Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. DDOG scored 48.0, GEN scored 82.2 — GEN leads.
Compare another set
DDOG
Datadog, Inc.
Software - Application · Quality-Growth
48
$293.26 · $105.3B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
34.2
GEN leads
GEN
Gen Digital Inc.
Software - Infrastructure · Quality-Growth
82.2
$23.25 · $13.9B
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 qualityGEN80 / 100
Largest discount to fair valueGEN-42%
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
DDOG
stronger →← stronger
GEN
43
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
80
93
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
88
28
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
79
GEN is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
DDOG
GEN
$1.1bC+
FCF
$1.5bC+
+27.7%A-
Rev
+27.1%A-
0.29B
D/E
3.08D
26.5xD
P/S
—
1.41B
PEG
1.17B+
—
P/E
13.6xA-
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
DDOG
GEN
498% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
42% below
>60%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~-4%/yr
-87%
1-yr DCF upside
+51%
-83%
5-yr DCF upside
+73%
-76%
10-yr DCF upside
+108%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
DDOG
No notable signals flagged.
GEN
Why this score
Buying back stock
Durable high returns
The companies
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.
GENGen Digital Inc.
Software - Infrastructure · $23.25 · beta 1.26
Why now
Software - Infrastructure · market cap $13.9b. Down 27% from 52-week high of $31.65 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +27% — in hypergrowth territory. 9 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $32.56 (implying +40% upside).
Moat
Net margin 21% sits well above the S&P median (~11%) — suggests structural pricing advantage or cost discipline competitors can't quickly close. ROE 42% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. FCF converts 147% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
D/E 3.08 is elevated — limits strategic flexibility and raises refinancing exposure if rates stay higher for longer. 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.
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 DDOG and GEN diverge
On the headline score the gap is 34.2 points in favor of GEN. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.
ValueDDOG 27.8 · GEN 78.6GEN +50.8
QualityDDOG 43.0 · GEN 80.1GEN +37.1
GrowthDDOG 92.7 · GEN 88.2DDOG +4.5
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 GEN or DDOG the better stock?
GEN scores higher: GEN 82.2, 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 GEN and DDOG differ most?
The widest gap is value, where GEN leads by 51 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 GEN 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.