Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's Competitiveness
A competitive positioning analysis and financial ratio benchmarking of Cornerstone Ondemand Inc (CSOD) against its publicly traded competitors: sales growth, net income, profitability, valuation and market share, plus each peer's market capitalization, revenue, income and employees. Free below: the top 5 peers. Subscriber access adds the full competitor list and CSV downloads.
Key Findings: Cornerstone Ondemand Inc vs Its Competitors
- TTM: Trailing 12-month revenue of 830M vs 634,117M combined for tracked competitors (0.1% combined share).
- Trending: Latest-quarter revenue run-rate is accelerating (+3.3% annualized vs trailing 12 months), vs decelerating (-25.7%) for its tracked peer group.
- Growth: Cornerstone Ondemand Inc generated 16.3% revenue growth year over year in Q2 2021, vs 8.6% for its tracked competitors combined.
- Profitability: Its -0.2% net margin compares with 21.5% for the peer group.
- Peer revenue share: Cornerstone Ondemand Inc accounted for 0.2% of combined revenue among its tracked peer group, up from 0.2% a year earlier.
- Peer differentiation: Revenue per employee of $0.44M compares with $0.64M for the peer group (0.7x).
Every figure above is sourced and cited in detail further down this page (Market Structure, Profitability & Cost Structure, Productivity vs Peers).
CSOD Sales vs. its Competitors, Q2 2021
Cornerstone Ondemand Inc reported revenue growth of 16.26 % year on year in Q2 2021, above its competitors' combined revenue growth of 8.55 %.
With a net margin of -0.17 %, Cornerstone Ondemand Inc reported lower profitability than its competitors (21.54 %).
Cornerstone Ondemand Inc generated 0.18 % of the combined sales of its peer group, up from 0.17 % a year earlier.
Cornerstone Ondemand Inc vs. its Competitors, Q2 2021
Revenue growth, year on year
Net margin
Revenue run-rate vs trailing 12 months
TTM net margin
TTM = trailing twelve months. Run-rate annualizes the latest quarter (×4) and compares it to TTM. In millions of $. High-Confidence Competitors are named as a competitor directly in an SEC filing; Similar-Size Competitors are the closest peers by market-cap rank within the same industry; Similar Growth & Profitability Competitors are the closest peers by combined revenue growth, operating margin and ROIC, all independent of the competitor list.
TTM revenue, latest-quarter run-rate and net income/margin benchmarked across Cornerstone Ondemand Inc and its 4 competitor groupings. Available under Commercial License.
| Entity | TTM Revenue | Rev Run-rate vs TTM |
|---|---|---|
| Cornerstone Ondemand Inc | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| Competitors combined | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| High-Confidence Competitors (7) | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| Similar Growth & Profitability (5) | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
TTM revenue, run-rate and net margin benchmarking across Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's competitor groups requires a Commercial License.
For context: the Software & Programming industry grew revenue 16.0% year over year, combined, vs 16.3% for Cornerstone Ondemand Inc. Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's share of combined industry revenue moved from 0.07% to 0.07%, a gain of 0.00 percentage points.
Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's Competitor Quality Breadth
Share of each group, trailing 12 months: profitable (net margin > 0), expanding (revenue growth > 0), growing faster than the industry's own median, and financially distressed (Piotroski F-Score of 2 or below).
| Entity | Profitable | Expanding | Above Industry Growth | Distressed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cornerstone Ondemand Inc | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Competitors combined (46) | ||||
| High-Confidence Competitors (8) | ||||
| Similar Growth & Profitability (8) | 75.00 % (6 of 8) | 100.00 % (8 of 8) | 100.00 % (8 of 8) | 14.30 % (1 of 7) |
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. Altman Z-Score is not shown here: it is not populated in the underlying data for any company. Percentages are of companies in each group that report the relevant metric, not of the full group size.
CSOD Stock Performance relative to its Competitors
CSOD Stock Performance relative to High-Confidence Competitors
CSOD Stock Performance relative to Similar Growth & Profitability Competitors
5 Best-Performing Tracked Competitors, Trailing 12 Months
| # | Competitor | TTM Share Price Return | vs U.S.A. 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red Violet Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
| 2 | Upland Software Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
| 3 | Paycor Hcm Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
| 4 | Amplitude Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
| 5 | Expensify Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
TTM share price return and U.S.A. 500 outperformance for Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's best-performing tracked competitors requires a Commercial License.
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months.
Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's Comment on Competition and Industry Peers
Most of our sales efforts are competitive, often involving requests for proposals. We compete primarily on the basis of providing a comprehensive, fully unified platform for human capital management as opposed to specific service offerings.
In the applicant tracking systems segment, which the recruiting and onboarding
product offerings each serve, our principal competitors include companies such
as Oracle Corporation, International Business Machines Corporation and Lumesse.
