Cadence Design Systems announces Q3 2026 results

Item 2.02. Results of Operations and Financial Condition.

On October 26, 2026 Cadence Design Systems, Inc. ("Cadence") issued a press release announcing its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2026.¹

A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.01 and a copy of the commentary by the Chief Financial Officer of Cadence regarding Cadence's financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2026 is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.02², and the press release and the commentary are incorporated herein by reference.

The information contained in this Item 2.02 of this Current Report, including Exhibits 99.1 and 99.2 attached hereto, shall not be deemed "filed" for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), or incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such a filing.

Item 8.01. Other Events.

On October 23, 2026, the board of directors of Cadence approved the repurchase of up to an additional $2.5 billion of the Company's common stock under its existing share repurchase program.⁷ The Company may repurchase shares from time to time through open market purchases, in privately negotiated transactions or by other means, including accelerated share repurchase transactions or other structured repurchase transactions, block trades or pursuant to trading plans intended to comply with Rule 10b5-1 of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The actual timing and amount of future repurchases are subject to business and market conditions, corporate and regulatory requirements, stock price, acquisition opportunities and other factors. The share repurchase program does not have an expiration date and may be modified, suspended or terminated by the Company at any time without prior notice.⁸

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits

Exhibit No. Description

99.01

Press Release issued by Cadence Design Systems, Inc. on October 26, 2026.

99.02

CFO Commentary on Results of Quarter Ended September 30, 2026.

104 Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document).

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

Dated: October 26, 2026

CADENCE DESIGN SYSTEMS, INC.

By: /s/ John M. Wall

John M. Wall

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

PRESS RELEASE

Exhibit 99.01

Cadence Reports Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results

SAN JOSE, Calif. — October 26, 2026 — Cadence (Nasdaq: CDNS) today announced results for the third quarter of 2026.

Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results

• Cadence used $400 million to repurchase Cadence shares.⁹ Underscoring Cadence's continued commitment to returning capital to shareholders, Cadence's Board of Directors has authorized an additional $2.5 billion for Cadence's share repurchase program.

• Quarter-end backlog was $8.2 billion and revenue expected to be recognized in the next 12 months from remaining performance obligations was $4.2 billion.⁶

"Cadence delivered an outstanding third quarter. With broad-based business momentum, expanding technology leadership and a record backlog, we are raising our 2026 revenue outlook to 21% year-over-year growth," said Anirudh Devgan, president and chief executive officer. "With the launch of Maestro, our portfolio of domain specialized AI models for chip and system design, and the accelerating deployment of our AI Super Agents, Cadence is exceptionally well positioned to capitalize on the transformational Agentic AI opportunity."

"Q3 revenue grew 22% year-over-year, with strong double-digit growth across all product categories, driven by growing momentum from AI-driven designs," said John Wall, senior vice president and chief financial officer. "With record backlog of $8.2 billion and continued strength in recurring revenue, we are poised to deliver a strong 2026."

CFO Commentary

Commentary on the third quarter of 2026 financial results by John Wall, senior vice president and chief financial officer, is available at www.cadence.com/cadence/investor_relations.

Business Outlook

For fiscal year 2026, the company expects:

• Revenue in the range of $6.387 billion to $6.417 billion¹⁰

• GAAP operating margin in the range of 28.2% to 29.2%

• Non-GAAP operating margin in the range of 44.2% to 45.2%

• GAAP diluted net income per share in the range of $4.84 to $4.90

• Non-GAAP diluted net income per share in the range of $8.37 to $8.43¹⁰

The company utilizes a long-term projected non-GAAP tax rate, which reflects currently available information, as well as other factors and assumptions. The non-GAAP tax rate is subject to change for a variety of reasons, including the rapidly evolving global tax environment, significant changes in the company's geographic earnings mix, or other changes to the company's strategy or business operations. The company expects to use the current normalized non-GAAP tax rate through fiscal 2026 but will re-evaluate this rate periodically for significant items that may materially affect its projections.

Reconciliations of the financial results and business outlook from GAAP operating margin, GAAP net income and GAAP diluted net income per share to non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP diluted net income per share, respectively, are included in this press release. Revenue growth outlook is based on the midpoint of the range.

Business Highlights

• Launched Maestro, a portfolio of domain-specialized AI models purpose-built for chip and system design, delivering initial workflow results of up to 30% higher quality and 5X greater token efficiency versus general-purpose foundation models, with several customer deployments underway

• Cadence AI Super Agents continued to gain momentum with more than 100 active customer engagements, delivering significant productivity and design improvements across digital, analog and custom, and system design workflows

• Core EDA revenue grew 20% year-over-year, driven by broad-based strength across the portfolio, including 16 new digital and signoff full-flow wins and growing adoption among memory and hyperscaler customers

• Hardware delivered another record quarter, fueled by meaningful expansions with marquee customers and strong growth in Cadence's hardware cloud offering

• IP revenue increased 24% year-over-year, driven by strong demand for Cadence's differentiated Star IP portfolio across interface, memory and foundation IP, and continued engagement with leading hyperscalers, semiconductor companies and foundries

• System Design and Analysis revenue grew 30% year-over-year, driven by continued strength in Cadence's PCB and advanced packaging solutions, strong adoption of the Millennium platform and growing momentum across Cadence's physical SDA portfolio

Audio Webcast Scheduled

Anirudh Devgan, president and chief executive officer, and John Wall, senior vice president and chief financial officer, will host the third quarter 2026 financial results audio webcast today, October 26, 2026, at 2 p.m. (Pacific) / 5 p.m. (Eastern). Attendees are asked to register at the website at least 10 minutes prior to the scheduled webcast. An archive of the webcast