Cerence Inc's Competitiveness
A competitive positioning analysis and financial ratio benchmarking of Cerence Inc (CRNC) 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: Cerence Inc vs Its Competitors
- TTM: Trailing 12-month revenue of 294M vs 2,094,473M combined for its competitors (0.0% combined share).
- Trending: Latest-quarter revenue run-rate is decelerating (-5.3% annualized vs trailing 12 months), vs holding steady (-0.6%) for its tracked peer group.
- Growth: Cerence Inc generated 11.8% revenue growth year over year in Q3 2026, vs 19.7% for its competitors combined.
- Profitability: Its 2.2% net margin compares with 46.2% for the peer group.
- Scale: Cerence Inc ranks #131 of 255 companies by market capitalization in the Software & Programming industry, holding 0.0% of industry market cap.
- Peer revenue share: Cerence Inc accounted for 0.0% of combined revenue among its tracked peer group, up from 0.0% a year earlier.
- Peer differentiation: Revenue per employee of $0.23M compares with $1.15M for the peer group (0.2x).
Every figure above is sourced and cited in detail further down this page (Market Structure, Profitability & Cost Structure, Productivity vs Peers).
CRNC Sales vs. its Competitors, Q3 2026
Cerence Inc reported revenue growth of 11.81 % year on year in Q3 2026, below its competitors' combined revenue growth of 19.74 %.
With a net margin of 2.20 %, Cerence Inc reported lower profitability than its competitors (46.20 %).
Cerence Inc generated 0.01 % of the combined sales of its peer group, up from 0.01 % a year earlier.
API endpoints for this dataset
Cerence Inc vs. its Competitors, Q3 2026
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 Cerence Inc reports; 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 Cerence Inc and its 4 competitor groupings. Available under Commercial License.
| Entity | TTM Revenue | Rev Run-rate vs TTM |
|---|---|---|
| Cerence Inc | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| Competitors combined | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| High-Confidence Competitors (3) | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
| Similar-Size Competitors (7) | $12,345M | +12.3% · Accelerating |
TTM revenue, run-rate and net margin benchmarking across Cerence Inc's competitor groups requires a Commercial License.
For context: the Software & Programming industry grew revenue 16.7% year over year, combined, vs 11.8% for Cerence Inc. Cerence Inc's share of combined industry revenue moved from 0.02% to 0.02%, a gain of 0.00 percentage points.
Cerence Inc's Competitor Quality Breadth
Group definitions: see Methodology: Performance Group Definitions.
| Entity | Profitable | Expanding | Above Industry Growth | Distressed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cerence Inc | - | Yes | Yes | No |
| Competitors combined (6) | ||||
| High-Confidence Competitors (7) | ||||
| Similar-Size Competitors (10) |
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.
CRNC Stock Performance relative to its Competitors
CRNC Stock Performance relative to High-Confidence Competitors
CRNC Stock Performance relative to Similar-Size Competitors
5 Best-Performing Tracked Competitors, Trailing 12 Months
| # | Competitor | TTM Share Price Return | vs U.S.A. 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apple Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
| 2 | Amazon com Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
| 3 | Microsoft Corporation | 282.9% | Outperformed |
| 4 | Hello Group Inc | 282.9% | Outperformed |
TTM share price return and U.S.A. 500 outperformance for Cerence Inc's best-performing competitors requires a Commercial License.
Source: CSIMarket API, trailing 12 months.
Cerence Inc's Comment on Competition and Industry Peers
Publicly Traded Peers of Cerence Inc
Revenue and income for trailing 12 months, in millions of $, except employees| Company | Market Cap | Revenues |
|---|---|---|
 Cerence Inc |
389.11 | 293.87 |
 Apple Inc |
5,039,791.17 | 478,834.00 |
 Microsoft Corporation |
3,950,922.06 | 346,445.00 |
 Alphabet Inc |
3,511,646.24 | 471,097.00 |
 Amazon com Inc |
2,833,889.70 | 798,097.00 |
 Hello Group Inc |
1,557.55 | 1,442.46 |
| SUBTOTAL | 15,338,195.83 | 2,311,309.33 |
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Sources: see Methodology: Peer & Competitor Identification, Sourcing.
Updated on:
Focus of this report: publicly traded companies. Ten additional tables on Cerence Inc versus competitors, including market share analysis, are in the navigation menu under Competition. To download the tables, please subscribe.
Cerence Inc's Competitors Named by the Company
Competitive relationships identified from Cerence Inc reports and corroborating sources, each with a basis and confidence.| Competitor | Basis | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Baidu | Company report | 85% |
| Amazon | Company report | 85% |
| Tencent | Company report | 85% |
| Company report | 85% | |
| Apple | Company report | 85% |
| Alibaba | Company report | 85% |
| Microsoft | Company report | 85% |
| Centessa Pharmaceuticals Plc | Company report | 85% |
Company report basis, confidence, active dates and source counts for Cerence Inc's named competitors require a Commercial License.
Methodology: see Methodology: Peer & Competitor Identification, Sourcing.