In the learning management systems segment, which the learning and extended
enterprise product offerings each serve, our principal competitors include companies
such as Oracle Corporation, Saba Software, Inc., SAP America, Inc. and SkillSoft
Corp. In the performance management systems segment, which the performance,
succession and compensation product offerings each serve, our principal competitors
include companies such as Saba Software, Inc., Talentsoft, Oracle Corporation,
Peoplefluent, Inc. and SAP America, Inc. These vendors are, like us, largely
SaaS providers. We compete in these segments primarily on the basis of:
the level of integration of our product offerings within our human capital management
platform;
the breath and depth of our product functionality;
the flexibility and configurability of our product offerings to meet the changing
content and workflow requirements of our clients’ business units;
the quality of our service and focus on client success;
our ability to provide scalability and flexibility for large and complex global
deployments; and
the ease of use of our product offerings and overall user experience.
In addition, we occasionally compete with custom-built software that is designed
to support the needs of a single organization, as well as with third-party talent
and human resource application providers that focus on specific aspects of human
capital management.
Publicly Traded Peers of Cornerstone Ondemand Inc
Revenue and income for trailing 12 months, in millions of $, except employees| Company | Market Cap | Revenues |
|---|---|---|
| Cornerstone Ondemand Inc | 3,813.31 | 830.04 |
| Microsoft Corporation | 3,767,677.82 | 331,839.00 |
| Oracle Corporation | 401,010.00 | 73,266.00 |
| Sap Se | 245,904.00 | 41,216.00 |
| International Business Machines Corporation | 210,118.35 | 69,096.00 |
| Salesforce Inc | 184,720.90 | 43,938.00 |
| SUBTOTAL | 5,204,545.99 | 641,844.57 |
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Sources: Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's official press releases and regulatory filings; CSIMarket.com's market research; and the financial filings and press releases of the other companies cited.
Updated on:
Focus of this report: publicly traded companies. Ten additional tables on Cornerstone Ondemand Inc versus competitors, including market share analysis, are in the navigation menu under Competition. To download the tables, please subscribe.
Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's Competitors Named by the Company
Competitive relationships identified from SEC filings and corroborating sources, each with a basis and confidence.| Competitor | Basis | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Healthstream Inc | Named by the company | 85% |
| LinkedIn Learning | Named by the company | 85% |
| Workday, Inc. | Named by the company | 85% |
| Docebo | Named by the company | 85% |
| SkillSoft Limited | Named by the company | 85% |
| Paycom Software Inc | Named by the company | 85% |
| Oracle Corporation | Named by the company | 85% |
| iCIMS | Named by the company | 85% |
| Talentsoft SA | Named by the company | 85% |
| SAP America, Inc. | Named by the company | 85% |
| Nucor Corporation | Named by the company | 85% |
Filing basis, confidence, active dates and source counts for Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's named competitors require a Commercial License.
Methodology: relationships are extracted from SEC filings (named-competitor disclosures) and corroborating sources. Named by the company = explicitly disclosed as a competitor; Inferred = derived from corroborating signals. Confidence reflects evidence strength.
Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's Business Segment Mix vs Peers
Revenue by operating segment or division, as named and reported by each company. Segment names are the filer's own and are not standardized across companies. Do not assume a same-named or similarly-named segment is defined identically between two companies. Shares are of each company's own total revenue and are not required to sum to 100% (intersegment revenue, unallocated items).| Company | Largest Segment |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Corporation | Productivity and Business Processes 42.19 % |
| Oracle Corporation | Cloud and Software Business 83.96 % |
| International Business Machines Corporation | Software 45.22 % |
| Block Inc | Cash App 63.91 % |
| Strategy Inc | Software Business 100.00 % |
Source: operating segment revenue as reported in each company's SEC filings (10-K/10-Q), via the CSIMarket API, leaf-level reportable segments only (parent roll-up segments are excluded where sub-segments are separately disclosed).
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Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's Productivity vs Peers Comparison
Revenue and income per employee, trailing 12 months, in $; market cap in millions of $| Company | Market Cap | Revenue / Employee | Income / Employee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cornerstone Ondemand Inc | 3,813 | 438,941 | -14,301 |
| Microsoft Corporation | 3,767,678 | 1,488,067 | 599,771 |
| Oracle Corporation | 401,010 | 519,617 | 134,184 |
| Sap Se | 245,904 | 374,691 | 74,592 |
| International Business Machines Corporation | 210,118 | 226,322 | 35,129 |
| Salesforce Inc | 184,721 | 604,524 | 132,935 |
| PEERS TOTAL | 5,200,733 | 640,923 | 155,719 |
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Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's Geographic Revenue Exposure vs Peers
Revenue by country/region as reported in each company's most recent filing. Disclosure granularity varies by filer (some report by country, others by broad region) and is shown as disclosed.| Company | Largest Market |
|---|---|
| Cornerstone Ondemand Inc | United States 60.40 % |
| Microsoft Corporation | US 51.47 % |
| Oracle Corporation | Americas 63.46 % |
| International Business Machines Corporation | Americas 49.04 % |
| Salesforce Inc | Americas 64.97 % |
| Servicenow Inc | North America 63.26 % |
Source: revenue geography as reported in each company's SEC filings (10-K/10-Q), via the CSIMarket API. Percentages are of that company's own total consolidated revenue for its most recent reported period.
