Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (CDNS) Earnings Call Transcripts
Cadence Design Systems, Inc.'s Latest Earnings Call - Q3 FY2026
Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (CDNS) reported strong Q3 2026 results, with total revenue of $1.633 billion, reflecting a 22% year-over-year increase, and a non-GAAP EPS of $2.11. The company raised its fiscal year revenue growth outlook to 21% and increased its EPS guidance by $0.30 to $8.40, driven by robust demand across its product lines and a record backlog of $8.2 billion. Management highlighted strong momentum in AI-driven solutions and recurring revenue growth of 18%, signaling a positive outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year.
Reported metrics
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Revenue | $1.633 billion (beat) |
| Non-GAAP EPS | $2.11 (beat) |
| Recurring Revenue Growth | 18% (neutral) |
| Backlog | $8.2 billion (positive) |
| Operating Margin (Non-GAAP) | 44.1% (inline) |
| Operating Cash Flow | $424 million (positive) |
Guidance from management
Cadence expects Q4 2026 revenue in the range of $1.695 billion to $1.725 billion and has raised its full-year revenue growth outlook to 21%. Non-GAAP EPS guidance for the year is now set at $8.40.
What management said
Yes, I'd agree with that, Anirudh. I mean it basically reflects strong demand across our software portfolio and healthy customer expansions and continued strength in core EDA. Yes, I think that's the way to look at it in terms of strong high teen growth in recurring revenue. We're very pleased with this.
Yes, thanks for the question. Yes, of course, we are very proud of the hardware growth. But as you know, we will break out recurring and nonrecurring growth. So like I was mentioning earlier, and John mentioned also, our recurring growth has improved from 11% last year to 18%. So that is not hardware. That's ex hardware because hardware will typically show up in nonrecurring growth. So that's a major improvement of o...
What analysts pressed on
Analysts expressed concerns regarding the sustainability of hardware growth and the impact of Hexagon's DD integration on margins. There were questions about the competitive landscape and how Cadence plans to maintain its market share amidst increasing competition in AI-driven design tools.
Main topics on the call
- Revenue Growth and Guidance — Cadence raised its revenue growth outlook for 2026 to 21%, up from previous estimates, indicating strong business momentum. CEO Anirudh Devgan stated, "Cadence delivered another outstanding quarter with all key metrics c...
- Record Backlog — The company reported a record backlog of $8.2 billion, reflecting strong bookings driven by increasing customer demand. John Wall noted that this backlog provides "good visibility" into future performance.
- AI Solutions and Customer Engagement — Cadence's AI-driven products, particularly the Agentic AI portfolio, are gaining traction with over 100 active customer engagements. Devgan emphasized that "Agentic AI represents a transformational market opportunity" fo...
- Recurring Revenue Growth — Recurring revenue grew 18% year-over-year, a slight decrease from 20% in the previous quarter. Devgan commented, "Recurring revenue is doing phenomenally well," indicating strong underlying demand.
Read the full Cadence Design Systems, Inc. transcript (Q3 FY2026) → Summary generated from the call transcript; every figure above is stated by management on the record.
About Cadence Design Systems, Inc.
Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (CDNS) is a publicly listed company in the Software industry, within the Information Technology sector. It trades on NasdaqGS and is based in US. EarningsCalls.dev maintains a free, full-text archive of its earnings call transcripts — 86 calls on record spanning February 12, 2020 to October 26, 2026. Every transcript is split into speaker-by-speaker segments with headline metrics, free to read or available through our REST API.
Earnings Call History
EarningsCalls.dev has 86 Cadence Design Systems, Inc. earnings call transcripts on record, spanning February 12, 2020 to October 26, 2026. Based on this history, Cadence Design Systems, Inc. reports quarterly. The most recent call on file is dated October 26, 2026. The full list is below — each row opens the complete, free-to-read transcript.
- Ticker
- CDNS
- Exchange
- NasdaqGS
- Country
- US
- Sector
- Information Technology
- Industry
- Software
- Calls on record
- 86
- First call
- February 12, 2020
- Most recent
- October 26, 2026
- Reporting cadence
- quarterly