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Side-by-side financial comparison of ACACIA RESEARCH CORP (ACTG) and PDF SOLUTIONS INC (PDFS). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

PDF SOLUTIONS INC is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($62.4M vs $50.1M, roughly 1.2× ACACIA RESEARCH CORP). ACACIA RESEARCH CORP runs the higher net margin — 6.8% vs -0.1%, a 6.9% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, PDF SOLUTIONS INC posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (24.6% vs 2.6%). Over the past eight quarters, ACACIA RESEARCH CORP's revenue compounded faster (43.6% CAGR vs 22.9%).

Acacia Research Corporation is a publicly traded American company based in New York City. It acquires and operates businesses in industries including the technology, energy, and industrial/manufacturing sectors. Acacia has a strategic relationship with Starboard Value, LP, the company's controlling shareholder. The company has been characterized as a patent troll.

PDF Solutions, Inc. is an American multinational software and engineering services company based in Santa Clara, California. The company is listed in the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol PDFS.

ACTG vs PDFS — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
PDFS
PDFS
1.2× larger
PDFS
$62.4M
$50.1M
ACTG
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
PDFS
PDFS
+22.0% gap
PDFS
24.6%
2.6%
ACTG
Higher net margin
ACTG
ACTG
6.9% more per $
ACTG
6.8%
-0.1%
PDFS
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
ACTG
ACTG
Annualised
ACTG
43.6%
22.9%
PDFS

Income Statement — Q4 FY2025 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
ACTG
ACTG
PDFS
PDFS
Revenue
$50.1M
$62.4M
Net Profit
$3.4M
$-48.0K
Gross Margin
12.8%
72.9%
Operating Margin
-26.1%
5.5%
Net Margin
6.8%
-0.1%
Revenue YoY
2.6%
24.6%
Net Profit YoY
125.5%
-108.9%
EPS (diluted)
$0.03
$0.00

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
ACTG
ACTG
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$50.1M
$62.4M
Q3 25
$59.4M
$57.1M
Q2 25
$51.2M
$51.7M
Q1 25
$124.4M
$47.8M
Q4 24
$48.8M
$50.1M
Q3 24
$23.3M
$46.4M
Q2 24
$25.8M
$41.7M
Q1 24
$24.3M
$41.3M
Net Profit
ACTG
ACTG
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$3.4M
$-48.0K
Q3 25
$-2.7M
$1.3M
Q2 25
$-3.3M
$1.1M
Q1 25
$24.3M
$-3.0M
Q4 24
$-13.4M
$539.0K
Q3 24
$-14.0M
$2.2M
Q2 24
$-8.4M
$1.7M
Q1 24
$-186.0K
$-393.0K
Gross Margin
ACTG
ACTG
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
12.8%
72.9%
Q3 25
21.2%
72.3%
Q2 25
12.8%
71.2%
Q1 25
47.4%
72.9%
Q4 24
17.6%
68.3%
Q3 24
10.1%
73.1%
Q2 24
26.2%
70.6%
Q1 24
49.2%
67.3%
Operating Margin
ACTG
ACTG
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
-26.1%
5.5%
Q3 25
-10.8%
8.5%
Q2 25
-24.2%
2.2%
Q1 25
30.8%
-7.4%
Q4 24
-32.4%
1.0%
Q3 24
-44.1%
4.6%
Q2 24
-18.4%
0.6%
Q1 24
-8.6%
-4.7%
Net Margin
ACTG
ACTG
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
6.8%
-0.1%
Q3 25
-4.6%
2.3%
Q2 25
-6.4%
2.2%
Q1 25
19.5%
-6.3%
Q4 24
-27.5%
1.1%
Q3 24
-60.0%
4.8%
Q2 24
-32.7%
4.1%
Q1 24
-0.8%
-1.0%
EPS (diluted)
ACTG
ACTG
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$0.03
$0.00
Q3 25
$-0.03
$0.03
Q2 25
$-0.03
$0.03
Q1 25
$0.25
$-0.08
Q4 24
$-0.14
$0.01
Q3 24
$-0.14
$0.06
Q2 24
$-0.08
$0.04
Q1 24
$0.00
$-0.01