Cerence 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 |
|---|---|
| Apple Inc | Americas 41.84 % |
| Microsoft Corporation | Agents and Infra 83.22 % |
| Alphabet Inc | Google Services 75.49 % |
| Amazon com Inc | North America 55.86 % |
Source: operating segment revenue as reported in each company's reports (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).
Cerence 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cerence Inc | 389 | 226,055 | 227,252 |
| Apple Inc | 5,039,791 | 2,867,269 | 791,467 |
| Microsoft Corporation | 3,950,922 | 1,553,565 | 639,601 |
| Alphabet Inc | 3,511,646 | 10,191,610 | 5,098,953 |
| Amazon com Inc | 2,833,890 | 506,407 | 85,520 |
| Hello Group Inc | 1,558 | 1,286,764 | 102,884 |
| PEERS TOTAL | 15,337,807 | 1,147,849 | 320,558 |
Cerence Inc's Geographic Revenue Exposure vs Peers
Revenue by country/region as reported in each company's most recent report. Disclosure granularity varies by filer (some report by country, others by broad region) and is shown as disclosed.| Company | Largest Market |
|---|---|
| Cerence Inc | Germany 37.82 % |
| Apple Inc | Other countries 47.76 % |
| Microsoft Corporation | US 53.60 % |
| Alphabet Inc | United States 53.05 % |
Source: revenue geography as reported in each company's reports (10-K/10-Q), via the CSIMarket API. Percentages are of that company's own total consolidated revenue for its most recent reported period.
Cerence Inc's Position in Industry Market Structure
Market-capitalization share and concentration across all 229 companies in Cerence Inc's industry classification, broader than the peer set above. Market cap in millions of $.Cerence Inc ranks #131 of 229 companies by market capitalization in its industry, holding 0.01 % of total industry market cap. The industry's Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) is 2,855, indicating a highly concentrated market structure (see Methodology: Market Structure & Concentration).
| Rank | Company | Market Cap | Industry Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Microsoft Corporation | 3,954,636 | 52.39 % |
| 2 | Palantir Technologies Inc | 411,967 | 5.46 % |
| 3 | Oracle Corporation | 338,315 | 4.48 % |
| 4 | Sap Se | 307,220 | 4.07 % |
| 5 | Crowdstrike Holdings Inc | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 6 | Shopify Inc | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 7 | Full Truck Alliance Co Ltd | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 8 | Salesforce Inc | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 9 | Servicenow Inc | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 10 | Snowflake Inc | 1,234 | 5.2% |
| 131 | Cerence Inc | 389 | 0.01 % |
Market cap and industry share for the rest of Cerence Inc's industry peers requires a Commercial License.
Source: CSIMarket API (daily market-structure computation) across CSIMarket's industry classification, market capitalization as of 2026-11-06.
Cerence Inc's Same-Size Peers & Stock Performance
Peers chosen by closeness in market-cap rank within the same industry classification (not the named-competitor list above). Trailing 12-month total return, 3-month price momentum, beta and Sharpe ratio vs the broad U.S. market.| Rank | Company | Market Cap | TTM Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| 126 | Sprout Social Inc | 666 | 4.73 % |
| 127 | Playstudios Inc | 597 | 439.95 % |
| 128 | Cognyte Software Ltd | 590 | -4.09 % |
| 129 | Red Cat Holdings Inc | 553 | -61.54 % |
| 130 | Backblaze Inc | 1,234 | 12.3% |
| 131 | Cerence Inc | 389 | -16.02 % |
| 132 | Xunlei Ltd | 1,234 | 12.3% |
| 133 | Cs Disco Inc | 1,234 | 12.3% |
| 134 | Commerce com Inc | 1,234 | 12.3% |
| 135 | Mmtec Inc | 1,234 | 12.3% |
| 136 | Xperi Inc | 1,234 | 12.3% |
Market cap, return, momentum, beta and Sharpe ratio for the rest of Cerence Inc's same-size peers requires a Commercial License.
Source: CSIMarket API (daily market-structure computation); returns and risk metrics as of 2026-11-06. Beta and Sharpe ratio are versus the broad U.S. equity market, not this industry.
Cerence 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 (442 companies). See the full Software & Programming industry profitability benchmarks.| Metric | Company | Industry | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin | 82.88 % | 50.50 % (avg) | +32.4 pp |
| Operating Margin | - | industry median | - |
| EBITDA Margin | - | 1.87 % (avg) | - |
| Capital Intensity (Capex / Revenue) | - | 5.22 % (avg) | - |
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.
Cerence Inc's Valuation vs Competitive Position
Valuation multiples vs the Software & Programming industry average (442 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 | - | 40.4x | - |
| EV / EBITDA | 1.3x | 20.3x | -18.9x |
| P/B | 3.0x | 5.5x | -2.5x |
| Return on Equity | 188.70 % | industry aggregate | 163.54 % |
| Return on Invested Capital | 43.77 % | -3.23 % (avg) | 47.00 % |
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.
