Cadence Design Systems, Inc. is a leader in electronic system design software and intellectual property (IP), offering computational software, special-purpose computational hardware, IP, and services across various sectors such as automotive, AI, aerospace and defense, and high-performance computing . The company organizes its offerings into five main product categories, which are crucial to its business operations . Cadence's revenue is primarily driven by the increasing complexity of semiconductor and electronic systems, with a significant portion recognized over time from software arrangements, services, and maintenance . The company has expanded its capabilities through acquisitions like Invecas and BETA CAE Systems to enhance its product offerings and market reach .
- Digital IC Design and Signoff - Provides tools and solutions for designing and verifying digital integrated circuits, ensuring they meet performance and power specifications.
- Functional Verification - Offers comprehensive verification solutions to ensure the functionality and reliability of complex electronic systems.
- Custom IC Design and Simulation - Delivers software and tools for designing and simulating custom integrated circuits, focusing on analog, RF, and mixed-signal designs.
- IP - Supplies a broad range of intellectual property cores and solutions to accelerate the development of semiconductor products.
- System Design and Analysis - Provides tools and services for designing and analyzing complete electronic systems, enhancing performance and efficiency.
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| Name | Position | External Roles | Short Bio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Anirudh Devgan ExecutiveBoard | President and CEO | None | Joined CDNS in 2012; became CEO in Dec 2021; IEEE Fellow; recipient of the IEEE/SEMI Phil Kaufman Award; holds numerous patents. | View Report → |
Chin-Chi Teng Executive | Senior Vice President and GM, Digital and Signoff Group | None | Joined CDNS in 2002; leads Digital and Signoff Group; holds a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois. | |
John M. Wall Executive | Senior Vice President and CFO | None | Joined CDNS in 1997; CFO since Oct 2017; previously held various finance leadership roles. | |
Karna Nisewaner Executive | Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary | None | Joined CDNS in 2011; became General Counsel in Feb 2024; previously held legal roles at Intuit and IBM. | |
Paul Cunningham Executive | Senior Vice President and GM, System Verification Group | None | Joined CDNS in 2011 via Azuro acquisition; leads System Verification Group; holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Cambridge. | |
Paul Scannell Executive | Senior Vice President, Worldwide Field Operations | None | Promoted to SVP in May 2024; oversees global field operations; granted performance stock awards tied to shareholder return. | |
Thomas P. Beckley Executive | Senior Vice President and GM, Custom IC and PCB Group | None | Joined CDNS in 2004 via Neolinear acquisition; leads Custom IC and PCB Group; holds an MBA from Vanderbilt University. | |
Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli Board | Director | Director at Cy4Gate SpA, KPIT Technologies Ltd.; President of Fondazione Chips-IT | Director since 1992; co-founder of SDA Systems (predecessor to CDNS); professor at UC Berkeley; recipient of numerous prestigious awards. | |
Ita Brennan Board | Director | Director at Planet Labs PBC | Director since 2020; former CFO of Arista Networks; extensive finance and operational expertise. | |
James D. Plummer Board | Director | Chair of National Semiconductor Technology Center | Director since 2011; professor at Stanford; expertise in electrical engineering and semiconductors. | |
Julia Liuson Board | Director | President of Developer Division at Microsoft | Director since 2021; long career at Microsoft; expertise in product and engineering leadership. | |
Lewis Chew Board | Director | Director at Arista Networks | Director since 2020; former CFO of Dolby Laboratories; extensive financial and accounting expertise. | |
ML Krakauer Board | Board Chair | Director at Proterra Inc. | Board Chair since May 2023; retired EVP and CIO of Dell; extensive leadership experience in technology and HR. | |
Moshe Gavrielov Board | Director | Chair of Foretellix and SiMa.ai; Director at NXP Semiconductors and TSMC | Director since Jan 2025; former CEO of Xilinx; extensive leadership in semiconductors and verification. | |
Young K. Sohn Board | Director | Senior Advisor at Samsung Electronics; Founding Managing Partner at Walden Catalyst Management LLC | Director since 2013; extensive expertise in semiconductors and corporate strategy; former President and CSO of Samsung Electronics. |
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Given the strong demand for your new hardware systems but current production constraints, how do you plan to balance meeting customer demand with managing inventory levels, and can you provide more clarity on when you expect production to catch up with demand?