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Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's Profitability & Cost Structure
Trailing 12-month margins from SEC-filed financials. Operating margin is compared to the Software & Programming industry median; gross margin, EBITDA margin and capital intensity are compared to the live industry average (343 companies). See the full Software & Programming industry profitability benchmarks.| Metric | Company | Industry | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 70.07 % | 64.28 % (avg) | +5.8 pp |
| Operating Margin | 2.83 % | industry median | +12.6 pp |
| EBITDA Margin | 18.94 % | 2.53 % (avg) | +16.4 pp |
| Capital Intensity (Capex / Revenue) | 4.20 % | 4.79 % (avg) | -0.6 pp |
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. SG&A and R&D as a share of revenue have limited coverage as this data is backfilled and appear only where reported. Higher capital intensity is not inherently negative; it reflects the industry's asset requirements.
Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's Valuation vs Competitive Position
Valuation multiples vs the Software & Programming industry average (343 companies, excluding loss-making/negative-equity outliers), alongside returns on capital for context on whether a premium or discount lines up with measurably stronger or weaker returns. See the full Software & Programming industry valuation benchmarks.| Metric | Company | Industry Average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| P/E | - | 39.5x | - |
| EV / EBITDA | 26.6x | 21.7x | +4.9x |
| P/B | 11.5x | 5.4x | +6.2x |
| Return on Equity | -9.79 % | industry aggregate | -35.77 % |
| Return on Invested Capital | 1.28 % | -0.26 % (avg) | 1.54 % |
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. A valuation premium or discount is not, by itself, a judgment of over- or under-valuation. Compare it against the return and growth context shown elsewhere on this page.
Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's Multi-Year Financial Trajectory
Fiscal-year revenue growth, operating margin, return on invested capital and P/E, as reported in SEC filings.| Metric | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue Growth | 57.00 % | 42.37 % | 28.87 % | 24.58 % | 13.91 % | -169.97 % | 7.18 % | 28.51 % |
| Operating Margin | -18.36 % | -18.94 % | -20.23 % | -13.32 % | -10.22 % | 2.30 % | 2.07 % | -4.26 % |
| Return on Invested Capital | -12.54 % | -15.71 % | -160.10 % | -19.93 % | -24.41 % | -1.91 % | 1.97 % | -1.98 % |
| P/E | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Source: CSIMarket API, fiscal-year figures. P/E is this company's own historical ratio at each fiscal year end and can swing sharply around an earnings trough: that is real, not a data error.
Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's Strategic Group Map
Every company in Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's industry and named-competitor list, plotted by trailing 12-month revenue growth and operating margin. Cornerstone Ondemand Inc is shown in red; its closest peers by combined growth, margin and ROIC (the Similar Growth & Profitability group above) are labeled.
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. Extreme outlier values (from near-zero-revenue companies) are excluded from the plotted cloud but never from the highlighted company or its labeled peers.
Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's Competitive Forces (Porter's Five Forces)
Only the forces this data can support honestly are shown; the other three are marked as such rather than guessed.| Force | Assessment | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Barriers to Entry | Moderate, in line with the industry | Capital intensity (capex / revenue) of 4.20 % vs industry average 4.79 % (see Profitability & Cost Structure above) |
| Supplier Power | Not covered on this page | See Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's dedicated suppliers page for concentration and dependency data |
| Buyer Power | Not covered on this page | See Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's dedicated customers page for concentration and dependency data |
| Threat of Substitutes | - | No systematic data source for cross-product substitution exists in this system; not estimated |
Note: this is a partial, data-grounded application of the framework, not a complete strategic assessment. Rivalry and barriers-to-entry readings are mechanical translations of the HHI and capital-intensity figures shown elsewhere on this page, not independent judgments.
Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's Industry Attractiveness & Competitive Strength
A CSIMarket composite, not a standard field: each axis is an equal-weighted average of three factors already shown elsewhere on this page (industry growth, industry profitability and rivalry for attractiveness; relative market share, profitability and growth vs industry for strength). Disclosed as a designed methodology, not a precision measurement.
Cornerstone Ondemand Inc falls in the Low attractiveness / High strength cell: Selective.