Cerence Inc's Multi-Year Financial Trajectory
Fiscal-year revenue growth, operating margin, return on invested capital and P/E, as reported in company reports.| Metric | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue Growth | - | - | 10.88 % | -31.80 % | -11.37 % | -34.38 % | 66.57 % |
| Operating Margin | -2.64 % | 11.62 % | 15.90 % | -77.14 % | 12.77 % | - | - |
| Return on Invested Capital | - | 1.71 % | 2.46 % | -9.55 % | 1.81 % | -80.86 % | 45.96 % |
| P/E | - | 325.5x | 74.4x | - | - | - | - |
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.
Cerence Inc's BCG Growth-Share Matrix
See Methodology: BCG Growth-Share Matrix for how relative share and growth are calculated and thresholded.
Cerence Inc falls in the Question Mark quadrant: relative market share of 0.00x vs its largest competitor, in an industry growing revenue 11.3% (median, trailing 12 months).
Source: CSIMarket API (market-cap share and industry revenue growth). The 10% growth and 1.0x share lines are standard textbook thresholds, not derived from this industry's own distribution. A caveat worth reading alongside this chart: Microsoft Corporation alone holds 52% of this industry's market cap. In an industry this dominated by one leader, the framework will place nearly every OTHER company in "Dog" or "Question Mark" purely because relative share is measured against that leader, regardless of how strong those other companies actually are on their own fundamentals. Check the Profitability, Valuation and Financial Strength sections above before treating this quadrant label as a verdict.
Cerence 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Competitive Rivalry | Low | Industry HHI of 2,855 (see Industry Market Structure & Concentration above) |
Note: see Methodology: Porter's Five Forces. Supplier power and buyer power are covered on Cerence Inc's dedicated Suppliers and Customers pages, not here.
Cerence Inc's Industry Attractiveness & Competitive Strength
See Methodology: GE/McKinsey Matrix for how the two axes are built.
Cerence Inc falls in the Medium attractiveness / Low strength cell: Harvest.
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.
Cerence 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
- Return on equity 163.5 points above the industry aggregate.
Weaknesses
- Latest-quarter revenue run-rate is decelerating (-5.3% annualized vs trailing 12 months).
- Underperforming the U.S.A. 500 over the trailing 12 months.
- Low relative market share vs the industry leader (0.00x).
Opportunities
- Industry revenue growing at a healthy 11.3% median pace.
- A meaningful share of competitors (33.30 %) show financial-distress signals, a possible opening to gain share.
Threats
- Industry dominated by Microsoft Corporation, holding 52.39 % of industry market cap.
Methodology: see Methodology: SWOT Analysis.
Cerence 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cerence Inc | 0.98 | 1.94 | 1.19 |
| Apple Inc | 0.27 | 1.02 | 0.88 |
| Microsoft Corporation | 0.16 | 1.27 | 0.10 |
| Alphabet Inc | 0.63 | 2.40 | 0.16 |
| Amazon com Inc | 0.35 | 1.06 | 0.25 |
| Hello Group Inc | 2.56 | 4.68 | 0.00 |
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.
Cerence 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cerence Inc | Q2 2026 | +11.8 % | - |
| Apple Inc | Q3 2026 | +11.7 % | +11.8 % |
| Microsoft Corporation | Q3 2026 | +18.8 % | +32.0 % |
| Alphabet Inc | Q3 2026 | +24.7 % | -24.3 % |
| Amazon com Inc | Q3 2026 | +12.1 % | -2.4 % |
| Hello Group Inc | Q4 2025 | -1.7 % | -19.0 % |
| PEERS TOTAL | +14.6 % | +2.8 % |
Growth is shown only where both periods are positive. Peers in the Blank Checks industry are excluded.
Cerence 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cerence Inc | Q2 2026 | +2.0 % | -95.6 % |
| Apple Inc | Q3 2026 | +10.2 % | -30.8 % |
| Microsoft Corporation | Q3 2026 | +23.6 % | +103.0 % |
| Alphabet Inc | Q3 2026 | +24.3 % | +114.4 % |
| Amazon com Inc | Q3 2026 | +6.7 % | +20.1 % |
| Hello Group Inc | Q4 2025 | +4.4 % | +80.0 % |
Cerence Inc's Returns and Turnover vs Peers
ROA, ROI and ROE (trailing 12 months), receivables and inventory turnover| Company | ROA | ROI | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cerence Inc | 47.29% | 41.39% | 188.70% |
| Apple Inc | 34.37% | 57.35% | 127.61% |
| Microsoft Corporation | 20.01% | 23.87% | 34.15% |
| Alphabet Inc | 29.24% | 34.26% | 42.62% |
| Amazon com Inc | 13.23% | 18.74% | 26.71% |
| Hello Group Inc | 5.85% | 6.46% | 7.28% |
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).
Cerence Inc's Valuation vs Peers
P/E, price to sales, PEG, price to cash flow and price to book| Company | P/E | Price / Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Cerence Inc | - | 1.32 |
| Apple Inc | 38.21 | 10.53 |
| Microsoft Corporation | 27.71 | 11.40 |
| Alphabet Inc | 14.82 | 7.45 |
| Amazon com Inc | 20.95 | 3.55 |
| Hello Group Inc | 1.94 | 1.08 |
| PEERS AVERAGE | 23.75 | 6.64 |
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.