Cadence Design Systems, Inc. · CDNS · FY2025 Q2 · Calendar Q3 2025
Cadence: AI demand supports raised outlook, with China risks
The supplied analysis supports a constructive but qualified view: AI infrastructure, advanced-node design and expanding IP demand are supporting growth, while China exposure, regulatory constraints and the durability of Agentic AI monetization temper the outlook.
Earnings scorecard
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Transcript intelligence
What changed
Relative to the prior-quarter analysis, the current analysis continues to emphasize AI and advanced packaging demand, while adding greater focus on the Millennium M2000, Cerebrus AI Studio, NeuroEdge, HBM4 and LPDDR6. It also highlights the DOJ/BIS settlement and continuing China export-control risk.
Guidance delta
The supplied analysis says guidance was raised, continuing the prior quarter's positive guidance direction.
Key takeaways
- The current analysis describes broad AI-driven demand across EDA, IP, hardware and systems.
- The IP portfolio, including HBM4 and LPDDR6, is identified as a growth driver for AI and HPC markets.
- Export controls affecting China and the DOJ/BIS settlement remain important risks alongside adoption and integration complexity.
Management priorities
- Commercial rollout of the Millennium M2000 AI supercomputer and AI-accelerated simulation services.
- Scale Cerebrus AI Studio across multi-block and multi-user SoC designs.
- Continue developing LPDDR6 and HBM4 memory IP and deepen collaboration with leading foundries and chipmakers.
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Analyst 52W Price Targets
Latest persisted target per named analyst; persisted current price from FN2's market snapshot as of Oct 3, 2026. Not an FN2 forecast.
Firm-level rating actions
FMP grade actions identify the grading firm, not a named analyst.
| Firm | Rating | Prior rating | Action | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rosenblatt | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 28, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Jul 28, 2026 |
| Needham | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 28, 2026 |
| Citigroup | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 28, 2026 |
| Baird | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 28, 2026 |
| B of A Securities | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 28, 2026 |
| Stifel | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jun 9, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | May 26, 2026 |
| Keybanc | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Apr 28, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Feb 18, 2026 |
| Oppenheimer | Underperform | Underperform | Maintain | Oct 28, 2025 |
| JP Morgan | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Oct 28, 2025 |
| Mizuho | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Jul 29, 2025 |
| Loop Capital | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jul 29, 2025 |
| Deutsche Bank | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Apr 26, 2023 |
| Atlantic Equities | Overweight | Neutral | Upgrade | Jan 17, 2023 |
| Wolfe Research | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Aug 17, 2022 |
| UBS | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Apr 26, 2022 |
| Berenberg | Buy | Hold | Upgrade | Feb 23, 2022 |
| Credit Suisse | Neutral | Neutral | Maintain | Oct 26, 2021 |
| RBC Capital | Outperform | Outperform | Maintain | Feb 23, 2021 |
| CFRA | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Apr 24, 2020 |
| Bank of America | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Apr 22, 2020 |
| Benchmark | Buy | Hold | Upgrade | Oct 23, 2018 |
| DA Davidson | Buy | Neutral | Upgrade | Apr 5, 2018 |
| Pacific Crest | Sector Perform | Outperform | Downgrade | Feb 5, 2015 |
| Summit Research Partners | Buy | Hold | Upgrade | May 20, 2014 |
| Summit Insights Group | Buy | Hold | Upgrade | May 20, 2014 |
| Topeka | Buy | Buy | Maintain | Jun 6, 2013 |
| PiperJaffray | Overweight | Overweight | Maintain | Apr 16, 2012 |
Named analyst price targets
Upside is calculated against the persisted current price $351.35. FMP does not supply a rating on these named-analyst rows.
| Firm | Analyst | 52W target | Price when posted | Upside | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FBN Securities | Analyst unavailable | $375 | $284.95 | +6.7% | Sep 11, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $400 | $344.72 | +13.8% | Jul 29, 2026 |
| Oppenheimer | Analyst unavailable | $300 | $338.61 | -14.6% | Jul 28, 2026 |
| Piper Sandler | Clarke Jeffries | $349 | $338.61 | -0.7% | Jul 28, 2026 |
| Robert W. Baird | Analyst unavailable | $420 | $338.61 | +19.5% | Jul 28, 2026 |
| Benchmark Co. | Analyst unavailable | $450 | $371.5 | +28.1% | Jul 15, 2026 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Analyst unavailable | $432 | $394.24 | +23.0% | Jun 9, 2026 |
| Berenberg Bank | Nay Soe Naing | $440 | $381.75 | +25.2% | May 27, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $425 | $373.59 | +21.0% | May 26, 2026 |
