Key Highlights

  • Synopsys reported fiscal third-quarter Revenue of $2.477bn, up 42% year on year, in its first full year including the Ansys acquisition.
  • Cadence Design Systems reported second-quarter revenue of $1.584bn, up 24%, ending the quarter with a record Backlog of $8.1bn.
  • Autodesk reported fiscal second-quarter revenue of $2.046bn, up 16%, with its architecture, engineering, construction and operations Business growing 17% to $1.029bn.

Every advanced chip and almost every building, bridge or manufactured product now begins life as software. That makes a small group of engineering-software companies unusually important to the S&P 500, and unusually exposed to the artificial-intelligence boom, because the tools used to design AI chips are themselves selling faster than ever. Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS) and Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNS) dominate electronic design automation, the software that lays out semiconductors, while Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) designs the physical world of buildings, infrastructure and products. All three run on recurring, subscription-like revenue, and all three are weaving AI into their tools. Their latest results show why engineering software has become one of the more resilient corners of the index.

Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS) and Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNS): The Chip-Design Duopoly

Synopsys, the largest electronic-design-automation and semiconductor-IP company, reported fiscal third-quarter revenue of $2.477bn for the period ended 31 July 2026, published on 26 August, a 42% increase on the year. Its Design Automation segment generated $2.003bn and Design IP $473.8m, while non-GAAP Earnings reached $3.91 a share. The results were the first full year of contribution from its large Acquisition of simulation specialist Ansys, which closed in 2025 and broadens Synopsys from chip design into wider engineering simulation. Chief executive Sassine Ghazi said AI was driving unprecedented complexity and Demand for silicon IP.

Cadence Design Systems, the other half of the EDA duopoly, reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $1.584bn on 27 July, up 24% year on year. It ended the quarter with a record backlog of $8.1bn, and revenue from its design-IP business grew more than 40%. Non-GAAP earnings were $2.11 a share. Chief executive Anirudh Devgan pointed to an agentic AI transformation in semiconductor design as customers adopt more automated design tools, and the company lifted its full-year outlook to about 19% revenue growth, or $6.26bn to $6.34bn, with non-GAAP earnings of $8.10 a share.

Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK): The Same Model, a Different World

Autodesk applies the same subscription model to a different domain: software for architecture, engineering and construction, and for Manufacturing and media. In its fiscal 2027 second quarter, ended 31 July 2026 and reported on 27 August, revenue rose 16% to $2.046bn, with Net Income of $492m and non-GAAP earnings of $3.30 a share. Its architecture, engineering, construction and operations business grew 17% to $1.029bn, and manufacturing rose 15%. Chief executive Andrew Anagnost highlighted AI that turns connected data and context into actionable project intelligence, while the company raised its full-year revenue and billings guidance, aided by its acquisition of maintenance-software firm MaintainX.

Different Growth, Shared Risks

The three sit at different points on the growth spectrum. Synopsys and Cadence are compounding at 20% to 40% as the complexity of AI chips forces designers to buy ever more automation and pre-built IP, effectively selling picks and shovels to the entire semiconductor industry. Autodesk grows more sedately, in the mid-teens, tied to construction and manufacturing budgets that are steadier but more macro-sensitive. The EDA pair carry high valuations and real exposure to US export controls that restrict chip-design sales to China, plus the integration risk of the Ansys deal. Autodesk faces slower growth, a multi-year change to how it transacts with customers, and competition, though its entrenched position in design workflows offers ballast.

The shared appeal is Recurring Revenue tied to mission-critical work that customers cannot easily abandon. Readers should watch backlog and remaining performance obligations as forward indicators, the pace at which AI features convert into paid usage, the Ansys integration at Synopsys, and any tightening of China export rules, the single clearest threat to the EDA growth story and the one most outside management's control.