Reviewing The Descartes Systems Group (NASDAQ:DSGX) and Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE)

The Descartes Systems Group (NASDAQ:DSGX) and Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation and risk.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

77.7% of The Descartes Systems Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.8% of Adobe shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of The Descartes Systems Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Adobe shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

The Descartes Systems Group has a beta of 0.75, meaning that its share price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Adobe has a beta of 1.51, meaning that its share price is 51% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares The Descartes Systems Group and Adobe’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
The Descartes Systems Group	22.10%	10.57%	8.97%
Adobe	30.00%	61.28%	25.25%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for The Descartes Systems Group and Adobe, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
The Descartes Systems Group	0	2	8	2	3.00
Adobe	4	11	10	1	2.31

The Descartes Systems Group presently has a consensus target price of $114.20, indicating a potential upside of 72.82%. Adobe has a consensus target price of $397.16, indicating a potential upside of 53.22%. Given The Descartes Systems Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe The Descartes Systems Group is more favorable than Adobe.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares The Descartes Systems Group and Adobe”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
The Descartes Systems Group	$651.00 million	8.73	$143.27 million	$1.77	37.33
Adobe	$23.77 billion	4.48	$7.13 billion	$16.71	15.51

Adobe has higher revenue and earnings than The Descartes Systems Group. Adobe is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than The Descartes Systems Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Adobe beats The Descartes Systems Group on 9 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About The Descartes Systems Group

The Descartes Systems Group Inc. provides cloud-based logistics and supply chain management solutions worldwide. Its Logistics Technology platform offers a range of modular, interoperable web and wireless logistics management solutions. The company provides a suite of solutions that include routing, mobile, and telematics; transportation management; ecommerce, shipping, and fulfillment; customs and regulatory compliance; global trade intelligence; broker and forwarder enterprise systems; and B2B messaging and connectivity services. It also offers its customers to use its modular, software-as-a-service, and data solutions to route, schedule, track, and measure delivery resources; plan, allocate, and execute shipments; rate, audit, and pay transportation invoices; access and analyze global trade data; research and perform trade tariff and duty calculations; file customs and security documents for imports and exports; and various other logistics processes. In addition, the company provides consulting, implementation, and training services, as well as maintenance and support services. It serves transportation providers, such as air, ocean, and truck modes; logistics service providers, including third-party logistics providers, freight forwarders, and customs brokers; and distribution-intensive companies, such as manufacturers, retailers, distributors, and mobile business service providers through subscription, transactional or perpetual license basis. The Descartes Systems Group Inc. was incorporated in 1981 and is headquartered in Waterloo, Canada.

About Adobe

Adobe Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified software company worldwide. It operates through three segments: Digital Media, Digital Experience, and Publishing and Advertising. The Digital Media segment offers products, services, and solutions that enable individuals, teams, and enterprises to create, publish, and promote content; and Document Cloud, a unified cloud-based document services platform. Its flagship product is Creative Cloud, a subscription service that allows members to access its creative products. This segment serves content creators, students, workers, marketers, educators, enthusiasts, and communicators. The Digital Experience segment provides an integrated platform and set of applications and services 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 products and services, such as e-learning solutions, technical document publishing, web conferencing, document and forms platform, web application development, and high-end printing, as well as Advertising Cloud offerings. It also provides consulting, technical support, and learning services. The company offers its products and services directly to enterprise customers through its sales force and local field offices, as well as to end users through app stores and through its website at adobe.com. It also distributes products and services through distributors, value-added resellers, systems integrators, software vendors and developers, retailers, and original equipment manufacturers. 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.