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
ACTG
ACTG
PDFS
PDFS
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$306.7M
$42.2M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$91.9M
$67.0M
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$543.5M
$271.0M
Total Assets
$771.0M
$418.7M
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.17×
0.25×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
ACTG
ACTG
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$306.7M
$42.2M
Q3 25
$301.8M
$35.9M
Q2 25
$316.7M
$40.4M
Q1 25
$272.0M
$54.1M
Q4 24
$273.9M
$114.9M
Q3 24
$410.9M
$120.2M
Q2 24
$441.9M
$117.9M
Q1 24
$498.4M
$122.9M
Total Debt
ACTG
ACTG
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$91.9M
$67.0M
Q3 25
$67.6M
Q2 25
$68.1M
Q1 25
$68.7M
Q4 24
Q3 24
Q2 24
Q1 24
Stockholders' Equity
ACTG
ACTG
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$543.5M
$271.0M
Q3 25
$537.6M
$264.4M
Q2 25
$538.6M
$257.5M
Q1 25
$540.2M
$249.0M
Q4 24
$514.8M
$246.0M
Q3 24
$540.2M
$240.5M
Q2 24
$560.7M
$232.2M
Q1 24
$568.3M
$225.4M
Total Assets
ACTG
ACTG
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$771.0M
$418.7M
Q3 25
$768.9M
$406.4M
Q2 25
$775.5M
$391.1M
Q1 25
$801.6M
$390.0M
Q4 24
$756.4M
$315.3M
Q3 24
$707.6M
$307.4M
Q2 24
$753.6M
$298.0M
Q1 24
$631.7M
$286.8M
Debt / Equity
ACTG
ACTG
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
0.17×
0.25×
Q3 25
0.26×
Q2 25
0.26×
Q1 25
0.28×
Q4 24
Q3 24
Q2 24
Q1 24

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
ACTG
ACTG
PDFS
PDFS
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$75.2M
$17.3M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$7.5M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
12.1%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
15.7%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
22.01×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$-8.6M

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
ACTG
ACTG
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$75.2M
$17.3M
Q3 25
$9.5M
$3.3M
Q2 25
$50.1M
$-5.2M
Q1 25
$2.4M
$8.6M
Q4 24
$50.1M
$1.6M
Q3 24
$-593.0K
$9.3M
Q2 24
$16.1M
$684.0K
Q1 24
$54.8M
$-1.9M
Free Cash Flow
ACTG
ACTG
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
$7.5M
Q3 25
$-2.9M
Q2 25
$-13.8M
Q1 25
$335.0K
$535.0K
Q4 24
$-98.5M
$-4.0M
Q3 24
$-2.8M
$5.1M
Q2 24
$-126.7M
$-4.6M
Q1 24
$54.6M
$-3.9M
FCF Margin
ACTG
ACTG
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
12.1%
Q3 25
-5.1%
Q2 25
-26.6%
Q1 25
0.3%
1.1%
Q4 24
-201.8%
-8.0%
Q3 24
-12.1%
11.0%
Q2 24
-490.5%
-11.1%
Q1 24
224.4%
-9.4%
Capex Intensity
ACTG
ACTG
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
15.7%
Q3 25
10.8%
Q2 25
16.5%
Q1 25
1.7%
17.0%
Q4 24
304.4%
11.3%
Q3 24
9.6%
9.0%
Q2 24
553.0%
12.8%
Q1 24
1.1%
4.9%
Cash Conversion
ACTG
ACTG
PDFS
PDFS
Q4 25
22.01×
Q3 25
2.54×
Q2 25
-4.55×
Q1 25
0.10×
Q4 24
2.98×
Q3 24
4.20×
Q2 24
0.40×
Q1 24

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

ACTG
ACTG

Energy Operations$16.0M32%
Transportation Safety$10.4M21%
Office Storage And Display Solutions$8.4M17%
Printers Consumables And Parts$6.5M13%
Natural Gas Reserves$5.1M10%
Natural Gas Liquids Reserves$3.3M7%

PDFS
PDFS

Volumebased$38.0M61%
Other$24.4M39%

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