Fundamentals snapshot
DASTY · PNK · Technology · Software - Application
Current price
$22.99
52-week range
$18.99 - $38.49
Market cap
$30.19B
One-glance verdict
Fair-value range $32.11 – $43.55 (cautious → optimistic — tap the ? for the math)
Wall Street consensus: $25.98 (-29.6% lower than our fair-value estimate)
Buy below $29.51 for a 20% safety cushion
Balance sheet
Net cash $2.76B. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
Quick scan of the biggest positives and negatives from the detailed checklist below.
What this company does
Dassault Systèmes sells specialized 3D software that large companies in industries like aerospace and automotive use to design and test virtual models of their products, from cars to entire factories, before spending money to build them physically. The company makes most of its money from these software subscriptions, which provides a steady stream of recurring revenue (income that arrives at regular, predictable intervals, much like a streaming service subscription). This business model makes its sales easier to forecast compared to companies that rely on one-time purchases.
Dassault Systèmes started in 1981 when it was separated from a French airplane manufacturer, Dassault Aviation. [1, 4, 5] A small team of engineers had created groundbreaking 3D software, called CATIA, to help design complex aircraft parts on a computer instead of by hand. [1, 4] They soon realized this technology could be used for much more than planes, expanding into designing cars and other products. [1, 3] A major turning point was when Boeing used their software to design the entire 777 airplane digitally, a first for the industry. [1, 2] Over the years, the company grew by acquiring other software firms, like SOLIDWORKS in 1997, to reach a wider range of designers and engineers. [1, 5]
Imagine building a complete, working version of a new car on a computer before a single piece of metal is shaped. That's what Dassault Systèmes helps companies do. They create software that builds a "virtual twin" (a scientifically accurate, functioning 3D copy of a real-world object or system) of almost anything, from a shampoo bottle to an entire city or even a human heart. [1, 15, 16] Companies use these virtual twins to design, test, and simulate how their products will work, look, and be made, all within the computer. [14] This process, called Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), helps businesses catch problems early, reduce waste, and bring new ideas to life faster. [3] Their main offering is a connected system called the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, which brings all these design and simulation tools together. [15]
This is the company's largest business area, providing powerful software for designing very complex and sophisticated products. [11] Think of major car companies designing a new vehicle or aerospace firms developing a new jet; they use tools from this segment like CATIA. [1, 2] This division also provides software called ENOVIA that helps large teams manage the entire lifecycle of a product, from the initial idea to manufacturing and eventual retirement. Customers are typically large manufacturers in the automotive, aerospace, and industrial equipment industries who pay for software licenses and subscriptions. [18]
This part of the business focuses on using virtual twin technology for health and medicine. [1, 18] For example, its MEDIDATA software is a leading platform used by pharmaceutical companies to manage clinical trials (the process of testing new drugs and treatments on people to see if they are safe and effective). [5, 17] Another brand, BIOVIA, helps scientists simulate molecules and materials in a lab setting on a computer. The goal is to help create personalized medicine and therapies by simulating how treatments might affect a virtual twin of a human organ. [17]
This segment provides 3D design software that is more accessible to a broader audience of engineers, designers, and smaller businesses. [18] Its most well-known product is SOLIDWORKS, a very popular tool used by millions of designers to create 3D models of everything from industrial parts to new consumer gadgets. [1, 5] This part of the company makes money by selling licenses and subscriptions for these widely-used design tools. It serves a huge range of industries, from small design shops to the engineering departments of larger companies. [18]
The company's main focus is on expanding the idea of the "virtual twin" beyond just products to model entire living systems, like the human body, to revolutionize medicine. [9, 17] They are also heavily promoting their cloud-based 3DEXPERIENCE platform, encouraging customers to use a subscription model which creates more predictable revenue (money that comes in regularly). [10] Management sees sustainability as a major opportunity, positioning their software as a key tool for helping other companies design more environmentally friendly products and operate more efficiently. [6, 7, 13] Finally, they are weaving artificial intelligence (AI) into their software to help automate and speed up the design process for their customers. [8, 9]
Price history
Is it cheap or expensive?
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $25.98 (-29.6% lower than our fair-value estimate).
Buy below $29.51 for a 20% safety cushion. That means buying at least 20% below our fair value, as a buffer in case our estimate turns out too rosy.
Our most-likely fair value is $36.89 a share — about 60.5% above today's price of $22.99, so the stock currently looks cheap (undervalued).
Is it drowning in debt?
Net cash $2.8B - more cash than debt. Interest coverage 33.1x.
Dassault Systèmes SE's profit covers its interest bill about 33.1 times over. which is stronger than every peer shown here.
Total debt $2.86B Interest coverage 33.13x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $2.72B Interest coverage 25.27x -24% vs DASTY Carries about 1.3x less debt cushion than DASTY.
Total debt $1.38B Interest coverage 12.96x -61% vs DASTY Carries about 2.6x less debt cushion than DASTY.
Total debt $10.84B Interest coverage 2.05x -94% vs DASTY Carries about 16.2x less debt cushion than DASTY.
Total debt $3.08B Interest coverage 14.16x -57% vs DASTY Carries about 2.3x less debt cushion than DASTY.
What you should know
The numbers
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
Profitability
Health
Growth
Cash flow
Dividend
Metric explainer
Debt comparison
What you should know