Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. ADBE scored 85.4, DDOG scored 48.0 — ADBE leads.
Compare another set
ADBE
Adobe Inc.
Software - Application · Quality-Growth
85.4
$242.27 · $94.3B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
37.4
ADBE leads
DDOG
Datadog, Inc.
Software - Application · Quality-Growth
48
$293.26 · $105.3B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
Fastest growthDDOG+27.7%
Strongest balance sheetDDOG0.29
Highest qualityADBE92 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueADBE-35%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
ADBE
stronger →← stronger
DDOG
92
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
43
80
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
93
85
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
28
ADBE is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
ADBE
DDOG
$10.6bA-
FCF
$1.1bC+
+10.5%B
Rev
+27.7%A-
0.58C+
D/E
0.29B
13.5xA-
P/E
—
0.58A-
PEG
1.41B
—
P/S
26.5xD
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
ADBE
DDOG
35% below
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
498% above
~-2%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
>60%/yr
+37%
1-yr DCF upside
-87%
+53%
5-yr DCF upside
-83%
+80%
10-yr DCF upside
-76%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
ADBE
Why this score
Buying back stock
Durable high returns
DDOG
No notable signals flagged.
The companies
ADBEAdobe Inc.
Software - Application · $242.27 · beta 1.42
Why now
Software - Application · market cap $94.3b. Down 33% from 52-week high of $363.70 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +11%, comfortably above the S&P median. PEG 0.58 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 32 sell-side analysts rate this a Hold with a mean 1-yr target of $275.06 (implying +14% upside).
Moat
Net margin 28% sits well above the S&P median (~11%) — suggests structural pricing advantage or cost discipline competitors can't quickly close. ROE 62% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. FCF converts 145% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Down 33% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up. Beta 1.42 implies above-market volatility — position-size to the drawdowns this name will produce in a market correction, not to its bull-case return. Software — competitive moat is durable until it isn't; watch net revenue retention, gross margin trends, and any new market entrant with a fundamentally lower price point.
DDOGDatadog, Inc.
Software - Application · $293.26 · beta 1.51
Why now
Software - Application · market cap $105.3b. Trading near 52-week high of $294.00 — momentum setup, limited technical margin of safety. Revenue growing +28% — in hypergrowth territory. 47 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $287.83 (implying -2% upside).
Moat
Free cash flow runs well ahead of reported net income, mostly because of stock-based pay ($823m) — a real cost to shareholders, paid in shares rather than cash. $105.3b market cap gives the company enough scale to absorb fixed costs that subscale competitors can't, without yet being so large that growth has to come from acquisition. Software economics — recurring revenue, embedded customer workflows, and high gross margin all compound the moat once a base account is won. Switching costs are the lever.
Risk
Trading within 0% of the 52-week high — limited technical margin of safety; a momentum reversal would test conviction. Beta 1.51 implies above-market volatility — position-size to the drawdowns this name will produce in a market correction, not to its bull-case return. P/S 26.5x embeds aggressive forward growth — disappointing top-line guidance would compress the multiple hard.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where ADBE and DDOG diverge
On the headline score the gap is 37.4 points in favor of ADBE. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.
ValueADBE 84.8 · DDOG 27.8ADBE +57.0
QualityADBE 92.1 · DDOG 43.0ADBE +49.1
GrowthADBE 79.7 · DDOG 92.7DDOG +13.0
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is ADBE or DDOG the better stock?
ADBE scores higher: ADBE 85.4, DDOG 48.0 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do ADBE and DDOG differ most?
The widest gap is value, where ADBE leads by 57 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. Neither name sweeps: they trade the lead across the three pillars, so the comparison is a trade-off rather than one being better on every measure.
How are ADBE and DDOG scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.