipline before financing and tax.

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%

GEN

Software & Services industry group

37.40%

Max: 46.89%
GEN: 37.40%
Q3: 17.64%
Median: 8.73%
Q1: -2.13%
Min: -30.45%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) and Gen Digital (GEN)
Metric	CDNS	GEN
ROE (TTM)	22.87%	46.40%
ROA (TTM)	10.52%	8.94%
Net Margin (TTM)	22.52%	23.07%
Operating Margin (TTM)	28.93%	37.40%
Gross Margin (TTM)	85.68%	77.41%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Gen Digital (GEN) at 27.06% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) at 14.12% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for GEN.

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) vs. Gen Digital (GEN): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Gen Digital (GEN) at 52.43% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) at 5.45% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for GEN.

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) vs. Gen Digital (GEN): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) and Gen Digital (GEN)
Metric	CDNS	GEN
Revenue Growth (YoY)	14.12%	27.06%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	14.14%	14.66%
EPS Growth (YoY)	5.45%	52.43%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	9.53%	-10.09%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) at 1.36 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Gen Digital (GEN) at 0.37 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for GEN.

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

GEN

Software & Services industry group

0.37

Max: 5.11
Q3: 2.77
Median: 1.67
Q1: 1.01
GEN: 0.37
Min: 0.03

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) at 0.41 is near its industry mid-range for debt-to-equity ratio, while Gen Digital (GEN) at 2.96 sits above its benchmark range, pointing to a heavier debt load relative to equity.

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

GEN

Software & Services industry group

2.96

GEN: 2.96
Max: 2.52
Q3: 1.13
Median: 0.40
Q1: 0.07
Min: 0.00

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

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) and Gen Digital (GEN)
Metric	CDNS	GEN
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.36	0.37
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.41	2.96
Net Debt / EBITDA	0.57	3.02

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 Gen Digital (GEN) reports a yield of 1.63%, ranking against industry peers normally.

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%

GEN

Software & Services industry group

1.63%

GEN: 1.63%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) vs. Gen Digital (GEN): 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 Gen Digital (GEN) reports a payout of 25.38%, ranking against industry peers normally.

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%

GEN

Software & Services industry group

25.38%

GEN: 25.38%
Max: 0.00%
Q3: 0.00%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) and Gen Digital (GEN)
Metric	CDNS	GEN
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	1.63%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	25.38%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Gen Digital (GEN) at 15.12 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) at 63.60 sits in the richer quartile — a clear split in what investors pay for each dollar of trailing earnings.

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

GEN

Software & Services industry group

15.12

Max: 112.94
Q3: 60.32
Median: 32.91
Q1: 18.77
GEN: 15.12
Min: 6.69

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Gen Digital (GEN) at 3.38 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) at 14.31 sits in the pricier quartile — CDNS costs more per dollar of sales.

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

GEN

Software & Services industry group

3.38

Max: 17.91
Q3: 8.78
Median: 4.25
GEN: 3.38
Q1: 2.23
Min: 0.02

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Gen Digital (GEN) at 6.45 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.

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

GEN

Software & Services industry group

6.45

Max: 16.63
Q3: 8.50
GEN: 6.45
Median: 4.30
Q1: 1.92
Min: -3.90

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) and Gen Digital (GEN)
Metric	CDNS	GEN
P/E Ratio (TTM)	63.60	15.12
P/S Ratio (TTM)	14.31	3.38
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	12.77	6.45
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	1.99%	10.25%