The software and licensed blueprints used to design every AI chip before a fab ever touches it.
Sorted by one-month move. “Vs target” compares the current price with the mean analyst price target — a figure from analysts, not from us.
| Company | Price · todayThe latest closing price, and how far it moved from the previous close in dollars and percent. | 1 MonthPrice change since the last close on or before the same date one month ago — a calendar month, not 21 trading days. | 1 YearPrice change since the last close on or before the same date one year ago. | Vs targetHow far the price sits below the average of analysts’ published 12-month price targets. Negative means the price has already risen past that average.Analysts’ figures, not ours. Not a forecast we make or endorse. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARMArm Holdings | $275.61+$10.71 (+4.04%) | ▲ 8.8% | ▲ 88% | ▲ 5%$125 … $500 |
| SNPSSynopsys | $384.97+$3.80 (+1.00%) | ▼ 4.8% | ▼ 20% | ▲ 42%$415 … $633 |
| CDNSCadence | $282.90+$2.14 (+0.76%) | ▼ 10.6% | ▼ 23% | ▲ 42%$300 … $470 |
As of close, Sep 18, 2026 · prices from Yahoo Finance
Data: daily close · Reporting, not recommendations · Not financial advice.
Before a chip is manufactured it is designed and simulated entirely in software. This sector sells those tools, plus the pre-built circuit blocks that designers license rather than build from scratch.
It is an unusually durable business. The tools are deeply embedded in customer workflows, sold on multi-year agreements, and the licensed building blocks earn royalties for as long as chips using them keep shipping — which decouples revenue from any single chip cycle.
What moves it: chip design starts, licence renewals, royalty rates, and adoption of new instruction-set architectures.
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Electronic design automation — the software used to design, simulate and verify a chip before manufacturing. Nothing at modern complexity is designed without it.
Pre-built, pre-verified circuit blocks that a chip designer licenses instead of building themselves. Buying a proven block saves years of work and reduces the risk of a costly re-spin.
Revenue comes from subscriptions and royalties tied to designs already in progress, rather than from units shipped this quarter. Design work also continues through downturns, since the chips are needed on the other side.