Cadence Design Systems Inc vs Fastly Inc — how do they compare? Cadence Design Systems Inc trades at $328.27 (market cap $91.41B), while Fastly Inc trades at $28.78 (market cap $4.42B). The key difference: Cadence Design Systems Inc is far larger — about 20.7× Fastly Inc's market cap, and Fastly Inc is trading nearer its 52-week high, Cadence Design Systems Inc nearer its low. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| CDNS | FSLY | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $91.41B | $4.42B |
Sector | Technology | Technology |
52-Week High | $416.39 | $33.50 |
52-Week Low | $265.66 | $6.85 |
Enterprise Value | $92.62B | $4.48B |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) trades at $339.24, up 0.24% on the day, with a neutral technical signal and strong fundamental performance. The stock has consistently beaten earnings estimates in recent quarters, with Q2 2026 EPS of $2.11 surpassing expectations. Revenue growth is robust, driven by AI demand, with 2025 revenue reaching $5.30 billion and a net income margin of 23.61%. Analyst sentiment is overwhelmingly positive, with 83.87% recommending Buy and a consensus price target of $415.11.
The outlook for CDNS is favorable, supported by strong AI-driven demand, record backlog of $8.1 billion as of Q2 2026 (Zacks Investment Research, 2026-07-30), and upwardly revised guidance. Risks include high valuation multiples, such as a P/E of 67.44, and potential market volatility amid semiconductor sector fluctuations. Institutional confidence remains high, with Amundi increasing its stake by 3.8% in Q1 2026 (Defense World, 2026-07-30).
Fastly (FSLY) trades at $22.96, up 1.23% on the day, with a bullish technical signal and strong earnings beats in recent quarters. Revenue grew to $624 million in 2025, and the net loss margin improved to -19.5%. Recent news highlights security expansion and AI demand driving growth, with the stock surging 21% to $27.69 on August 10, 2026, per 24/7 Wall Street. The company raised its full-year 2026 outlook after Q2 results.
The outlook is positive with raised guidance and analyst consensus target of $28.25, but risks include persistent net losses, high debt, and competitive pressure. Investment opportunity lies in AI and security growth, yet profitability challenges and insider selling warrant caution for stock investors.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Cadence Design Systems is a provider of electronic design automation software, intellectual property, and system design and analysis products. EDA software automates the chip design process, enhancing design accuracy, productivity, and complexity in a full-flow end-to-end solution. Cadence offers a portfolio of design IP, as well as system design and analysis products, which enable system-level analysis and verification solutions. Cadence's comprehensive portfolio is benefiting from a mutual convergence of semiconductor companies moving up-stack toward systems-like companies, and systems companies moving down-stack toward in-house chip design. The resulting expansion in EDA customers, alongside secular digitalization of various end markets, benefits EDA vendors like Cadence.
Read more on CDNS →Fastly operates a content delivery network, which is necessary for entities to provide faster and more reliable online content. Fastly's strategy differs from traditional CDNs, which focused on locating servers in as many locations as possible to store copies of files that consumers most use. Fastly has far fewer sites than traditional CDNs, but it houses servers in the most network-dense data centers. Instead of simply storing static content, it allows its customers to program on its platform, enabling edge computing and better service of the more dynamic content that was traditionally not well served by CDNs. Fastly gears its service to the largest, most sophisticated enterprises rather than small companies and generated about two thirds of its revenue in the United States in 2020.
Read more on FSLY →