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With bookings being stronger than expected in Q2 and reduced expectations for China, how does this impact your outlook for the second half of 2024, and what steps are you taking to mitigate potential risks in that region?
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Considering the significant upfront investment in raw materials to support multi-year hardware demand, how do you expect this to affect your operating cash flow in future quarters, and what assurances can you provide regarding the longevity of demand for these systems?
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As your memory customers shift towards more advanced digital design and 3D-IC integration, how are you positioning your advanced digital implementation and verification products to capture this opportunity, and what competitive advantages do you have in this area?
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With the expansion of your multiphysics platform through acquisitions like beta CAE and the development of integrated solutions, can you elaborate on your strategy for bundling and packaging products, and how this approach will drive growth in both EDA and System Design and Analysis segments?
Research analysts who have asked questions during CADENCE DESIGN SYSTEMS earnings calls.
Harlan Sur
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
4 questions for CDNS
Jason Celino
KeyBanc Capital Markets
4 questions for CDNS
Jay Vleeschhouwer
Griffin Securities, Inc.
4 questions for CDNS
Joshua Tilton
Wolfe Research
4 questions for CDNS
Lee Simpson
Morgan Stanley
4 questions for CDNS
Ruben Roy
Stifel Financial Corp.
4 questions for CDNS
Vivek Arya
Bank of America Corporation
4 questions for CDNS
Gary Mobley
Loop Capital
3 questions for CDNS
Gianmarco Conti
Deutsche Bank AG
3 questions for CDNS
Sitikantha Panigrahi
Mizuho
3 questions for CDNS
Blair Abernethy
Rosenblatt Securities Inc.
2 questions for CDNS
Charles Shi
Needham & Company
2 questions for CDNS
Clarke Jeffries
Piper Sandler & Co.
2 questions for CDNS
Joseph Quatrochi
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
2 questions for CDNS
Joseph Vruwink
Baird
2 questions for CDNS
James Schneider
Goldman Sachs
1 question for CDNS
Joe Quatrochi
Wells Fargo
1 question for CDNS
Joe Vruwink
Baird
1 question for CDNS
John Marco Conti
Deutsche Bank
1 question for CDNS
Naso Nain
Berenberg
1 question for CDNS
Nay Soe Naing
Berenberg Capital Markets LLC
1 question for CDNS
Siti Panigrahi
Mizuho Securities
1 question for CDNS
Yu Shi
Susquehanna International Group, LLP
1 question for CDNS
Competitors mentioned in the company's latest 10K filing.
| Company | Description |
|---|---|
The company competes most frequently with this entity in the electronic design automation (EDA) industry. | |
Siemens EDA | This entity is a frequent competitor in the EDA industry. |
This company is another frequent competitor in the EDA industry. | |
This U.S.-based company is listed among other competitors in the EDA and related industries. | |
This U.S.-based company is mentioned as a competitor in the computational software space. | |
This U.S.-based company is identified as a competitor in the intellectual property (IP) and EDA sectors. | |
Altium Limited | This Australia-based company is mentioned as a competitor in the EDA industry. |
Zuken Ltd. | This Japan-based company is listed as a competitor in the EDA and related industries. |
Huada Empyrean | This emerging competitor from China is mentioned in the context of the EDA industry. |
Xpeedic | This emerging competitor from China is noted in the EDA industry. |
X-EPIC | This emerging competitor from China is identified in the EDA industry. |
Primarius Technologies | This emerging competitor from China is mentioned in the EDA industry. |
Univista | This emerging competitor from China is listed in the EDA industry. |
Giga-DA | This emerging competitor from China is noted in the EDA industry. |
Notable M&A activity and strategic investments in the past 3 years.
