Which is better, ADBE or CDNS?

On the Buffett-Fit framework, Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (CDNS) currently grades higher than ADBE — 78/100 (B grade) vs 77/100 (B). That said, "better" depends on which framework you trust — ADBE wins on Joel Greenblatt and Terry Smith; CDNS wins on Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Philip Fisher, Peter Lynch, and Charlie Munger. The full pillar breakdown is on this page.

Should I buy ADBE or CDNS?

This page is an educational comparison, not investment advice. Both ADBE and CDNS are graded against the same Buffett 5-pillar framework (moat, earnings durability, management quality, financial health, valuation) plus six other documented investor frameworks. Read the side-by-side breakdown to see which one matches the criteria you care about most — and always do your own research before making any investment decision.

Is ADBE better than CDNS for value investing?

The two are close on the headline Buffett-Fit score (77/100 vs 78/100), so "better for value investing" depends on which pillar you weight most. The five Buffett pillars + six other frameworks are broken down side-by-side on this page so you can pick the one that fits your style.

What's the difference between ADBE and CDNS on Warren Buffett's framework?

Both stocks are evaluated on the same five pillars: economic moat (durable competitive advantage), earnings durability (consistent profitability), management quality (capital allocation), financial health (conservative balance sheet), and valuation (margin of safety). ADBE currently scores 77/100 (B grade); CDNS scores 78/100 (B grade). The "Where each wins" section on this page breaks down which pillar each stock dominates.

Which has the stronger moat, ADBE or CDNS?

Moat strength is one of the five pillars in the Buffett-Fit score on this page. ADBE and CDNS are each scored on ROIC sustainability, gross-margin durability, and qualitative signals like brand strength, switching costs, network effects, and regulatory barriers. The pillar breakdown on this page shows the moat sub-score side-by-side so you can see which one has the more durable competitive advantage.

Which is more undervalued, ADBE or CDNS?

Valuation is one of the five Buffett-Fit pillars on this page. Both stocks are scored on owner-earnings yield, price-to-intrinsic-value vs the underlying compounding rate, and the margin of safety relative to a conservative DCF. The valuation sub-score in the table below tells you which one currently trades at a more attractive price relative to its underlying business quality.

Are ADBE and CDNS both Technology stocks?

Yes — both Adobe Inc. (ADBE) and Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (CDNS) operate in the Technology sector. That makes this a direct sector-peer comparison, which is the apples-to-apples way to use the Buffett-Fit framework: the score weighs each stock against its sector's specific quality and valuation benchmarks (sector-relative bonus), so the cross-stock comparison isn't distorted by inter-sector base-rate differences.

Is this ADBE vs CDNS comparison investment advice?

No. This page is an educational pattern-match against documented public frameworks (Buffett, Graham, Fisher, Lynch, Greenblatt, Munger, Smith), not personalised investment advice. The scores reflect how closely each stock matches each framework's documented criteria — they are not buy/hold/sell recommendations. Always do your own research and consult a licensed financial adviser for personalised advice.

Stock comparison

Adobe

Cadence Design Systems

Scored across Buffett, Graham, Lynch and Greenblatt - plus a side-by-side metric table covering valuation, quality, growth and balance sheet.

ADBE

Adobe

Market cap

$98.93B

Sector

Technology

CDNS

Cadence Design Systems

Market cap

$103.04B

Sector

Technology

Overall winner

Cadence Design Systems CDNS

Wins on the combined sum of fit scores across all four strategies. Per-strategy breakdown below.

Fit scores by strategy

Strategy	ADBE	CDNS	Winner
Warren Buffett	77B	78B	CDNS
Benjamin Graham	63C	84A	CDNS
Philip Fisher	70B	84A	CDNS
Peter Lynch	50C	78B	CDNS
Joel Greenblatt	59C	58C	ADBE
Charlie Munger	78B	80A	CDNS
Terry Smith	86A	80A	ADBE

Side-by-side metrics

Metric	ADBE	CDNS
Market cap	$98.93B	$103.04B
P/E (TTM)	14.1x	80.7x
EV/EBIT	11.5x	59.1x
ROIC (TTM)	37.4%	12.19%
Gross margin	89.1%	88.85%
Net margin	29.48%	21.18%
Revenue CAGR 5y	10.77%	15.38%
EPS CAGR 5y	13.45%	12.65%
Debt / Equity	0.6x	0.5x
Dividend yield	0.0%	0.0%

Where each one wins

The metrics with the biggest gap between the two - sorted so the most decisive edges read first.

ADBE leads on

P/E (TTM)14.1xvs 80.7x+83%
EV/EBIT11.5xvs 59.1x+80%
ROIC (TTM)37.4%vs 12.19%+67%
Net margin29.48%vs 21.18%+28%

CDNS leads on

Revenue CAGR 5y15.38%vs 10.77%+30%
Debt / Equity0.5xvs 0.6x+19%

Educational tool. Fit scores are deterministic projections from public financials onto each investor's published criteria - not personal recommendations or advice.

Adobe

Cadence Design Systems

Fit scores by strategy

Side-by-side metrics

Where each one wins

More like ADBE

More like CDNS

Related on invest-like

Key terms in this analysis