Cadence Design Systems reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $1.633 billion, up 22% year on year, and EPS of $2.11. It raised full-year guidance to 21% growth, while backlog reached a record $8.2 billion, with the launch of Maestro AI indicating an acceleration in the AI-driven design boom.
Cadence reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $1.633 billion, up 22% year on year, and non-GAAP EPS of $2.11, and raised its full-year growth outlook to 21%. Backlog reached a record $8.2 billion, while recurring revenue growth accelerated to 18% from 11% the previous year. All product groups posted double-digit growth, with core EDA up 20%, IP up 24% and SDA up 30%.
At the earnings call, CEO Anirudh Devgan (アニルド・デブガン) said that backlog was at a record high and explained that the Palladium and Protium emulation platforms were supporting demand from AI and HPC customers. Financial targets were updated, including full-year non-GAAP EPS of $8.40. Operating cash flow was approximately $424 million, the cash balance was approximately $1.452 billion, and approximately $400 million in share repurchases had been completed.
The launch of the domain-specific AI model portfolio known as Maestro was the main topic. The company said it delivers up to 30% higher quality and up to five times greater token efficiency. Honda, MediaTek, Renesas, Samsung Foundry, Socionext and Nokia were among the early adopters, and demand for the agentic AI portfolio is rising rapidly.
The share of systems companies in the business also expanded to 45%. The company indicated that hyperscalers, automakers and financial institutions are increasingly entering chip design. Following the full-year guidance upgrade, quarter-end backlog remained at $8.2 billion. The outlook issued after the quarterly earnings call calls for fourth-quarter revenue of approximately $1.695 billion to $1.725 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $2.19 to $2.25.