| Company | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
BETA CAE Systems International AG | 2024 | Cadence acquired BETA CAE for $1.24 billion (60% cash and 40% stock, including the issuance of 1,740,931 shares), enhancing its multiphysics system analysis and structural analysis capabilities as part of its Intelligent System Design strategy; the deal involved a $700 million term loan facility and an escrow arrangement for post-acquisition compensation. |
Invecas, Inc. | 2024 | The acquisition of Invecas brought a skilled design engineering and embedded software team to Cadence while involving a total purchase consideration of about $95 million (with cash net of approximately $71.5 million), thereby expanding Cadence’s custom solutions in chip design and product engineering; the purchase consideration was allocated among current assets, goodwill, intangibles, and liabilities. |
Intrinsix Corporation | 2023 | Acquired on October 2, 2023 for approximately $35 million in cash, the deal enhanced Cadence’s system and IC design services by adding expertise in advanced nodes, RF, mixed-signal, and security algorithms, while strengthening its presence in aerospace and defense. |
SerDes and Memory Interface PHY IP Business (from Rambus Inc.) | 2023 | Completed on September 6, 2023 for $108.6 million in cash, this acquisition strengthened Cadence’s IP technology portfolio by adding critical assets (including HBM3 technology) that support AI, data center, and hyperscale applications as part of its Intelligent System Design strategy. |
Pulsic, Ltd. | 2023 | The May 4, 2023 acquisition of Pulsic for $56.1 million (net of $3.8 million cash acquired) added production-proven technology for floor-planning, placement, and routing of custom ICs, reinforcing Cadence’s Custom IC Design and Simulation portfolio; the deal’s purchase consideration was allocated among current assets, goodwill, and acquired intangibles. |
OpenEye Scientific Software | 2022 | Completed on August 31, 2022 for approximately $500 million (funded through cash on hand and borrowings), the acquisition expanded Cadence’s reach into life sciences by integrating computational molecular modeling technology (including the Orion® platform) used in drug discovery. |
Future Facilities (FFG Holdings Limited) | 2022 | Acquired on July 14, 2022 with a total cash consideration of about $110 million (netting approximately $100.1 million after cash adjustments), this deal broadened Cadence’s system design and analysis portfolio by adding electronics cooling and energy performance optimization solutions for data centers. |
Recent press releases and 8-K filings for CDNS.
- Cadence.ai portfolio is broadly adopted beyond the top five customers, with 80% of revenue on a ratable subscription model fueling sustained licence growth.
- Launched Cerberus AI Studio, the industry’s first multi-user, multi-block AI product, which can reduce time-to-market by 5×–10× and improve PPA by 10%–20%.
- Backlog reached a record $6.8 billion at FY 2024-end and stood at $6.4 billion in H1 2025; expecting to exceed $6.8 billion by year-end on broad-based renewals and new bookings.
- Emulation demand outpaces supply: the Palladium Z3 launch created lead times of 8–20 weeks, prompting production ramp-up in H2 2025 to meet verification needs.
- The U.S. has lifted export controls on EDA software to China, directly benefiting Cadence Design, Synopsys, and Siemens.
- Moorhead expects these software vendors to be major beneficiaries barring a sudden collapse in overall U.S.–China trade talks.
- High-end Nvidia chips remain restricted, but tuned-down versions may enter China, improving demand prospects for EDA tools.
- U.S. containment efforts have largely failed, as China has used cloud services and mass deployments of lower-performing chips to circumvent restrictions.
- Cadence signed a multi-year IP agreement with Samsung Foundry to support AI data centers, automotive (ADAS) and RF connectivity on SF4X, SF5A and SF2P nodes.
- The SF4X IP portfolio now includes LPDDR6/5x, GDDR7, DDR5, PCIe 6.0 and UCIe technologies targeting high-performance computing and automotive applications.
- Cadence’s full digital flow is certified for Samsung’s SF2P process, enabling Hyper Cell and Local Layout Effect timing accuracy for more efficient signoff and runtime.
- Automated migration of analog cell-based IP from 4 nm to 2 nm accelerates turnaround and enhances IP reuse.
- Cadence reported 19.55% revenue growth over the last twelve months and 85.86% gross profit margin.
- Cadence Design Systems received notification from the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security that a license is now required for exporting, re-exporting, or transferring electronic design automation software and technology to China or to Chinese military end users, effective May 23, 2025.
- The filing includes forward-looking statements acknowledging risks and uncertainties related to these new export control requirements and their potential impact on business operations.
- Robust Q1 performance: Reported $1.242B revenue (up 23% YoY), with GAAP EPS of $1.00 and non-GAAP EPS of $1.57.
- Improved margins: Achieved GAAP operating margin of 29.1% and non-GAAP margin of 41.7%.
- Raised FY 2025 outlook: Now forecasting revenue between $5.15B and $5.23B, driven by strong recurring revenue.
- Strategic initiatives & share repurchase: Expanded IP portfolio and AI-driven solutions with pending acquisitions (ARM Artisan Foundation IP and Secure-IC), strategic partnerships with NVIDIA, and a $350M share repurchase.
- Key segment growth: Noted robust expansion in semiconductor IP and EDA.