vs

Side-by-side financial comparison of AAR CORP (AIR) and Cadence Design Systems (CDNS). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

Cadence Design Systems is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.3B vs $795.3M, roughly 1.6× AAR CORP). Cadence Design Systems runs the higher net margin — 22.8% vs 4.4%, a 18.4% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, AAR CORP posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (15.9% vs -16.1%). Cadence Design Systems produced more free cash flow last quarter ($464.0M vs $6.2M).

AAR Corp. is an American provider of aircraft maintenance services to commercial and government customers worldwide. The company is headquartered in Wood Dale, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. The company employs about 6,000 people, operating in about 30 different countries. John Holmes is the current CEO.

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. is an American multinational technology and computational software company headquartered in San Jose, California. Initially specialized in electronic design automation (EDA) software for the semiconductor industry, currently the company makes software and hardware for designing products such as integrated circuits, systems on chips (SoCs), printed circuit boards, and pharmaceutical drugs, also licensing intellectual property for the electronics, aerospace, defense an...

AIR vs CDNS — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
CDNS
CDNS
1.6× larger
CDNS
$1.3B
$795.3M
AIR
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
AIR
AIR
+32.0% gap
AIR
15.9%
-16.1%
CDNS
Higher net margin
CDNS
CDNS
18.4% more per $
CDNS
22.8%
4.4%
AIR
More free cash flow
CDNS
CDNS
$457.8M more FCF
CDNS
$464.0M
$6.2M
AIR

Income Statement — Q2 FY2026 vs Q1 FY2026

Metric
AIR
AIR
CDNS
CDNS
Revenue
$795.3M
$1.3B
Net Profit
$34.6M
$335.7M
Gross Margin
19.7%
Operating Margin
6.0%
29.3%
Net Margin
4.4%
22.8%
Revenue YoY
15.9%
-16.1%
Net Profit YoY
213.1%
22.7%
EPS (diluted)
$0.90
$1.00

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
AIR
AIR
CDNS
CDNS
Q1 26
$1.3B
Q4 25
$795.3M
$1.4B
Q3 25
$739.6M
$1.3B
Q2 25
$1.3B
Q1 25
$1.2B
Q4 24
$1.4B
Q3 24
$1.2B
Q2 24
$1.1B
Net Profit
AIR
AIR
CDNS
CDNS
Q1 26
$335.7M
Q4 25
$34.6M
$388.1M
Q3 25
$34.4M
$287.1M
Q2 25
$160.1M
Q1 25
$273.6M
Q4 24
$340.2M
Q3 24
$238.1M
Q2 24
$229.5M
Gross Margin
AIR
AIR
CDNS
CDNS
Q1 26
Q4 25
19.7%
Q3 25
18.1%
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
Q3 24
Q2 24
Operating Margin
AIR
AIR
CDNS
CDNS
Q1 26
29.3%
Q4 25
6.0%
32.2%
Q3 25
6.4%
31.8%
Q2 25
19.0%
Q1 25
29.1%
Q4 24
33.7%
Q3 24
28.8%
Q2 24
27.7%
Net Margin
AIR
AIR
CDNS
CDNS
Q1 26
22.8%
Q4 25
4.4%
27.0%
Q3 25
4.7%
21.4%
Q2 25
12.5%
Q1 25
22.0%
Q4 24
25.1%
Q3 24
19.6%
Q2 24
21.6%
EPS (diluted)
AIR
AIR
CDNS
CDNS
Q1 26
$1.00
Q4 25
$0.90
$1.42
Q3 25
$0.95
$1.05
Q2 25
$0.59
Q1 25
$1.00
Q4 24
$1.23
Q3 24
$0.87
Q2 24
$0.84

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

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

Metric
AIR
AIR
CDNS
CDNS
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$75.6M
$2.8B
Total DebtLower is stronger
$952.7M
$2.5B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$1.6B
$6.6B
Total Assets
$3.2B
$12.1B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.61×
0.38×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
AIR
AIR
CDNS
CDNS
Q1 26
$2.8B
Q4 25
$75.6M
$3.2B
Q3 25
$80.0M
$2.8B
Q2 25
$2.8B
Q1 25
$2.8B
Q4 24
$2.8B
Q3 24
$2.8B
Q2 24
$1.1B
Total Debt
AIR
AIR
CDNS
CDNS
Q1 26
$2.5B
Q4 25
$952.7M
Q3 25
$1.0B
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
Q3 24
Q2 24
Stockholders' Equity
AIR
AIR
CDNS
CDNS
Q1 26
$6.6B
Q4 25
$1.6B
$5.5B
Q3 25
$1.2B
$5.2B
Q2 25
$5.0B
Q1 25
$4.8B
Q4 24
$4.7B
Q3 24
$4.6B
Q2 24
$4.3B
Total Assets
AIR
AIR
CDNS
CDNS
Q1 26
$12.1B
Q4 25
$3.2B
$10.2B
Q3 25
$2.9B
$9.6B
Q2 25
$9.5B
Q1 25
$9.0B
Q4 24
$9.0B
Q3 24
$9.2B
Q2 24
$7.2B
Debt / Equity
AIR
AIR
CDNS
CDNS
Q1 26
0.38×
Q4 25
0.61×
Q3 25
0.82×
Q2 25
Q1 25
Q4 24
Q3 24
Q2 24

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

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

Metric
AIR
AIR
CDNS
CDNS
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$13.6M
$355.8M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$6.2M
$464.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
0.8%
36.4%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
0.9%
5.1%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
0.39×
1.06×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$1.6B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
AIR
AIR
CDNS
CDNS
Q1 26
$355.8M
Q4 25
$13.6M
$553.5M
Q3 25
$-44.9M
$310.7M
Q2 25
$377.6M
Q1 25
$487.0M
Q4 24
$441.4M
Q3 24
$410.0M
Q2 24
$156.0M
Free Cash Flow
AIR
AIR
CDNS
CDNS
Q1 26
$464.0M
Q4 25
$6.2M
$512.5M
Q3 25
$-53.6M
$277.0M
Q2 25
$333.5M
Q1 25
$464.0M
Q4 24
$404.2M
Q3 24
$383.5M
Q2 24
$126.8M
FCF Margin
AIR
AIR
CDNS
CDNS
Q1 26
36.4%
Q4 25
0.8%
35.6%
Q3 25
-7.2%
20.7%
Q2 25
26.1%
Q1 25
37.3%
Q4 24
29.8%
Q3 24
31.5%
Q2 24
12.0%
Capex Intensity
AIR
AIR
CDNS
CDNS
Q1 26
5.1%
Q4 25
0.9%
2.8%
Q3 25
1.2%
2.5%
Q2 25
3.5%
Q1 25
1.9%
Q4 24
2.7%
Q3 24
2.2%
Q2 24
2.8%
Cash Conversion
AIR
AIR
CDNS
CDNS
Q1 26
1.06×
Q4 25
0.39×
1.43×
Q3 25
-1.31×
1.08×
Q2 25
2.36×
Q1 25
1.78×
Q4 24
1.30×
Q3 24
1.72×
Q2 24
0.68×

Financial Flow Comparison

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

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

AIR
AIR

Commercial Customer$268.1M34%
Repair And Engineering$244.5M31%
Integrated Solutions$175.8M22%
Government And Defense Customer$85.5M11%
Expeditionary Services$21.4M3%

CDNS
CDNS

Product and Maintenance$1.1B87%
Services$131.0M10%
Other$33.0M3%

Related Comparisons