Head-To-Head Analysis: Zoom Communications (NASDAQ:ZM) & Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK)

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) and Zoom Communications (NASDAQ:ZM) are both large-cap technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, risk, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and valuation.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Autodesk and Zoom Communications, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Autodesk	0	6	26	0	2.81
Zoom Communications	0	11	16	0	2.59

Autodesk currently has a consensus price target of $317.62, suggesting a potential upside of 22.28%. Zoom Communications has a consensus price target of $114.48, suggesting a potential upside of 26.43%. Given Zoom Communications’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Zoom Communications is more favorable than Autodesk.

Profitability

This table compares Autodesk and Zoom Communications’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Autodesk	21.08%	58.63%	15.10%
Zoom Communications	65.19%	10.86%	8.93%

Insider & Institutional Ownership

90.2% of Autodesk shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.5% of Zoom Communications shares are held by institutional investors. 0.1% of Autodesk shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 8.8% of Zoom Communications shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility & Risk

Autodesk has a beta of 1.27, suggesting that its share price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zoom Communications has a beta of 1.02, suggesting that its share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Autodesk and Zoom Communications”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Autodesk	$7.21 billion	7.53	$1.12 billion	$7.73	33.60
Zoom Communications	$4.87 billion	5.43	$1.90 billion	$10.80	8.38

Zoom Communications has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Autodesk. Zoom Communications is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Autodesk, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Autodesk beats Zoom Communications on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc. develops software and cloud-based services for designing, building, making, and creating digital media. Its tools support professionals and organizations across architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, and entertainment. The company’s products include AutoCAD for computer-aided design, Revit for building information modeling, Fusion for product design and manufacturing, and Maya and 3ds Max for 3D animation and visual effects. Autodesk also offers cloud services that help customers collaborate and manage design and construction projects.

About Zoom Communications

Zoom Communications provides cloud-based collaboration and communications software for businesses, organizations and individual users. Its products include Zoom Meetings for video conferencing, Zoom Team Chat, Zoom Phone, Zoom Rooms and tools for webinars and online events. The company also offers Zoom Contact Center and other services designed to support customer interactions and workplace collaboration. Founded in 2011 by Eric Yuan, Zoom became widely known for its video-conferencing service. The company, formerly known as Zoom Video Communications, adopted the name Zoom Communications in 2024 as it expanded its offerings beyond video meetings.