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months. Each axis score is a simple 1(low)/2(medium)/3(high) average across its three inputs -- a transparent, disclosed simplification, not a validated academic scoring model.
Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's SWOT
Every point below is a fixed rule applied to a metric already shown elsewhere on this page (Market Structure, Profitability, Valuation, Run-Rate, Stock Performance, Quality Breadth) not an independent strategic assessment. A blank quadrant means no rule was met, not that none apply.Strengths
- Operating margin 12.6 points above the industry median.
- Latest-quarter revenue run-rate is accelerating (+3.3% annualized vs trailing 12 months).
Weaknesses
- Return on equity 35.8 points below the industry aggregate.
Opportunities
- Industry revenue growing at a healthy 11.6% median pace.
Threats
- Tracked peer group's revenue run-rate is broadly decelerating (-25.7% annualized).
Methodology: mechanical, rule-based SWOT. Each bullet reuses a figure already sourced and cited elsewhere on this page; nothing here is generated narrative or independent analyst judgment.
Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's Financial Strength vs Peers Comparison
Quick ratio, working capital, debt to equity and asset turnover, trailing 12 months| Company | Quick Ratio | Working Capital | Debt / Equity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cornerstone Ondemand Inc | 0.27 | 0.71 | 4.15 |
| Microsoft Corporation | 0.13 | 1.31 | 0.11 |
| Oracle Corporation | 0.72 | 1.12 | 2.83 |
| Sap Se | 0.47 | 1.16 | - |
| International Business Machines Corporation | 0.29 | 0.87 | 3.47 |
| Salesforce Inc | 0.30 | 0.83 | 0.53 |
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Quick ratio = cash / current liabilities; working capital ratio = current assets / current liabilities; asset turnover = revenue / total assets. Peers in the Blank Checks industry are excluded.
Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's Revenue and Income Growth vs Peers
Quarterly revenue and net income growth, year over year and quarter over quarter| Company | Period | Revenue Y/Y | Income Y/Y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cornerstone Ondemand Inc | Q2 2021 | +16.3 % | - |
| Microsoft Corporation | Q2 2026 | +17.7 % | +31.3 % |
| Oracle Corporation | Q3 2026 | +24.0 % | +62.6 % |
| Sap Se | Q4 2025 | +7.7 % | +132.6 % |
| International Business Machines Corporation | Q2 2026 | +1.1 % | -1.3 % |
| Salesforce Inc | Q2 2026 | +10.8 % | +86.9 % |
| PEERS TOTAL | +13.6 % | -4.4 % |
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Growth is shown only where both periods are positive. Peers in the Blank Checks industry are excluded.
Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's Peers' Costs of Sales and Capital Expenditures
Context for revenue growth: peer costs and capex, year over year and quarter over quarter| Company | Period | Costs Y/Y | Capex Y/Y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cornerstone Ondemand Inc | Q2 2021 | +4.8 % | +22.8 % |
| Microsoft Corporation | Q2 2026 | +22.9 % | +109.6 % |
| Oracle Corporation | Q3 2026 | - | +235.2 % |
| Sap Se | Q4 2025 | +8.0 % | - |
| International Business Machines Corporation | Q2 2026 | +3.6 % | +9.0 % |
| Salesforce Inc | Q2 2026 | +18.2 % | +26.7 % |
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Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's Returns and Turnover vs Peers
ROA, ROI and ROE (trailing 12 months), receivables and inventory turnover| Company | ROA | ROI | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cornerstone Ondemand Inc | - | - | - |
| Microsoft Corporation | 19.76% | 22.48% | 34.22% |
| Oracle Corporation | 7.73% | 9.84% | 44.45% |
| Sap Se | 10.41% | 13.84% | 16.25% |
| International Business Machines Corporation | 7.07% | 7.03% | 33.43% |
| Salesforce Inc | 9.12% | 12.41% | 20.15% |
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ROA = net income / total assets; ROI = net income / investments; ROE = net income / equity; turnover ratios use trailing 12 month revenue (receivables) and cost of sales (inventory).
Cornerstone Ondemand Inc's Valuation vs Peers
P/E, price to sales, PEG, price to cash flow and price to book| Company | P/E | Price / Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Cornerstone Ondemand Inc | - | 4.59 |
| Microsoft Corporation | 28.16 | 11.35 |
| Oracle Corporation | 20.95 | 5.47 |
| Sap Se | 34.34 | 5.97 |
| International Business Machines Corporation | 19.52 | 3.04 |
| Salesforce Inc | 20.59 | 4.20 |
| PEERS AVERAGE | 33.42 | 8.11 |
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P/E = price / diluted EPS (trailing 12 months); PEG = P/E divided by EPS growth; the average row divides the peers' combined market cap by their combined income, sales, cash flow and equity.