| Robert W. Baird | Joe Vruwink | $385 | $336.54 | +9.6% | Apr 28, 2026 |
| KeyBanc | Analyst unavailable | $425 | $336.54 | +21.0% | Apr 28, 2026 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Ruben Roy | $395 | $309.3 | +12.4% | Feb 18, 2026 |
| Morgan Stanley | Analyst unavailable | $370 | $283.46 | +5.3% | Feb 18, 2026 |
| Wells Fargo | Joe Quatrochi | $375 | $283.46 | +6.7% | Feb 18, 2026 |
| Oppenheimer | Edward Yang | $275 | $309.86 | -21.7% | Dec 1, 2025 |
| KeyBanc | Jason Celino | $405 | $341 | +15.3% | Oct 28, 2025 |
| Robert W. Baird | Joe Vruwink | $418 | $340.68 | +19.0% | Oct 28, 2025 |
| Wells Fargo | Analyst unavailable | $410 | $339.04 | +16.7% | Oct 28, 2025 |
| Wolfe Research | Gal Munda | $385 | $351.4 | +9.6% | Oct 28, 2025 |
| BNP Paribas | Andrew DeGasperi | $400 | $351.97 | +13.8% | Oct 2, 2025 |
| Berenberg Bank | Analyst unavailable | $400 | $371.03 | +13.8% | Jul 30, 2025 |
| Piper Sandler | Clarke Jeffries | $355 | $363.75 | +1.0% | Jul 29, 2025 |
| Mizuho Securities | Siti Panigrahi | $300 | $259.47 | -14.6% | Apr 15, 2025 |
| Loop Capital Markets | Gary Mobley | $360 | $300.9 | +2.5% | Nov 11, 2024 |
| Bank of America Securities | Vivek Arya | $310 | $280.18 | -11.8% | Oct 29, 2024 |
| Needham | Charles Shi | $315 | $252.77 | -10.3% | Oct 29, 2024 |
| Robert W. Baird | Jon Vruwink | $340 | $278.19 | -3.2% | Oct 29, 2024 |
| Stifel Nicolaus | Ruben Roy | $350 | $252.77 | -0.4% | Oct 29, 2024 |
| Mizuho Securities | Siti Panigrahi | $325 | $253.15 | -7.5% | Oct 21, 2024 |
| Oppenheimer | Edward Yang | $225 | $273.32 | -36.0% | Sep 24, 2024 |
| Robert W. Baird | Joe Vruwink | $338 | $287.08 | -3.8% | Jul 23, 2024 |
| Robert W. Baird | Jon Vruwink | $341 | $310.92 | -2.9% | Jul 2, 2024 |
| KeyBanc | Jason Celino | $355 | $310.17 | +1.0% | Jun 27, 2024 |
| KeyBanc | Jason Celino | $350 | $297.3 | -0.4% | Jun 6, 2024 |
| Piper Sandler | Clarke Jeffries | $318 | $285.02 | -9.5% | Apr 23, 2024 |
| Robert W. Baird | Jon Vruwink | $322 | $293.71 | -8.4% | Apr 18, 2024 |
| KeyBanc | Jason Celino | $340 | $305.36 | -3.2% | Apr 15, 2024 |
| Piper Sandler | Clarke Jeffries | $334 | $310.58 | -4.9% | Apr 4, 2024 |
| Morgan Stanley | Lee Simpson | $350 | $300.74 | -0.4% | Feb 14, 2024 |
| Needham | Charles Shi | $235 | $202.98 | -33.1% | Apr 25, 2023 |
| Needham | Charles Shi | $200 | $153.4 | -43.1% | Oct 25, 2022 |
| Deutsche Bank | Johannes Schaller | $200 | $166.97 | -43.1% | Sep 28, 2022 |
| Needham | Charles Shi | $193 | $153.41 | -45.1% | Apr 28, 2022 |
| UBS | Analyst unavailable | $180 | $153.67 | -48.8% | Apr 26, 2022 |
| Berenberg Bank | Gal Munda | $180 | $140.88 | -48.8% | Feb 23, 2022 |
| KeyBanc | Jason Celino | $205 | $161.75 | -41.7% | Jan 14, 2022 |
| Westpark Capital | Ruben Roy | $168 | $137.55 | -52.2% | Jul 15, 2021 |
| D.A. Davidson | Thomas Diffely | $165 | $132.75 | -53.0% | Apr 27, 2021 |
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Start freeCompany context
Snapshot as of publicationCadence Design Systems, Inc. operates globally, delivering a comprehensive suite of solutions that includes software, specialized hardware, professional services, and pre-designed integrated circuit (IC) building blocks. The company's robust functional verification offerings feature dedicated emulation and prototyping hardware. This portfolio encompasses JasperGold for formal verification, Xcelium for parallel logic simulation, Palladium as an enterprise-grade emulation platform, and Protium, a prototyping platform designed for thorough chip verification. Cadence additionally provides extensive products for digital IC design and final sign-off. These include the Genus logic synthesis solution, Joules for RTL power analysis, and the Modus software solution, which streamlines design-for-test (DFT) processes for systems-on-chip.…
Historical context
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Sources
- Earnings call transcript and parsed analysis · 2026-05-11T10:29:34.698584+00:00
- FN2 earnings calendar · 2026-07-26T00:37:22.444131+00:00
- Polygon adjusted daily market bars · 2026-10-03T11:06:10.643417+00:00
- Financial Modeling Prep analyst price-target consensus and quote snapshot · 2026-10-03T11:06:10.640648+00:00
Methodology
Reported and consensus figures come from FN2's earnings event records. Market reaction and volume are calculated from daily adjusted bars around the event; abnormal move subtracts the SPY move over the same window.
Analyst target low, average, and high values are derived at request time from each named analyst's latest persisted FMP target. The current-price marker comes from FN2's persisted market snapshot. They are sell-side estimates, not an FN2 valuation or recommendation.
Transcript intelligence is a structured synthesis of the current and prior earnings-call analyses. Missing values stay missing and are never estimated.
By FN2 Research · Updated · As of 2026-10-03. For educational purposes only; not investment advice.