CADENCE DESIGN SYSTEMS, INC. vs Palantir Technologies Inc., two Software stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Palantir keeps almost 44 cents of net profit on every sales dollar, one of the widest net margins in software, and that single figure is what sets it apart from Cadence's still-healthy 21%. The market has noticed: Palantir trades near 144 times trailing earnings to Cadence's 90, both already steep, and both rest on debt-free balance sheets, Palantir's cushioned by a current ratio of 6.9 against Cadence's 1.5. Palantir also earns more on its assets, 22% to Cadence's 10%, and a higher 27% on equity to 18%. The one place Cadence holds even is cash conversion, where both yields sit near 1%, low enough that buyers of either are paying for future earnings rather than present cash. The defining number here is the margin, and the price is betting it holds.
Comparison updated 2026-06-15.
| Metric | CDNS | PLTR |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $384.25 | $126.75 |
| Market cap | $105.2B | $325.9B |
| Sector | Software | Software |
| Stage | Mature | Growth |
| P/E | 89.6 | 142.4 |
| P/B | 16.03 | 38.08 |
| P/S | 19.02 | 62.38 |
| EV/EBITDA | 63.0 | 160.3 |
| Revenue growth | +13.8% | +66.4% |
| Gross margin | — | 86.8% |
| Operating margin | 29.3% | 46.2% |
| Net margin | 21.2% | 43.7% |
| Return on equity | 17.9% | 26.7% |
| Return on assets | 9.7% | 22.4% |
| Return on invested capital | 18.7% | 23.0% |
| FCF yield | 1.4% | 0.8% |
| Debt / equity | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Current ratio | 1.47 | 6.91 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 7.54 | 7.35 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 7 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.