Which Is a Better Investment, Adobe Inc or Autodesk Inc Stock?

By AAII Staff
September 03, 2026
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Sifting through countless of stocks in the Software industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Autodesk, Inc. or Adobe Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Autodesk, Inc. and Adobe Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Autodesk, Inc. and Adobe Inc.

Autodesk, Inc. engages in the provision of 3D design, engineering, and entertainment technology solutions worldwide. The company offers AutoCAD Civil 3D, a surveying, design, analysis, and documentation solution; Autodesk Build, a toolset for managing, sharing, and accessing project documents for streamlined workflows between the office, trailer, and jobsite; Revit, a software built for building information modeling to help professionals design, build, and maintain energy-efficient buildings; Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro, cloud-based design collaboration and design management software; BuildingConnected, a SaaS preconstruction solution; and Tandem, a cloud-based platform that transforms the built asset lifecycle. It also provides AutoCAD software, a customizable and extensible CAD application for professional design, drafting, detailing, and visualization; AutoCAD LT, a drafting and detailing software; Fusion, a 3D CAD, computer-aided manufacturing, and computer-aided engineering tool; Inventor, a software solution that offers a set of tools for 3D mechanical design, simulation, analysis, tooling, visualization, and documentation; product design and manufacturing collection tools; and Vault, a data management software for managing data in one central location, accelerate design processes, and streamline internal/external collaboration. The company offers Flow Production Tracking, a cloud-based production management software; Maya software that offers 3D modeling, animation, effects, rendering, and compositing solutions for film and video artists, game developers, and design visualization professionals; Media and Entertainment Collection that offers end-to-end creative tools for entertainment creation; and 3ds Max software, which provides 3D modeling, animation, and rendering solutions. It sells its products and services through a network of resellers and distributors. Autodesk, Inc. was incorporated in 1982 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Adobe Inc. operates as a technology company worldwide. The Digital Media segment offers products and services that enable individuals, teams, and enterprises to create, publish, and promote content. This segment serves photographers, video editors, graphic and experience designers, game developers, content creators, students, marketers, business owners, knowledge workers, and consumers. The Digital Experience segment provides an integrated platform; and products, services, and solutions that enable brands and businesses to create, manage, execute, measure, monetize, and optimize customer experiences from analytics to commerce. This segment serves marketers, advertisers, agencies, publishers, merchandisers, merchants, web analysts, data scientists, developers, and executives across the C-suite. The Publishing and Advertising segment offers e-learning, technical document publishing, web conferencing, document and forms platform, web application development, printing, and Adobe Advertising solutions. It also provides consulting, training, customer management, technical support, and learning services. The company offers its solutions to enterprise customers, and businesses and consumers; and licenses its products to end-user customers through app stores and website at adobe.com. It markets and distributes its products through distributors, retailers, software developers, mobile app stores, systems integrators, independent software vendors, value-added resellers, and original equipment and hardware manufacturers. The company also provides an online visibility management and content marketing software-as-a-service platform. The company has a strategic alliance with HUMAIN for the development of generative AI models and AI-powered applications. The company was formerly known as Adobe Systems Incorporated and changed its name to Adobe Inc. in October 2018. Adobe Inc. was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.

Latest Software and Autodesk, Inc., Adobe Inc. Stock News

As of September 2, 2026, Autodesk, Inc. had a $50.5 billion market capitalization, compared to the Software median of $1.0 million. Autodesk, Inc.’s stock is down 17.7% in 2026, down 9.9% in the previous five trading days and down 24.26% in the past year.

Currently, Autodesk, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 31.3. Autodesk, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $7.8 billion with a 21.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 16.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $12.595 per share for the current fiscal year. Autodesk, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

As of September 2, 2026, Adobe Inc. had a $111.2 billion market cap, putting it in the 97th percentile of all stocks. Adobe Inc.’s stock is down 18.3% in 2026, down 1.1% in the previous five trading days and down 19.05% in the past year.

Currently, Adobe Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 16.0. Adobe Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $25.2 billion with a 28.7% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 12.7%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $24.411 per share for the current fiscal year. Adobe Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare Autodesk, Inc. and Adobe Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Autodesk, Inc. and Adobe Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Autodesk, Inc. and Adobe Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company Ticker Value
Autodesk, Inc. ADSK F
Adobe Inc. ADBE C

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Autodesk, Inc. has a Value Score of 19, which is Ultra Expensive. Adobe Inc. has a Value Score of 45, which is Average.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Autodesk, Inc. or Adobe Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Autodesk, Inc. or Adobe Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

Autodesk, Inc. and Adobe Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company Ticker Momentum
Autodesk, Inc. ADSK D
Adobe Inc. ADBE D

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Autodesk, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 27, which is Weak. Adobe Inc. has a Momentum Score of 32, which is Weak.

The Momentum Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Autodesk, Inc. or Adobe Inc. has a strong enough Momentum Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Autodesk, Inc. or Adobe Inc. is the better investment when it comes to momentum.

Autodesk, Inc. and Adobe Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company Ticker Earnings Estimate
Autodesk, Inc. ADSK B
Adobe Inc. ADBE B

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

Autodesk, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 64, which is Positive. Adobe Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 65, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, both Autodesk, Inc. and Adobe Inc. have a grade of B. For those focusing solely on a company’s estimate revisions, other financial metrics will need to be evaluated to determine whether Autodesk, Inc. or Adobe Inc. is a better fit.

Don’t Forget Your Free Special Report on How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Investment Decisions

Other Autodesk, Inc. and Adobe Inc. Grades

In addition to Value, Momentum and Estimate Revisions, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Quality.

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Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Autodesk, Inc. and Adobe Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Autodesk, Inc. or Adobe Inc. Stock?

Overall, Autodesk, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 19, Momentum Score of 27 and Estimate Revisions Score of 64.

Adobe Inc. stock has a Value Score of 45, Momentum Score of 32 and Estimate Revisions Score of 65.

Comparing Autodesk, Inc. and Adobe Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

Learn More About A+ Investor

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.



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