Cadence Design Systems management check
CDNS · Information Technology · Application Software · CEO Anirudh Devgan
Filings as of
1 good · 5 to watch · 1 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Watch
Have owners done well?
Trailed its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2022 grew to $229, against $258 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Watch
Does pay follow performance?
Pay only loosely tracked returnsOver 4 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.15 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Flag
What does the CEO cost owners?
5.1% of net income$56.5m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $1.1bn of net income.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 1.2 years of payThe CEO holds 247,201 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 1.2 years of pay. Light activity: no buys, $70.3m sold in six months. 75 of 75 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Watch
Are owners being diluted?
Share count growingDiluted shares changed +0.1% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 8.6% of revenue in the latest year.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
2 CEOs in the pay tableCEOs in the pay table: Dr. Devgan, Mr. Tan. 7 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Information Technology.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 36 | 33 | |
| Pay for performance | 57 | 87 | |
| CEO cost | 0 | 35 | |
| Skin in the game | 39 | 47 | |
| Dilution | 49 | 56 | |
| Stable leadership | 50 | 85 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Application Software, by management score. Cadence Design Systems is 62nd of 73 in its sector.
- 72PLTRPalantir Technologies78
- 186FICOFair Isaac70
- 202CRMSalesforce68
- 264ADBEAdobe Inc.64
- 343DDOGDatadog59
- 350INTUIntuit58
- 405TYLTyler Technologies52
- 430ORCLOracle Corporation49
- 445CDNSCadence Design Systems47
- 456ADSKAutodesk44
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed March 25, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Dr. Devgan | $56.5m | $95.3m | $15.8m | $229 | $258 | $1.1bn |
| 2024 | Dr. Devgan | $19.3m | $28.7m | $5.5m | $220 | $208 | $1.1bn |
| 2023 | Dr. Devgan | $17.3m | $119.1m | $5.3m | $200 | $152 | $1.0bn |
| 2022 | Dr. Devgan, Mr. Tan | $32.2m | $60.4m | $10.3m | $118 | $97 | $849.0m |
The board says pay is tied most to Non-GAAP Operating Income. Its other key measures: Revenue, Stock Price Performance, Non-GAAP Operating Income Dollars, Non-GAAP Operating Income Margin.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Anirudh Devgan (President and CEO) held 247,201 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Sep 17, 2026, roughly $69.4m at that filing's price.
Light activity: no buys, $70.3m sold in six months. 75 of 75 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- SoldAnirudh DevganPresident and CEO · 10b5-1 plan$50.0mJun 2, 2026
- SoldPaul ScannellSr. Vice President · 10b5-1 plan$6.8mAug 26, 2026
- SoldChin-chi TengSr. Vice President · 10b5-1 plan$6.4mAug 21, 2026
- SoldPaul CunninghamSr. Vice President · 10b5-1 plan$3.7mOct 15, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- May 12, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 12, 2026Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Nov 17, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 26, 2025Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
- Dec 12, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 6, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 2, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 8, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 13, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 31, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jan 20, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 17, 2021Leadership change8-K/A 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: May 12, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $3.8bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 81% of net income, and $1.7bn of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $3.0bn | $3.6bn | $4.1bn | $4.6bn | $5.3bn |
| Net income | $696.0m | $849.0m | $1.0bn | $1.1bn | $1.1bn |
| Stock-based pay | $210.1m | $270.4m | $325.6m | $391.2m | $455.2m |
| Buybacks | $612.3m | $1.1bn | $700.1m | $550.0m | $925.0m |
| Dividends | — | — | — | — | — |
| Diluted shares | 279m | 275m | 273m | 274m | 273m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.